Aristotle's Ink

292 Pages·2016·2.55 MB·English

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English Theses & Dissertations English
Spring 2016
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Rachel L. Bragg
Old Dominion University, [email protected]
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Bragg, Rachel L.. "Aristotle's Ink: Tattooing a New Understanding of Invention in Collaborative Writing"
(2016). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Dissertation, English, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/
pbyf-9686
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/english_etds/13
This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the English at ODU Digital Commons. It has been
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ARISTOTLE’S INK: TATTOOING A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF INVENTION IN
COLLABORATIVE WRITING
by
Rachel L. Bragg
B.A. May 2001, Mountain State University
M.A. May 2003, Mountain State University

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of
Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

ENGLISH

OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY
May 2016

Approved by:

Julia Romberger (Director)

David Metzger (Member)

Danielle DeVoss (Member)
ABSTRACT
ARISTOTLE’S INK: TATTOOING A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF INVENTION IN
COLLABORATIVE WRITING

Rachel L. Bragg
Old Dominion University, 2016
Director: Dr. Julia Romberger

The field of writing studies continues to be expanded by new mediums of text and new
methods of composing. Though rhetorical theory is recognized as being dynamic (Brooke, 2009;
McKeon, 1987), it has yet to be remediated to fully account for texts composed collaboratively
or visual rhetoric. This dissertation study explores the composing process of tattoos as an
intersection of visual rhetoric, invention, and collaborative writing in order to provide to writing
studies a remediation of the rhetorical canon of invention that accounts for visual texts composed
collaboratively. Data collected included interviews with five tattoo artists and five clients,
observations of the tattoo composing and tattooing processes, and photographs of completed
tattoos. The findings suggest that authorship, a concept intimately connected to invention,
remains complicated and rooted in the Platonic foundations of rhetoric and the Romantic notion
of authorship as a profession, both of which privilege the solitary author, even when a text such
as a tattoo can only come to fruition through a collaborative composing process. Relative to
invention, which deals with the process of creating communication, which is often considered an
invisible process (Jasinski, “Invention,” 2001; Lauer, 2004), the findings also illuminate the
invention strategies and associated actions a tattoo artist and client utilize during the composing
of a tattoo. Significant to this study and the identification of the invention strategies utilized
during the composing process of a tattoo is the finding that the invention strategies termed
negotiation and integration are similar to stasis theory, a heuristic for invention with roots in
classical theories of rhetoric. Identifying the invention strategies and associated actions
employed in the collaborative composing process of a visual text suggest pedagogical
implications for how teachers can invite collaboration and encourage creative conflict when
students are asked to produce visual texts collaboratively. Also in relation to pedagogical
implications, the invention strategy of reflection in particular provides another method for
participants to evaluate themselves and the contributions of collaborators when asked to compose
visual texts collaboratively.
iv

©2016, by Rachel L. Bragg, All Rights Reserved.
v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
And so this journey ends. . .but not without publicly acknowledging and thanking all the
people who played a part in arriving at this point—a finished dissertation.
First, a thank you to all the artists and clients who participated in this study. Without
your contributions, this study would not have been possible. A very special thank you to Artist
A, who embraced this project with enthusiasm and went above and beyond any expectations I
had to help make my project a reality.
I never would have pursued this dream if it wasn’t for an amazing group of women who
recognized a passion and love of learning equal to their own. To Lisa Spaulding, Patricia
Gillikin, Irene Moser, Vanessa Thompson, and especially Maupsa Bonifer, thank you for
nurturing my love of writing, literature, and communication during those golden years of what
was then The College of West Virginia. Your passion became my own and because of your
thoughtful care, guidance, and encouragement, I did this!
To a special group of scholars who inspire and amaze me every day with their
contributions to English Studies, the ODU ENGLISH PHDS and the Diss Bootcamp groups.
Hands down, you are the best support system any doctoral student could ever ask for.
I could not have completed this project without the calm and steady guidance of Julia
Romberger, who always offered reassurance and encouragement, especially during some of the
most challenging bumps in the road that often had little to do with writing a dissertation. I am
also grateful to the other members of my committee, David Metzger and Danielle DeVoss, for
their input into this project. To all of my committee members, thank you especially for your
time.
vi

And last, a special thank you to my family. Larry, thank you for letting me check out of
life here and there to chase this dream. To my Dad (Frank Lanier) and Mom (Susan Lanier), my
brother (Frank Lanier II), my sister (Ruth Lanier), and my nephew (Robert Lanier), thank you for
believing in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. My love for you all has no bounds. And,
in case it wasn’t obvious—the nerd finally did it!
vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... ix
LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................x
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1

II. LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................................11
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ...............................................................................12
VISUAL RHETORIC ..................................................................................................14
INVENTION ................................................................................................................19
COLLABORATION ....................................................................................................26
AUTHORSHIP ............................................................................................................30

III. RESEARCH METHODS ..................................................................................................36
CONTEXT OF THE STUDY ......................................................................................37
DESCRIPTION OF RESEARCH SITES ....................................................................37
ROLE OF THE RESEARCHER .................................................................................42
INTERVIEW RESEARCH METHODS .....................................................................44
INTERVIEW DATA COLLECTION .........................................................................53
FIELD OBSERVATIONS ...........................................................................................54
FIELD OBSERVATION DATA COLLECTION .......................................................57
PHOTOGRAPHS ........................................................................................................59
PHOTOGRAPH DATA COLLECTION ....................................................................60
DATA ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................61

IV. DATA FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS ..............................................................................73
AUTHORSHIP ............................................................................................................74
EXPOSITION ..............................................................................................................89
NEGOTIATION ........................................................................................................104
INTEGRATION ........................................................................................................119
REFLECTION ...........................................................................................................127

V. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................150
SUMMARY ...............................................................................................................150
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ..................................................................................154
PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS ..........................................................................160
LIMITATIONS ..........................................................................................................163
FUTURE RESEARCH ..............................................................................................165
viii

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................168

LIST OF APPENDICES ..............................................................................................................177
APPENDIX 1: INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPLICATION ......................177
APPENDIX 2: ARTIST INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS ...............................................193
APPENDIX 3: CLIENT PRE-TATTOO INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS .....................211
APPENDIX 4: TATTOO COMPOSING PROCESS OBSERVATIONS .....................223
APPENDIX 5: TATTOOING PROCESS OBSERVATION NOTES ...........................253
APPENDIX 6: CLIENT POST-TATTOO INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS ..................267

VITA ............................................................................................................................................281
ix

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Summary of Client and Artist Participants ..............................................................................56
2. Coding Round Two ..................................................................................................................64
3. Abstracted Codes .....................................................................................................................67
4. Conceptual Codes ....................................................................................................................71
5. Invention Strategies and Actions with Corresponding Stases ...............................................106