What is consubstantiation?
Many of you know about my appreciation of Kenneth Burke's ideas, particularly that of consubstantiation and how that works within the realm of rhetoric. Burke develops the notion of consubstantiation to explain the bond between text and audience and deems consubstantiation to have taken place when person A joins interests with person B, if only for a brief period of time (Rhetoric of Motives 20). When these two act together, Burke states, they have common sensations, concepts, images, ideas, and attitudes (21). To me, this is the essence of those "teachable moments" in my classroom. We were all "in sync," and I could see that, for that period of time, the students were making meaning and connections on a deeper level.Just like teachers talk about the "teachable moment," Burke believed consubstantiation to be the goal of rhetoric, thinking that all share an unconscious desire to identify with others, or be consubstantial with others (Blakesley Elements 15). We cannot truly be consubstantial long-term, but we can identify with another for a period of time and share that person’s ideas and attitudes, even if we have been manipulated to do so (16). Burke cites a number of techniques to create identification or consubstantiation, but the aim of all of them is to exploit and manipulate areas of ambiguity to “foster” consubstantiation (Blakesley Terministic Screens 13). An ambiguous situation, by definition, carries multiple interpretations. Providing an interpretation for an ambiguous situation in a way that guides the reader to identifying with one point of view over another is a rhetorical strategy to create consubstantiation between the reader and one character or situation over another.
In fiction, Burke argues that writers employ specific forms and universal patterns to create consubstantiation (Counterstatement 48). Forms arouse desires and then later fulfills those desires (124). Consubstantiation strives to form a bond, believing that attention to the ideas and concepts of the character or rhetorician follows the establishing of such a bond.
How can we foster consubstantiation? How does that apply to learning?
1. Repetitive Forms
One such form to create consubstantiation is repetitive form. For Burke, repetitive form means “maintaining principles under new guises” (125) as well as repeating the same word or image over and over again. As an example of this, Burke cites Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels . Gulliver’s experiences show the repetition, Burke cites, of contrasts, as in each place Gulliver contrasts to the people he finds in different ways, and each contrast creates consubstantiation with Gulliver and commentary on society as a whole (125). Another example of repetitive form would be structures like the play within the play in Hamlet. Hamlet’s play “The Mouse Trap” repeats the plots and betrayals the audience (and Hamlet) learned from the Ghost. Betrayal resulting in the need for a son to avenge his father appears in Shakespeare’s play three different times, also reflecting repetition, as Fortinbras, Laertes, and Hamlet all struggle with murdered fathers and the need to find a way to show their duty as sons. While the nature of the murder of these fathers is very different, it is the repetition of the form of a son of a murdered father that encourages the audience to think on a larger scale about issues such as duty and revenge.
What does that mean for learning? To me, as teachers this means:
- We need to be cognizant of our repetitive forms. This can include our routines, protocols for certain experiences, and even our words and phrases. Do all of these things create an environment that could produce consubstantiation? If so, we are on the right track. If not, how can we change or modify?
What kinds of messages do we repeat? If they are mostly negative with big red font, the student is not as likely to reach out and be open.
- We need to be intentional about repetitive forms that are most likely to create an environment that could produce those teachable moments. When they happen in our classes, what were we doing? What were the students doing? What moved the moment beyond the mundane and into the place where profound meaning can happen? Those things can be replicated with care and when we take the time to know our students and communicate with them often. Even in an online setting, students should not be able to hide in a course or feel invisible. Too many reports show the need for a strong teacher/student and student/student relationship for the student to feel the class was a good experience and even for students to feel they learned something in the course.
2. Conventional forms
Conventional forms show consubstantiation when the text meets categorical expectations (126). In this form, Burke uses the example of the sonnet (139). When a reader hears that a poem is a sonnet, he or she expects certain conventions of the form, including a certain length, possible rhyme schemes and even general topics. The reader’s preconceived notion of the sonnet creates a bond between the reader and the sonnet about to be read. If the sonnet varies too much from the conventional idea of sonnet, the reader can, even unconsciously, disconnect from the poem, thus breaking the bond (126). Another example of conventional form would be the Shakespearean tragedy. Audience members expect a tragic hero, with a tragic flaw, and a high body count by the end of a play with a minor character left to restore balance for the greater society. If the play does not follow the prescriptions of the tragedy, the audience member’s expectations do not meet with the performance, and the audience can disengage.
What does that mean for learning? To me, as teachers this means:
- Structure is important. When we find that optimal structure, students count on that as they enter our course, be it physically or online. Providing students with the opportunity to shape that structure would be optimal, as it would give them a sense of ownership and investment on how the course works. This structure moves beyond the classroom as well. Consistency in style, resources, and other elements of online courses can help the student transition easily from one course to another and already feel a sense of familiarity.
- Get to know the students. We can't assume expectations about a course, learning, or prior knowledge. One of the things I loved about teaching in one of the most diverse campuses in our area was this element. We could not assume. We had to build our knowledge together, share our expectations and agree on them, and then work towards building learning together.
3. Minor Forms
Burke includes minor forms, which he calls incidental forms, that also help create consubstantiation. Some of these include “metaphor, paradox, disclosure, reversal, contraction, expansion, bathos, and apostrophe” (127). For one of these devices to be considered a minor form in the design for consubstantiation, the employment of the form must aid in the building of an identification between reader and text. For example, a character could use apostrophe to talk to a car or a computer that stops working. This may help forge identification between reader and character because many readers can identify with a similar situation. Because many readers are dependent on cars and computers, this use of apostrophe shows the reader that the character is equally dependent on these things as well.
What does that mean for learning? To me, as teachers this means:
- Threading - Providing an engaging thread to tie the course together will help students always see how what we are doing relates to a bigger picture, a larger question, or a process of reflection. With the thread in place, the teacher can make those connections initially then encourage the students to find the connections as the course progresses. The thread needs to be relevant to students and written in student vernacular for optimal success. If a course is built around questioning the American Dream, for example, each unit should explore this thread in new ways.
- Relevance - For Burke, the minor forms only contribute to consubstantiation when they aid in building this connection. This means that our choices of images, examples, video clips, etc. need to be aimed at building a connection with the student, us, and the learning. My children have shown me all too many times that what I find engaging and interesting may not be engaging and interesting to them, hence why sometimes the consider listening to NPR a punishment...
Barriers to Consubstantiation
Even with all of the forms possible to build consubstantiation, the reader may stay disconnected from the textual situation. Burke cites a few possible reasons for such a disconnect, which would require more effort on the part of the rhetorician to reach out to the audience.1. Ideological Variation
One reason includes a variation in ideology (172). If the audience does not agree with the ideology of the text, the writer has to work harder to overcome this gap. Advocating polytheism in a monotheistic society, for example, would be a hurdle some audience members would struggle to overcome. Such a character trait would also make it hard to identify with the main characters. For identification to take place, the writer would have to enhance the ways the character does connect with the audience, such as through other values, beliefs, and attitudes.
What does that mean for learning? To me, as teachers this means:
- Get to know our students, no matter the environment- The more we know about them, the more we can design learning experiences for them that address and overcome such barriers. This means going beyond the surveys at the beginning of the year (not that those do not help) and connecting with them to find out who they are, what they care about, and where they want to go in life.
- Address the elephant in the room - if a topic or character under study differs greatly from their sensibilities, do not shy away from that. Let students talk about the disconnect and help them process. Show them other areas for identification, and help them foster connections in other ways.
2. Remoteness
Another reason could be remoteness of the patterns (172). Burke states that patterns are universals, but the individual potentialities to express those patterns are not (48). If the pattern expresses itself in remote ways, such as in an ancient setting, the audience would not immediately identify with the causes or characters in the text. Stories with “quaintness, absurdity, typicality, rarity, or picturesqueness” can overcome this barrier, however, because audience members may be more drawn to the text because of those qualities (175). An example would be Beowulf, because it is the only Anglo-Saxon version of an epic poem, which makes the poem rare and very remote.
What does that mean for learning? To me, as teachers this means:
- Find the relevance in the remote material. What echoes of Beowulf, for example, exist today? One thing I bring up that connects with students the most is the ritualistic nature and symbolism of gift giving in the medieval period (also replicated in Tolkien's work - I talk about that in this book). I'd start by asking them to reflect for a few minutes on an awkward experience around a gift. Had they ever, for example, had a gift for someone that was not reciprocated as expected? How did that feel? Why do we feel the way we do about gifts? This idea of echoes shows students that remote material still matters and shapes us today.
- Choose intentionally - When looking at remote material, be sure that all students need to experience that content for a reason. If the reason does not fit in with the thread, main questions, and overall direction of the course, it may be time to remove that material. If the reason does fit, then employ more forms to generate interest. Find a relevant and engaging hook. Place in moments for students to make meaningful connections to their own lives.
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Blakesley, David. The Elements of Dramatism. New York: Longman, 2001. Print.
----- The Terministic Screen: Rhetorical Perspectives on Film . Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois UP, 2007. Print.
Burke, Kenneth. Counter-Statement. Berkeley: University of California, 1931. Print.
----- A Rhetoric of Motives. Berkeley: University of California, 1974. Print.
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