Final Research Project: Cross-cultural rhetorical analysis

Research question:

How does cultural identity and perception influence the rhetoric of logic? How do different cultures (French, American, Moroccan) overlap and diverge in their definitions of logic, and what factors cause such divergence?

Focus quote:

“We pick up a handful of sand from the endless landscape of awareness around us and call that handful of sand the world." – Robert Pirsig

Method:

Last year, I studied abroad in Grenoble, France for just over five months, and have read many prominent French classical rhetoricians such as Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau and Descartes. Tomorrow, I will be leaving for Zawiya Ahansal, a collection of rural villages in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and will be spending three weeks there teaching school children and mountain guides. Our group . For my final project, I will compare and contrast how cultural perspectives, belief systems and worldview can affect the rhetoric of logic. This topic intrigues me because I find the development of cultures both separately and in conjunction with one another is endlessly fascinating.

I will use the synthesis paper to begin my inquiry into the subject, and will likely focus on the way cultural influences alter perception, comprehension and the flow of logic for the Amazigh people of Aggudim and Amzeray. I’m guessing that I will write this paper in a more narrative fashion, relying upon quotes from Pirsig, Nye and Grassi to corroborate my points. In the final project, I’ll look into cultural differences in logic and decision making and how these are passed down and changed throughout generations.