Challenging Norms of Invention: 'Mimesis' and African American Communication Patterns

This essay grows out of a Short Course the author helped to teach called "Back to the Future: An Exploration of Public Communication Pedagogy, Past and Present, With Inventive Applications for the Future" presented at the 2004 annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago. The author presents an activity that focuses on mimesis and African American communication patterns. Mimesis (imitation) has traditionally been a pedagogical tool to cultivate new ways of thinking, doing, and/or being (Wilson, 2003). The main assumption underlying the activity is that mimesis has the potential to help communication students reflect on, respond to, and challenge the way that they approach rhetorical invention and see the world. The objective of the activity is to challenge norms of rhetorical invention by examining and enacting African American communication patterns. The activity can be applied to courses like Basic Course, Public Speaking, Argumentation, Intercultural Communication, African American Rhetoric. A list of references and suggested readings is included.