Draft:Rhetorical Listening

Krista Ratcliffe coined the term rhetorical listening in the 21st century with the publication Rhetorical Listening: Identification, Gender, Whiteness (Studies in Rhetorics and Feminisms, after an interaction with a student during a rhetorical theory class. However, it is not a new concept. . Rhetorical listening is a person's positionality and willingness to engage in relation to another person, written work, or culture . The author takes a new perspective and expands on the idea through the act of listening in itself and its emphasis in the context of pedagogy, gender and race culture logics.

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Rhetorical listening is a concept that emphasizes the importance of active listening within the ancient art of discourse. Important elements of rhetorical listening include empathy, accountability, and critical reflection and appreciation of others' and your own lived experiences, including cultural content and context. It is often associated with gender studies, cross-cultural interaction and conduct, and pedagogy within the scope of engaging different perspectives. Rhetorical listening is taking the time to engage with what is being communicated and analyzing the connection to the perspective and person who is communicating without judgment.

Rhetorical listening is a tool commonly applied to social justice and advocacy but is influential in fostering cross-cultural and interpersonal communication in many different disciplines. The emphasis on identities and lived experiences impacts the foundation of engagement when communicating. There are three main components - identification, disidentification (disengaging of dominant cultural identities) and non-identification (disengaging of personal identities)