\u201cIt is time to look to a new mapping of rhetorical activity, one that acknowledges advances in our understanding of language, semiotics, human development, technology, and society\u201d (<\/b>Prior et al<\/b><\/a>, 2007).<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Gonzales and DeVoss use Prior et al to push against the traditional view of rhetoric, which tends to be focused on linguistic texts and producer-centric. Instead, Gonzales and DeVoss encourage us to see rhetoric as a constellating of examples, always multimodal, and utilizing a variety of semiotic resources.<\/p>\n To respond to the challenge posed by Prior et al, Gonzales and DeVoss focus on the intersection of graphic design, civic engagement, and rhetorical theory to reimagine the rhetorical canon. \u00a0Like DeVoss explained, graphic design scholars have used rhetorical theory to inform their theory and pedagogy. \u00a0In fact, DeVoss showed an example of how graphic designers have used rhetorical theory in a book entitled, \u201cDesign Papers: A Rhetorical Handbook\u201d (Figure 1). \u00a0 Because it is uncommon for rhetoric scholars to take up graphic design theory, DeVoss took this opportunity to encourage reading more of this scholarship, particularly of Ellen Lupton<\/a>.<\/p>\n After explaining the reasonings behind why we might consider remixing the canon and discussing how graphic design theory might help us do that, Gonzales and DeVoss presented the following table:<\/p>\n This table underscores the complex, multimodal, and interactive nature of rhetoric. \u00a0It gives us first the traditional understandings of the canon and then redefines the understandings to be more in-line with our current theoretical understandings and pedagogical practices.<\/p>\n The presenters then used the sites of their own writing contexts — two undergraduate professional writing\u00a0classes at MSU — as examples of this remixed cannon in action. DeVoss began with an overview of her\u00a0undergraduate Visual Rhetoric course.\u00a0In her course, she students first researched their intended productions and then produced their texts based on the research they found. In this process, their meticulous research in the \u201cinvention\u201d stage helped them later play with organization and style and eventually create memorable, functional projects.<\/p>\n Gonzales then explained how she used this conception of a remixed cannon in her Introduction to Professional Writing course. She began by explaining how we need to combine and adapt the rhetorical cannon with our own communities of practice. Gonzales does this by effectively mapping the remixed rhetorical canons onto elements of the \u201cEngaging Literacies: Civic Engagement Model\u201d developed by Dr. Estrella Torrez at Michigan State University<\/a>. Torrez defines Civic Engagement through the interaction of passion, action, practice, and insight (Figure 2). Unlike many rhetoric courses that only have the exigency of a writing prompt, Gonzales created a community partnership with Dr. Torrez’s Nuestros Cuentos <\/a>project. Nuestros Cuentos is a collaborative initiative\u00a0that connects college students with local youth in Lansing. The purpose of the collaboration is to highlight the\u00a0histories and stories of Indigenous and Latin@ youth in the Lansing School District. Through this partnership, students in Gonzales’ class both learned from Dr. Torrez and her project and engaged\u00a0in meaningful projects that allowed them to learn how to build and maintain relationships.<\/p>\n![\"Design](\"http:\/\/www.digitalrhetoriccollaborative.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Slide11-300x225.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Engaging](\"http:\/\/www.digitalrhetoriccollaborative.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Slide2-300x225.jpg\")
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