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Ethos and Narrative in an Online Classroom Chat This study explores how the traditional notion of ethos might need to be
revised when applied to new social contexts in which the conditions differ
from those of classical rhetorical situations. Specifically, it looks at
ethos construction in naturally occurring conversation in an online educational
chatroom. In the general contemporary understanding of Aristotelian and Ciceronian ethos,
ethos encompasses these attributes: it refers to the credibility of the speaker
as constructed within the speech situation; it is particularly relevant in
rhetorical situations and it is evaluated significantly according to social
standards. Classical rhetoricians addressed face-to-face, formal, planned,
persuasive speech situations. In contrast, the online chats possess none of
these qualities, they are computer-mediated, informal, unplanned, and
non-persuasive. The study asks how the Aristotelian and Ciceronian notion
of ethos, as generally understood by contemporary rhetoricians, might
need to be revised in this new social context. Using a discourse analytic approach, the conversation of the chats was
studied at both the macro and micro levels. The analysis showed that a
particular kind of ethos, that of a professional colleague, was relevant
in this chat situation and that a frequent strategy to develop this ethos
was the use of narrative. Specifically, narrative was used to display
practical wisdom and goodwill, two qualities listed by Aristotle as
necessary for ethos. The findings suggest that in new social contexts
the classical notion of ethos needs to be supplemented in two ways:
First, increased attention needs to be paid to the social situation as
different kinds of ethos might be relevant, depending upon the situation.
Second, in new social contexts in which social standards are uncertain,
narrative is a significant means of developing these standards. Further empirical research looking at ethos in different social contexts
is suggested. Also, the prevalence of narrative in contributing to ethos
in this situation leads to the speculation that narrative might be significantly
related to ethos in more general ways. Future research investigating the
relationship between ethos and narrative are discussed. |