Blog Post- Ratcliffe

In Ratcliffe's article she expands upon Burke's theory of identification and continues to analyze the theory of rhetorical listening through different scenarios. Ratcliffe stated that rhetorical listening should be recognized as equally important in relation to others such as reading, writing, and speaking. Kenneth Burke utilizes identification as one of his main concepts in his analysis. Burke suggests to his readers that when an individual is trying to persuade someone, they must try to identify with the other persons perspective. The persuader must try and see the similarities and differences between themselves along with others.

                Ratcliffe expands upon Burke's theory in a multitude of ways by providing different examples of scenarios in which individuals are reacting to or attempting to relate to one another. One of the most apparent examples that related to Burke's theory of identification was when she cited the example from Lorde. In her article she cited Lorde, “If one Black woman I do not know gains hope and strength from my story, ten it has been worth the difficulty of telling” (A Burst of Light 295). In relation to this quote Ratcliffe then draws from a conversation with a student and she stated that by Lorde “specifying Black woman” in that statement it excluded her by “erasing commonalities among women.” This directly applies to Burke's theory because this example attempts to shed light on how by specifying one ethnicity, gender, or race it excludes the opportunity for cross-cultural dialogue.

                Both Burke and Ratcliffe’s theories are important to today's social climate. It is vital for individuals to put things into different perspectives and to engage in conversations that educate them on different issues other than their own. Whether the dialogue involves topics of gender, race, ethnicity or any other subject it is important to leave subjects open to discussion in relation others.