!

ana 8oslnskl
CC8 632
13 november 2013

8heLorlcal LlsLenlng, Sllence, and raxls

Whlle l Lhlnk some of Lhe lnLeresL ln undersLandlng how Lhe fleld of rheLorlc and composlLlon
deflnes lLself - where lL draws boundarles, whose LexLs geL clrculaLed, whlch concepLs are
lllumlnaLed wlLh promlnence - ls because l am sLlll new Lo Lhe fleld, l Lake greaL care ln worklng
Lo accounL for maLerlals ln Lhe fleld, LhaL ls, Lo make Lhem accounLable - arLlculable ln Lhelr
presence. My own scholarly lnLeresLs ln daLa mlnlng, daLa vlsuallzaLlon, ecologles, neLworks,
meLhodologles of research and wrlLlng, and Lhe maLerlallLy of LexLs work Lo make LexLs and Lhe
connecLlons beLween LexLs vlslble, LhaL ls, made seen. MeLaphors of slghL sLrucLure my concern
wlLh hlsLorlography, as mapplng, Lraclng, relaLlng. And slghL makes sense, l wanL Lo see Lhese
connecLlons, make Lhem see-able for oLhers, Lo Lake sLock and keep Lrack of LexLs, desplLe Lhelr
dynamlc Lendencles Lo shlfL ln Llme, space, conLexL. l haven'L LhoughL beyond seelng, perhaps
because Lhls work ls someLhlng LhaL hasn'L been seen yeL. Seelng ls Lhe work of consLrucLlng
and malnLalnlng LexLual ecologles of Lhe pasL and seelng whaL has noL yeL been made. 8uL l
began Lo Lhlnk, as l read Lhe lnLroducLlon: 1ranslaLlng LlsLenlng lnLo Language and AcLlon",
ueflnlng 8heLorlcal LlsLenlng", and Lavesdropplng: A 1acLlc for LlsLenlng Lo Scholarly
ulscourses" chapLers from krlsLa 8aLcllffe's !"#$%&'()* ,'-$#.'./0 12#.$'3'()$'%.4 5#.2#&4
6"'$#.#--, LhaL whlle belng vlslble, and able Lo be found, ls cruclal work, belng seen ls noL Lhe
same as belng heard. Whlle seelng ls more complex and lnLenL drlven Lhan looklng, belng heard
seems Lo consLlLuLe more of an acknowledgemenL, lf noL a response. 1he manner ln whlch
8aLcllffe descrlbes rheLorlcal llsLenlng, parLlcularly her concepL of eavesdropplng, operaLes wlLh
aural sense, buL ln whlch l also see an aLLenLlon Lo seelng, she descrlbes eavesdropplng as an
eLhlcal LacLlc for reslsLlng lnvlslblllLy of gendered whlLeness ln scholarly dlscourses wlLhln
rheLorlc and composlLlon, and a mode of Lhlnklng abouL hlsLory LhaL shlfLs focus from orlglns Lo
usage (103). 1o be heard ls Lo be seen and llsLened Lo Lhrough Lhe exposure of dysfuncLlons and
agencles LhaL have been supporLed or LhwarLed based on power and prlvllege. 8aLcllffe makes
clear LhaL eavesdropplng ls noL an easy acLlon buL requlres poslLlonlng oneself Lo hear boLh
oneself and oLhers whlle belng careful noL Lo dlsrupL agency ln anoLher's dlscourse, lL requlres
sLandlng ln an uncomforLable poslLlon beLween knowlng and noL knowlng, buL llsLenlng Lo learn
Lhrough hearlng (106). 1hls ls noL knowledge made, buL ln maklng, 8aLcllffe (quoLlng Cemma
Corradl llumara) capLures Lhls maLLer by saylng LhaL Lhe more one llsLens Lhe more one ls
absorbed by an awareness of Lhe fraglllLy of our own docLrlnes" - Lo hear over Lhe edges of our
own knowlng, for Lhlnklng whaL cannoL be LhoughL wlLhln our own loglcs (107). l flnd my own
concerns audlble ln 8aLcllffe's LexL and wanL Lo ask of her, and of Lhose LhaL she has composed
her LexL from, how ls Lhls done? LlsLenlng Lo hear, l lmaglne ls as compllcaLed as looklng Lo see
- Lhese are noL passlve acLs. 1hese acLlons Lake seeklng Lhe unknown and worklng Lo
undersLand from wlLhln lL. ls kalros (Llmellness) Lhe gulde? WhaL of meLanola (mlssed
opporLunlLy)? Are Lhese lnsLances heard Loo? Are Lhese echoes - ls Lhls a maLLer of Lhe pasL noL
belng pasL, buL wlLhln our ldenLlflcaLlon, mlsldenLlflcaLlon, and non-ldenLlflcaLlon (107)? l
wonder, lf we haven'L aLLuned our ears Lo volces ofLen overheard, lf we haven'L seen whaL
exlsLs ln shadow behlnd/beneaLh/aslde from whaL ls lllumlnaLed, how Lhese people, places,
hlsLorles are Lo be seen and heard?