Dramatism

Dramatism, a communication studies theory, was developed by Kenneth Burke as a tool for analyzing human relationships through the use of language.

Burke viewed dramatism from the lens of logology, which studies how people's ways of speaking shape their attitudes towards the world.

To understand people's movement and intentions, the theorist sets up the Dramatistic Pentad strategy for viewing life, not as life itself,[5] by comparing each social unit involved in human activities as five elements of drama – act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose,[6] to answer the empirical question of how persons explain their actions,[2] and to find the ultimate motivations of human activities.

"Dramatism is treated as a technique for analyzing language as a mode of action in which specialized nomenclatures are recognized, each with particular ends and insights.

[1] Originally influenced by Shakespeare and Aristotle's rhetoric, he developed his theory of Dramatism, separating himself from the two by adding the importance of motive.

Using his classical education of literature and rhetoric as a foundation, Dramatism was largely influenced by the philosophies of Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud.

Burke was said to refer to the work of Parsons, as well as of social thinkers such as Max Weber, Georg Simmel, Alfred Schütz and G.H.

Dramatism emerged as the antithesis to war - it encouraged a poetic dialectic and variations in perspectives in order to come to a joint conclusion to appease all.

[24] Mead's writings were interpreted by Burke as "delayed action", wherein people can arouse a change in attitude in themselves as well as others through verbal communication.

David Ling used the Pentad elements to evaluate Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy's now-infamous speech in 1969 to persuade the audiences to see him as a victim of his family curse instead of the one who should be responsible for an accident which caused death of Mary Jo Kopechne.

Ultimately, Kennedy escaped the incident with very little damage to his social and political capital as demonstrated by the continuation of his 40-year career in the U.S. Senate.

Burke maintained that analyzing the ratios of a speaker's presentation would expose the resources of ambiguity people might exploit to interpret complex problems.

When engaged in a dramatistic study, he notes, "the basic unit of action would be defined as 'the human body in conscious or purposive motion'", which is an agent acting in a situation.

For example, in 2015 philosophers Rutten & Soetaert used the new rhetoric concept to study changing attitudes in regards to education as a way to better understand if Burke's ideas can be applied to this arena.

Identification is a recognized common ground between two people's substances, regarding physical characteristics, talents, occupation, experiences, personality, beliefs, and attitudes.

[34] As cited in Littlejohn, Burke sees guilt as "all-purpose word for any feeling of tension within a person—anxiety, embarrassment, self-hatred, disgust and the like.

"[35] In this perspective, Burke concluded that the ultimate motivation of man is to purge oneself of one's sense of guilt through public speaking.

Burke's cycle refers to the process of feeling guilt and attempting to reduce it, which follows a predictable pattern: order (or hierarchy), the negative, victimage (scapegoat or mortification), and redemption.

"[40] When talking about how the use of language can alter one's perceptions and beliefs entirely, Burke also wrote extensively about how symbolic action can even push man to war.

[41] Burke emphasizes how the "reality" that we construct for ourselves is generated and altered through the use of symbols, which in turn affects language and ultimately motive.

Dennis Brissett and Charles Edgley examine the utility of dramatism on different levels, which can be categorized as the following dimensions:[42] Dramaturgical perspective is vividly used to analyze human individuality.

The concept of a dramaturgical self as formulated by sociologist Erving Goffman was inspired by the theatre, and also finds roots in relations to Burke's work.

Some examples of classic research questions on the topic involve how people maximize or minimize the expressiveness, how one stage ideal self, the process of impression-management, etc.

For example, Orville Gilbert Brim, Jr. analyzed data to interpret how group structure and role learning influence children's understanding of gender.

Typical research topics include corporate realm, business influence on federal policy agenda, even funerals and religious themes.

[47] It is acknowledged that the political process has become more and more a theatrical, image-mongering, dramatic spectacle worthy of a show-business metaphor on a grand scale.

Scholars study how dramaturgical materials create essential images by analyzing political advertising and campaigns, stagecraft-like diplomacy, etc.

Furthermore, scholar Brenda Robinson Hancock used Burke's dramatism to study women's movements, specifically with identification as actors.

[71] Another scholar, Janet Brown,[72] made use of Burke's pentad in relation to understanding and identifications of feminist literature.

However, future theorists, specifically Bernard Brock[73] and Herbert W. Simons,[74] went on to argue dramatism as metaphorical theory claiming that Burke's idea that all the world's a stage is mere a tool of symbolic interaction that signals life as a drama.