Monthly Archives: January 2006

word of the day – irenic

I never knew what irenic meant until yesterday. According to dictionary.com, it means “Promoting peace; conciliatory.” If I recall Walter Ong right, he’s concerned that our culture is becoming too irenic. That is, we are too concerned with being conciliatory. … Continue reading

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conversations with Sara

Conversations with Sara Jameson are always nice to have. We talked about agonism in display, or more to the point, what is argument? Is argument good? Is argument always agonistic? We talked about the necessity of conflict in society. When … Continue reading

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from Enos’s Encyclopedia

Reynolds, John Frederick. “Delivery.” Ed. Theresa Enos. Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition: Communication from Ancient Times to the Information Age. New York: Garland, 1996. 172-173. Reynolds writes: Delivery, however, is the more readily revived of rhetoric’s two “problem canons,” both … Continue reading

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boys will be boys?

In Fighting for Life, Walter Ong states “Boys will be boys” (52). Of course, he is right to a degree, but this statement is used all to often to legitimize dangerous, aggressive, antagonistic behavior from boys to other boys and … Continue reading

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quotes and my thoughts on Ong’s “Contest and Other Adversatives”

Here are some quotes and some of my thoughts as I read Chapter 1 of Fighting for Life by Walter Ong. “The biological side of our nature is nothing to be ashamed of.” (10) “Contest is a part of human … Continue reading

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