Rhetoric in democracy
Rhetoric as a citizenship exercise
Presented at the Brass’Art Digitaal Café in Molenbeek, this educational and artistic performance highlights a scientific discipline that is too rarely presented as such: rhetoric and the science of language.
Participants get to know each other by learning storytelling techniques through the sharing of anecdotes. They then practice the greatest challenge of rhetoric: paradoxical praise. It is about making beautiful and desirable what is generally considered ugly and shameful. By practicing this exercise, they develop a technical perspective on how the media make and break reputations, with a look of attention on the Molenbeek district and its media representation.
The objective of this workshop is to refine our democratic skills by providing everyone with a toolbox for public speaking but also to develop a more critical view of major social issues. The challenges of the workshop also allow participants to gain confidence in expressing their points of view.
The performance is the product of an experimental artistic-scientific residency between the GRAL (Research Group in Rhetoric and Linguistic Argumentation of the ULB) and David Scarpuzza, actor and director from Brussels.
Credits:
– Conception and realisation: Group GRAL ULB & David Scarpuzza
– Direction & acting: David Scarpuzza
– Scientific Direction: Group GRAL ULB
Presentation:
Printemps des Science at Brass’Art Digitaal Café 21-25 March 2018
