The Multimodality of Memory By Charles Slocumb

1. The Multimodality of Memory By Charles Slocumb

2. Introduction • The purpose of this is to educate those of what memory in rhetoric means and how it is multimodal using examples from both history and the modern age in a powerpoint. This will be briefly examined through writing, imagery, and audio, which are themselves different modes. First, however, the meaning of multimodality itself will be examined.

3. What is Multimodality? • Multimodality means that a subject is displayed in many “modes” (at least more than one). To first what multimodality means, we must first understand what modes and media are. • In Rhetoric, a “mode” would be a resource for representing a medium,. Examples of modes include writing, imagery, audio (music, speech), etc. • A “medium” is a means for distributing the modes. Examples include paper (print), books, screen (computer screen, TV screen, etc.), canvas (as in art), etc.

4. What is Memory in Rhetoric? • In the use of Rhetoric, memory is one the Five Canons. In its original form and meaning, called “memoria”, it is the use of mnemonics (memory aids and devices) and that would aid a person in remembering a speech. Despite having not been given much attention by rhetors, this did lead to the creation of devices such as the outline of a discourse’s major argument and is important due to the speaker’s audience knowing that the speaker was familiar in his or her areas of learning.

5. How is Memory Multimodal? • Memory, as Rhetoric understands it, has been displayed in various modes. One of the earliest modes would have to be by familiarization of oral tradition, which used an auditory medium (voice). This particular mode, which existed long before the Five Canons were recognized by rhetors, was used the most often before writing became prevalent in making arguments and discourses, and was used by as far back as Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece, but was used in later cultures as the Norse people. • With this mode, mnemonic devices, such as familiar words, phrases, sentences, and even songs and verses were used to familiarize the orators with ancient legends and stories, such as the stories of Homer in Ancient Greece and the Norse Sagas (both use epic poetry as an mnemonic device) for example, and also speeches. The video link below depicts an orator using an mnemonic device in order to make remembering speech easier. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67CyP0tdQmA

6. How is Memory Multimodal? (Continued) • Accompanying oral tradition as a mode of memory was the mode of imagery. A good example of this would be hieroglyphics, which is a prototype of writing that uses symbols, glyphs, and images used as mnemonics to familiarize the orators to the legends of both the Egyptian Gods and the pharaohs, and of various rituals, customs, and practices. This use of imagery is a particular system of media called hieroglyphics, which acted like a prototypical form of writing. Although prevalent in Ancient Egypt, this system to memorize stories and speeches was used by other ancient people as well, such as Ancient China, Crete, the Mayan Empire, and others.

7. How is Memory Multimodal? (Continued) • The next mode through which memory is used would be writing. The media through which memory is used to aid in remembering via writing varies, ranging from notes on paper, to outlines of the speech/argument/discourse, to the whole entire work written down to read from to the audience. It was also used as an mnemonic to remember complicated formulas, such as those found in math. An example of such can be found in the picture below, which depicts a formula for Calculus, and thus depicts memory in written form.

8. How is Memory Multimodal? (Continued) • In the modern age, memory is now being used to good effect by rhetors in the mode of computers, through which various media is used to achieve the memorization of speeches, arguments, discourses, stories, etc. Thanks to computers, memory is becoming essential to rhetoric again because data of monumental value is being stored within the databases of computers and this data is being manipulated in ways that are getting more and more ingenious by the rhetors who devise those ways. Examples include pictures, outlines, symbols, audio files, movies, presentations, and powerpoint files among many more to help people organize their thoughts and remember their work.

9. In Conclusion… • As part of the Five Canons, memory is indeed important to rhetoric and has been utilized throughout history in many modes and media, thereby making it multimodal. Keep in mind that although these various modes originated in different times (i.e. the computer was predated by the other modes), they all are still being used today and for the same purpose of memorizing a work. With this powerpoint file, I had achieved my purpose of teaching you readers what memory in rhetoric means and how it is multimodal. With this in mind, you could use it to your advantage later in life, so as the French would say, adieu.