07.03.06 - Holiday in the Topics

What are the topoi, basically, and why are they important in what you teach or where you work?

The topoi were the commonplaces in which rhetoricians could find support, that is existing arguments or proofs, for the arguments they made in their own speeches. Originally referring to an actual place in which papyrus scrolls were stored, the term came to simply mean the more conceptual place where a rhetorician would obtain the proof. Basically, these topoi are stock proofs that can be used repeatedly as sources, actually re-sources.

The way in which topoi are important to where I work and/or teach is really twofold. First, I think of the way that we use existing writings to support our arguments. When a scholar writes a piece that others find relevant and useful to their own arguments, these other writers cite sections of the work. The stronger a certain piece is, the more it can be applied to other theories and used again and again. For example, Carolyn Miller’s “A Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing” is one of the more common topoi used in the technical communication fields. It is an article that I seem to find cited almost as often as it is not cited in important articles. Miller’s article presents a strong argument (proof) that many technical communicators can apply to their own arguments.

The way in which topoi are important to where I/we teach and work is that they can be used as a sort of set of heuristics to help us consistently model projects, assignments, writings, etc. In this way, we can ask certain questions of a situation in order to help us create the item.

When one goes to create a document for a client, or for in-house purposes, there are certain questions that are asked:
• Who is the audience?
• What is the purpose?
• What is the delivery method?

When we, as instructors, create assignments for students there are certain questions that are asked:
• What is the goal of the assignment?
• similarly, What is the learning objective?
• What resources will be available to the students?
• What content should be delivered to the students to prepare them for the assignment?

While not all questions may apply to every situation, if there is a set list of questions (topoi), it is likely that many of the questions will apply and, in answering them, the writer/instructor can create a stronger argument and more consistent document.