“Praxis,” meaning: “theory in action.”

In other words, “putting your money where your mouth is.”

In school, I spent a good chunk of time becoming well-acquainted with the theory of constitutive rhetoric – basically, it’s a communicative strategy that goes beyond persuasion to motivate people to do something, whether it is to join a cause, vote a certain way, buy a product, etc.. I came to this out of my deep interest in geography, maps, and the cultural implications of both. In most cases, borders are nothing more than arbitrary, invisible lines on paper that act to delineate people and property into their established space. But what does constitutive rhetoric have to do with maps? I have argued that while boundaries may separate, they may also serve to unite; to construct community. After all, those who reside within borders have a common interest in the health and vitality of that space, and who better to protect those interests than those who live them?

There is a popular belief that growing apathy and pressing social problems are to account for the breakdown of the essential elements that make a community successful. Albert Borgmann warned “We live in self-imposed exile from communal conversation and action. The public square is naked…we have no common life, that which holds us all together is a cold and impersonal design.”[1] We are withdrawing. I have to agree with certain theorists that suggest that dialogue is the key to communal success, and finding the social and institutional contexts that obstruct dialogue and then challenging them will bring about the desired positive change.[2]

Which brings me back to rhetoric. One of the key elements of the constitutive strategy is to touch upon and reinforce a common narrative – a story that is shared, bonding individuals in a collective history. With this realization comes joint interests, and a constructive kinship, leading to shared values and a common stake in the future.

I theorize that communities dissociate because the place of our shared history is being replaced by calculated modernity. The town squares and public cafes are being swapped out for newer models that promote efficiency and turnaround. There is nothing wrong with a revamped image, but the price seems to be the loss of nostalgia.

The Community Experience Plan that is often written about in this blog is a dream come true for any rhetorician or sociologist. We offer an opportunity for an entire town to rediscover its community by providing a space for dialogue to begin and then asking the right questions:

“Tell us your stories,” we say. And they do.

Then, we propose to take those stories all over the town through art, historical markers, interpretive panels, maps, and fresh designs. We turn spaces in places – attaching meaning to them thereby giving a space significance. Suddenly, that “cold and impersonal public square” becomes warm; radiating a bright and colorful tale of a people who remembered they are a community.

Praxis. Theory in action.

[1] Borgmann, Albert. Crossing the postmodern divide.

[2] Zoller, Heather M. “A Place you haven’t visited before”: Creating the conditions for community dialogue