DOCSLIB.ORG

Persuasion in the Rhetorical Tradition

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Persuasion in the Rhetorical Tradition CHAPTER 1 Persuasion in the Rhetorical Tradition J. Michael Hogan he study of persuasion can be traced In this chapter, I survey the rhetorical tradi- back to ancient Greece, the birthplace of tion with a view toward illuminating some of T both rhetoric and democracy. As Dillard the differing, even competing, perspectives on and Pfau (2002) noted in the first edition of The persuasion over the long history of rhetorical Persuasion Handbook, Aristotle “provided the studies. In the process I highlight two cultural first comprehensive theory of rhetorical dis- imperatives that help to account for the emphasis course” (p. ix) in the fifth century BCE, and on politics and ethics in the Western rhetorical persuasion was central to that theory. Yet per- tradition: (1) the need to educate for citizenship, suasion has not always been at the center of and (2) an ongoing debate over the rules or rhetorical theory. During the Enlightenment, norms of democratic deliberation. In the rhe- the scope of rhetoric broadened to include aes- torical tradition, these two imperatives link the thetic and psychological concerns, rendering study of rhetoric to democratic theory, inspiring persuasion secondary to considerations of normative conceptions of persuasion that “taste” and “sympathy.” More recently, narra- emphasize the responsibilities that go along with tive and dramatistic theories of rhetoric have the right of free speech in a democracy. By sur- emphasized identity or “identification” over veying how rhetorical theorists historically have persuasion, and some rhetorical scholars have distinguished responsible or legitimate free even denounced persuasion as a mechanism of speech from propaganda and demagoguery, “control and domination” (Foss & Griffin, 1995, I illuminate the intimate connections between p. 2). Still, persuasion has remained a dominant rhetorical theories of persuasion and democracy theme in the rhetorical tradition, with two itself. broad concerns distinguishing the rhetorical I begin by revisiting the classical/humanistic perspective from more scientific or empirical roots of the rhetorical tradition, from the soph- approaches to persuasion: a focus on the politi- ists of ancient Greece to the Roman rhetoricians, cal or civic contexts of persuasion, and an over- Cicero and Quintilian. I then sketch the history riding emphasis on ethical concerns. of rhetorical theory through modern times, 2 Chapter 1. Persuasion in the Rhetorical Tradition——3 including the attack on rhetoric in the early The Concept of Persuasion modern period and the impact of the belletristic in Rhetorical Theory and elocutionary movements on rhetorical the- ory. Finally, I consider more recent developments The story of rhetoric’s roots in ancient Greece in rhetorical theory, including the influence of has been told many times—and for a variety of Burkean “dramatism,” the rise of social move- purposes. For generations, that story was used to ment studies, and the “postmodern” challenge to justify speech programs in American colleges and the rhetorical tradition. As we shall see, many of universities. At the height of the Cold War, for these more recent developments have been cast example, W. Norwood Brigance, one of the pio- as alternatives to the classical/humanistic tradi- neers of the American speech discipline, invoked tion of persuasion (indeed, some have challenged rhetoric’s ancient roots to argue that the teaching the very idea of a “rhetorical tradition”). Yet of speech was one of the distinguishing marks of despite these various challenges, the classical tra- a free society. Democracy and the “system of dition’s emphasis on the ethics of civic persua- speechmaking were born together,” Brigance sion remains strong in contemporary rhetorical (1961) wrote, and since ancient times “we have theory and criticism. never had a successful democracy unless a large In the second section of the chapter, I reflect part, a very large part, of its citizens were effec- on the distinctive contributions of the American tive, intelligent, and responsible speakers.” tradition of rhetoric and public address to the According to Brigance, there were only two kinds theory and practice of persuasion. Surveying the of people in the modern world: “Those who in linkages between America’s great experiment in disagreements and crises want to shoot it out, and democracy and evolving attitudes toward rheto- those who have learned to talk it out.” Brigance ric and persuasion, I begin by recalling how the concluded that if America hoped to remain a founders’ constitutional design reflected a vision “government by talk,” it needed leaders who of a deliberative democracy grounded in neo- knew how to talk “effectively, intelligently, and classical rhetorical theory. I then trace how the responsibly,” as well as citizens trained to “listen American rhetorical tradition evolved during and judge” (pp. 4–5). the so-called golden age of American oratory, as Since Brigance’s day, revisionist scholars have Jacksonian democracy brought a more populist told and “retold” rhetoric’s story to advance a rhetorical style to American politics and the variety of agendas. In Rereading the Sophists, for debate over slavery tested the limits of civic per- example, Jarratt (1991) reconsidered the Greek suasion. I next consider the revival of the Amer- sophists from a feminist perspective and con- ican rhetorical tradition during the Progressive cluded that they were more progressive in their Era, as new media, changing demographics, and thinking about “social needs” (p. 28) than most a culture of professionalization revolutionized of the more prominent figures in the classical the way Americans talked about politics and tradition. In Jarratt’s rereading of the tradition, gave rise to a new “science” of mass persuasion. the sophists provided an alternative to patriar- Finally, I reflect on the impact of new electronic chal rhetoric by privileging “imaginative recon- media and the relationship between television structions” over “empirical data” (p. 13) and by and the decline of civic discourse in the closing broadening the purview of rhetoric beyond decades of the 20th century. I conclude with canonical texts. The sophists also modeled a some brief reflections on the contemporary cri- more collaborative and democratic model of sis of democracy in America and the efforts of a rhetorical education, according to Jarratt—one new, interdisciplinary deliberative democracy more consistent with today’s best research on movement to revive the public sphere. critical pedagogy and “social cognition” (p. 92). 4——PART I. Fundamental Issues The sophists were no doubt important to the In the master narrative of the rhetorical tradi- rhetorical tradition. But so, too, were Plato, Aris- tion, Plato’s student, Aristotle, rescued rhetoric’s totle, and the great Roman rhetoricians, Cicero reputation by devising an “amoral” or “morally and Quintilian. It is important to recognize that neutral” theory focused purely on techné, or the no single paradigm defines the classical rhetori- mechanics of persuasive speaking. Leaving ethi- cal tradition. Rather, that tradition consists of cal questions to the philosophers, Aristotle ongoing debates over the philosophical status of defined rhetoric as the faculty of “discovering in rhetoric, the best methods of rhetorical educa- the particular case . the available means of per- tion, and the aims, scope, power, and ethics of suasion” (Cooper, 1932, p. 7), and he recognized rhetoric—indeed, over the very definition of that this power “could be used either for good or “rhetoric” itself. Yet even as we recognize the rhe- ill” (Kennedy, 1991, p. ix). While Aristotle torical tradition itself as a dynamic and ongoing refrained from grand moral pronouncements, set of controversies, we can identify two empha- however, he did infuse his rhetorical theory with ses in the classical tradition that have distin- a strong ethical or normative component. Empha- guished the rhetorical perspective ever since: sizing moral character as a key element in per- (1) an emphasis on the role of persuasion in suasion and celebrating reasoned argument over politics and civic life, and (2) an overriding con- appeals to the emotions, Aristotle’s rhetoric was cern with the moral character of the speaker and hardly morally neutral about what constituted the ethics of persuasion. responsible persuasion in civic life. Moreover, his vision of civic persuasion demanded broad learn- ing in philosophy, history, literature, and human The Ancient Tradition psychology. For Aristotle, rhetoric was not only a moral but also an architectonic art, encompass- The sophists were the original professors of ing all realms of humanistic and scientific rhetoric in Greece, and they initiated a long tradi- understanding. tion of teaching speech and persuasion as educa- Similarly, Isocrates, one of the later sophists, tion for citizenship. As Hunt (1965) noted, the responded to Plato’s attack on rhetoric by reject- original sophists were professional teachers who ing both the empty and commercialized speech helped meet the need for rhetorical and civic of his fellow sophists and the abstract philoso- training in Athens, and the term “sophist” initially phizing of Plato and the Socratics. Rather than referred to “any man . thought to be learned” mere techné, Isocrates viewed rhetoric as a means (p. 71). Over time, however, the sophists acquired for educating students to “think and speak noble, a negative reputation as arrogant and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Brief Overview of Literary Criticism Literary Critical Theory Is a Tool That
    A Brief Overview of Literary Criticism Woman Reading Book in a Landscape, Camille Corot Literary Critical Theory is a tool that helps you find meaning in stories, poems and plays. There are many different ways to interpret a novel or short story. When we read literature, we do so to learn more about: ● The human condition ● The experience of loss and death ● The structure of power in society and how it is implemented (including the issues that surround race and gender). ● The psychology of characters and individuals in general ● The sociology and history of cultures that produce specific pieces of literature Literary Theory helps us discover the things listed above in the books and stories we read. So how do you use theory to read a book? Before exploring, in brief, different theories, it is important to develop a reading strategy that will help you form ideas. You should keep a reading notebook and write down ideas and information as you read. Here is a checklist of things to notice: ● Title. How does it pertain to the story? Does it symbolize events or people in the story? ● Narration: Who is telling the story? How does the narrator approach the topic? ● Subject: What is the basic situation? What is happening to the characters and how are they reacting to events? ● Mood: What is the mood of the story, i.e. the emotional background? How is it expressed in the language and setting? ● Characters: What do the characters learn in the course of the story? What are their failings and how do they overcome them, or not? What is the main character’s desire? Is that desire ever fulfilled? How does the main character change? ● Character Interaction: How do the characters interact in the story? How do they communicate with each other? How do they handle conflict? ● Plot: What are the main events in the plot that lead the character to new insights, or to his or her failure? When you read a book, you can highlight the passages that strike you as significant.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise and Fall of Self-Esteem: a Critical Review, Reconceptualization, and Recommendations
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Pepperdine Digital Commons Pepperdine University Pepperdine Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations 2015 The rise and fall of self-esteem: a critical review, reconceptualization, and recommendations Tamara Shawn Levy Eromo Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd Recommended Citation Eromo, Tamara Shawn Levy, "The rise and fall of self-esteem: a critical review, reconceptualization, and recommendations" (2015). Theses and Dissertations. 598. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/598 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected] , [email protected]. Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology THE RISE AND FALL OF SELF-ESTEEM: A CRITICAL REVIEW, RECONCEPTUALIZATION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS A clinical dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Psychology by Tamara Shawn Levy Eromo July, 2015 David A. Levy, Ph.D. – Dissertation Chairperson This clinical dissertation, written by Tamara Shawn Levy Eromo under the guidance of a Faculty Committee and approved by its members, has been submitted to and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY Doctoral Committee: David A. Levy, Ph.D., Chairperson Dity Brunn, Psy.D. Anat Cohen, Ph.D. © Copyright by Tamara Shawn Levy Eromo (2015) All Rights Reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Decline of Literary Criticism
    University of Chicago Law School Chicago Unbound Journal Articles Faculty Scholarship 2008 The Decline of Literary Criticism Richard A. Posner Follow this and additional works at: https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/journal_articles Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Richard A. Posner, "The Decline of Literary Criticism," 32 Philosophy and Literature 385 (2008). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Chicago Unbound. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal Articles by an authorized administrator of Chicago Unbound. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Critical Discussion THE DECLINE OF LITERARY CRITICISM by Richard A. Posner ónán McDonald, a lecturer in literature at the University of R Reading, has written a short, engaging book the theme of which is evident from the title: The Death of the Critic. Although there is plenty of both academic and journalistic writing about literature, less and less is well described by the term “literary criticism.” The literary critics of the first two-thirds or so of the twentieth century, now dead, including poets and other creative writers, such as T. S. Eliot, journalists such as Edmund Wilson, and academic literary critics, as distinct from literary scholars, such as F. R. Leavis in England and Cleanth Brooks in the United States, have so few successors that the very genre, if not yet dead, is moribund.1 McDonald deplores the decline of literary criticism and seeks to explain its causes. In place of literary criticism, McDonald (and many others, such as John Ellis) argue, we have postmodern literary theory, an animal of quite a different color from literary criticism.2 “Texts .
    [Show full text]
  • Poor Narcissus by Darlene Lancer, LMFT
    Poor Narcissus By Darlene Lancer, LMFT The gods sentenced him to a life without human love. He fell in love with his own reflection in pool of water and died hungering for its response. Like Narcissus, narcissists only love themselves as reflected in the eyes of others. It’s a common misconception that they love themselves. They actually dislike themselves immensely. Their inflated self-flattery, perfectionism, and arrogance are merely covers for the self-loathing they don’t admit–usually even to themselves. Instead, it’s projected outwards in their disdain for and criticism of others. They’re too afraid to look at themselves, because they believe that the truth would be devastating. Actually, they don’t have much of a Self at all. Emotionally, they’re dead inside and they hunger to be filled and validated by others. Sadly, they’re unable to appreciate the love they do get and alienate those who give it. Diagnosis All personality traits, including narcissism, range from mild to severe. Narcissism can be viewed on a continuum from mature to archaic. Mature individuals are able to idealize romantic partners, express their talents and skills, and accomplish their goals, while employing only neurotic defenses; a middle group has unstable boundaries and employ borderline defenses; and those highly sensitive to wounding, employ destructive, psychotic defenses and have unstable relationships (Solomon, 1989). Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), first categorized as a disorder by the American Psychiatric Association in 1987, occurs in 1 to 6.2 percent of the population; males exceed females at a ratio of 3:2 (Dhawan, 2010; McClean, 2007).
    [Show full text]
  • The Hegemony of Psychopathy
    THE HEGEMONY OF PSYCHOPATHY Before you start to read this book, take this moment to think about making a donation to punctum books, an independent non-profit press, @ https://punctumbooks.com/support/ If you’re reading the e-book, you can click on the image below to go directly to our donations site. Any amount, no matter the size, is appreciated and will help us to keep our ship of fools afloat. Contributions from dedicated readers will also help us to keep our commons open and to cultivate new work that can’t find a welcoming port elsewhere. Our adventure is not possible without your support. Vive la open-access. Fig. 1. Hieronymus Bosch, Ship of Fools (1490–1500) The Hegemony of Psychopathy Lajos Brons Brainstorm Books Santa Barbara, California The hegemony of psychopathy. Copyright © 2017 Lajos Brons. This work carries a Creative Commons by-nc-sa 4.0 International license, which means that you are free to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, and you may also remix, transform, and build upon the material, as long as you clearly attribute the work to the authors and editors (but not in a way that suggests the authors or punctum books endorses you and your work), you do not use this work for commercial gain in any form whatsoever, and that for any remixing and transformation, you distribute your rebuild under the same license. http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ First published in 2017 by Brainstorm Books A division of punctum books, Earth, Milky Way www.punctumbooks.com isbn-13: 978-1-947447-16-5 (print) isbn-13: 978-1-947447-17-2 (epdf) lccn: 2017952337 Library of Congress Cataloging Data is available from the Library of Congress Book design: Kyra Curry, Kristen McCants, & Jessica Morales Cover design: Athena Tan Cover image: Chad Person, “Kraken,” 2012 Contents Preface • 13 1.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Birmingham Moving the Goalposts
    University of Birmingham Moving the goalposts Gillborn, David; Demack, Sean; Rollock, Nicola; Warmington, Paul DOI: 10.1002/berj.3297 Document Version Peer reviewed version Citation for published version (Harvard): Gillborn, D, Demack, S, Rollock, N & Warmington, P 2017, 'Moving the goalposts: education policy and 25 years of the Black/White achievement gap', British Educational Research Journal, vol. 43, no. 5, pp. 848-874. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3297 Link to publication on Research at Birmingham portal Publisher Rights Statement: Checked for eligibility: 08/06/2017 This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Gillborn, D., Demack, S., Rollock, N. and Warmington, P. (2017), Moving the goalposts: Education policy and 25 years of the Black/White achievement gap. Br Educ Res J. doi:10.1002/berj.3297, which has been published in final form at 10.1002/berj.3297. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. General rights Unless a licence is specified above, all rights (including copyright and moral rights) in this document are retained by the authors and/or the copyright holders. The express permission of the copyright holder must be obtained for any use of this material other than for purposes permitted by law. •Users may freely distribute the URL that is used to identify this publication. •Users may download and/or print one copy of the publication from the University of Birmingham research portal for the purpose of private study or non-commercial research. •User may use extracts from the document in line with the concept of ‘fair dealing’ under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (?) •Users may not further distribute the material nor use it for the purposes of commercial gain.
    [Show full text]
  • Anatomy of Criticism with a New Foreword by Harold Bloom ANATOMY of CRITICISM
    Anatomy of Criticism With a new foreword by Harold Bloom ANATOMY OF CRITICISM Four Essays Anatomy of Criticism FOUR ESSAYS With a Foreword by Harold Bloom NORTHROP FRYE PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON AND OXFORD Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 3 Market Place, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1SY Copyright © 1957, by Princeton University Press All Rights Reserved L.C. Card No. 56-8380 ISBN 0-691-06999-9 (paperback edn.) ISBN 0-691-06004-5 (hardcover edn.) Fifteenth printing, with a new Foreword, 2000 Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Council of the Humanities, Princeton University, and the Class of 1932 Lectureship. FIRST PRINCETON PAPERBACK Edition, 1971 Third printing, 1973 Tenth printing, 1990 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) {Permanence of Paper) www.pup.princeton.edu 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 Printed in the United States of America HELENAE UXORI Foreword NORTHROP FRYE IN RETROSPECT The publication of Northrop Frye's Notebooks troubled some of his old admirers, myself included. One unfortunate passage gave us Frye's affirmation that he alone, of all modern critics, possessed genius. I think of Kenneth Burke and of William Empson; were they less gifted than Frye? Or were George Wilson Knight or Ernst Robert Curtius less original and creative than the Canadian master? And yet I share Frye's sympathy for what our current "cultural" polemicists dismiss as the "romantic ideology of genius." In that supposed ideology, there is a transcendental realm, but we are alienated from it.
    [Show full text]
  • What Is Domestic Violence?
    What is Domestic Violence? Chris Moles Definitions: “A pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone.” “An abuse of power, manifested through selfishly motivated patterns of behavior intended to exercise or maintain control over one's partner." The Motivation - Power and Control The Power and Control Wheel was developed by the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project in Duluth, MN, to show the physical, sexual, emotional, and financial tactics that batterers use to control their victims. Some Things to Consider Power and control are at the hub of the wheel because they are at the center of violent relationships. Domestic violence is not caused by one or both parties being drunk, high, stressed out, or angry. Abusers want power and control over their victims and they will use any means they can to do so. (James 4:1-4) Each spoke of the wheel represents a category of abusive tactics, ranging from emotional abuse to economic abuse to use of children. Although every violent relationship is different, they share many of these tactics in common. (Luke 6:43-45) The rim of the wheel represents physical and sexual violence. Although some abusive relationships do not include the reality of physical and sexual violence, the threat is always there for the victim and the fear that goes along with that threat can be a powerful motivator for the victim to stay in the relationship.
    [Show full text]
  • Workplace Bullying
    Workplace Bullying Defined: Workplace bullying refers to repeated, unreasonable actions of individuals (or a group) directed towards an employee (or a group of employees), which is intended to intimidate and creates a risk to the health and safety of the employee(s). Workplace bullying often involves an abuse or misuse of power. Bullying includes behavior that intimidates, degrades, offends, or humiliates a worker, often in front of others. Bullying behavior creates feelings of defenselessness in the target and undermines an individual’s right to dignity at work. Bullying is different from aggression. Whereas aggression may involve a single act, bullying involves repeated attacks against the target, creating an on-going pattern of behavior. “Tough” or “demanding” bosses are not necessarily bullies, as long as their primary motivation is to obtain the best performance by setting high expectations. Many bullying situations involve employees bullying their peers, rather than a supervisor bullying an employee. One study from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found that a quarter of the 516 private and public companies studied reported some occurrence of bullying in the preceding year. Examples of bullying: Unwarranted or invalid criticism. Blame without factual justification. Being treated differently than the rest of your work group. Being sworn at. Exclusion or social isolation. Being shouted at or being humiliated. Being the target of practical jokes. Excessive monitoring. What is a workplace bully? On its surface, bullying is a simple concept. A strong person acts harshly towards someone weaker, and the bullying is blatant and habitual. It includes browbeating and threatening, verbal abuse and yelling.
    [Show full text]
  • Genung's Theory of Persuasion: a Literary Theory of Oratory of Late Nineteenth-Century America
    University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Faculty Publications Communication Department 2004 Genung’s Theory of Persuasion: A Literary Theory of Oratory of Late Nineteenth-Century America William D. Harpine University of South Carolina - Aiken, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/ aiken_communications_facpub Part of the Communication Commons Publication Info Postprint version. Published in Advances in the History of Rhetoric, Volume 7, 2004, pages 31-43. © Advances in the History of Rhetoric, 2004, Taylor and Francis. Harpine, W. D. (2004). Genung's theory of persuasion: A literary theory of oratory of late nineteenth-century America. Advances in the history of Rhetoric, 7(1), 31-43. This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Advances in the History of Rhetoric, 2004, © Taylor & Francis, available online at:http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15362426.2004.10557224 DOI:10.1080/15362426.2004.10557224 This Article is brought to you by the Communication Department at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Genung‟s Theory of Persuasion 1 Revised 30 January 2004 Genung‟s Theory of Persuasion: A Literary Theory of Oratory of Late Nineteenth-Century America William D. Harpine School of Communication The University of Akron Akron OH 44325-1003 [email protected] 330-972-6219 An earlier version of this essay was presented to the American Society for the History of Rhetoric Interest Group at the Southern States Communication Association Convention, 6 April 2002.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Surveillance, Governmentality and Moving the Goalposts: the Influence of Ofsted on the Work of Schools in a Post-Panoptic Era
    Surveillance, governmentality and moving the goalposts: the influence of Ofsted on the work of schools in a post-panoptic era. Abstract This paper asks the question: to what extent do inspection regimes, particularly Ofsted, influence the work of a school, and how might that influence be conceptualised? It draws on an ESRC funded study of ‘policy enactments in secondary schools’ which was based on case-study work in four ‘ordinary’ schools. Here the data set is re-examined to understand the extent to which Ofsted had an ongoing influence on the work of the leadership, management and teachers in these schools. We undertook a process of secondary analysis of the data from the project and found that the influence of the inspection agenda was strong in the schools, policy decisions were often being made to conform to Ofsted’s expectations and the influence on leadership and management was clearly apparent. In resisting this agenda we also found that schools to some extent performed ‘the good school’ for inspections. Finally we relate this empirical evidence to conceptions of governmentality and post-panopticism to shed new light on their theoretical relevance to contemporary inspection regimes. 1 Surveillance, governmentality and moving the goal-posts: the influence of Ofsted on the work of schools in a post-panoptic era. Introduction This paper asks the question: to what extent do inspection regimes, particularly Ofsted, influence the work of a school, and how might that influence be conceptualised? It draws on an ESRC funded study of ‘policy enactments in secondary schools’ (RES- 062-23-1484), which was based on case-study work in four ‘ordinary’ schools.
    [Show full text]
  • Tackling Bullying at Work
    Organising for Health & Safety Tackling bullying at work A UNISON guide for safety reps Bullying at work guidelines 2 Contents Introduction 4 What is workplace bullying? 4 Bullying or harassment - is there a difference? 4 Recognising bullying 5 Examples of bullying behaviour 5 The cost of bullying 9 Workplace bullying and the law 10 The role of risk assessment 12 Negotiating a policy on bullying 14 Procedure for complaints 15 Representing a bullied member and an alleged bully when both are UNISON members 15 Access to counselling 15 Rehabilitation 15 Monitor and review 16 Checklist for safety representatives 16 Safety representatives’ rights 17 Advising bullied members 17 What branches can do 18 Appendix A - Draft branch bullying survey 19 Further information 22 3 Bullying at work guidelines Introduction What is workplace bullying? UNISON believes that everyone should be treated There is no simple definition of bullying because with dignity and respect at work. Bullying is totally it can take many different forms. It occurs in a unacceptable behaviour as it denies staff this right. variety of situations and crosses gender, race, Bullying at work is a major workplace problem that age and involve one or a number of individuals. makes the daily working lives of many workers However, UNISON has defined workplace bullying intolerable. Workplace bullying can lead to ill-health as persistent offensive, intimidating, humiliating and work-related stress, it affects morale and is behaviour, which attempts to undermine an the cause of untold misery to workers. individual or group of employees. This is bad for the workforce and bad for the Bullying is generally carried out face-to-face organisation, because workers affected by bullying but can also occur in writing by telephone, text may take long periods of sick leave or leave the messaging, email and on social media.
    [Show full text]