The Specialist in Athenian Written Rhetoric During the Classical Period: A Reconsideration of Technical Rhetoric and Rhetorical Iconography

This essay argues that technical rhetoric in ancient Athens is neither well nor fully understood in its present historical characterization but rather is best realized as occupying a position on a spectrum of literate skills ranging from an art to a craft. The dismissive views of technical writing advanced by Plato and Aristotle should be reconsidered and specialized literate practices be recognized as an important feature of rhetoric in Athens’ classical period. A review of discursive and material (archaeological) evidence reveals that technical writing was evolving into a craft-skill in Athens as early as the archaic period and, by the classical period, would be regarded as a respected “rhetorical” profession of artistic expression. This essay urges readers to reconsider the restrictive characterization of rhetoric advanced by some historians of rhetoric and include the specialist craft-skills of writing as a manifestation of technical rhetoric that both illustrates, and more accurately represents, the range of classical rhetoric in ancient Athens.

Luxury, Craft, Creativity, and Innovation

Although often associated with the preservation of traditional craft skills, luxury is simultaneously linked to creativity and innovation in terms of new and technologically advanced goods. This chapter identifies how the timelessness of craftsmanship relates to creativity and innovation in the production of luxury-branded goods from bespoke shoes and silk scarves to luxury cars. Drawing on relevant academic literature from the fields of craft, creativity, and innovation, together with the exploration of examples derived from secondary sources, the chapter sheds light on the connections and tensions between these three attributes of present-day luxury-branded goods. The analysis presented provides insight into the varied and often complex connections between craft, creativity, and innovation in the context of the production of luxury-branded goods.

The Skill Hypothesis: A Variant

The basic idea of Birch’s analysis is plausible: normative guidance began in agents’ assessment of their own craft skills. But I suggest developing that idea in a different way. I suggest that proto-normative affect plays its guiding role diachronically, in the development of those skills, rather than synchronically, in modulating their moment-by-moment execution. More importantly, I suggest a different pathway to normative affect’s direction at second and third parties. Normative response became social in the context of skilled collaborative activities, for in those activities others’ failures have material consequences for each agent. In such collaborations, all have reason to care about others’ skill, or lack of it.

The Skilful Origins of Human Normative Cognition

I briefly present and motivate a ‘skill hypothesis’ regarding the evolution of human normative cognition. On this hypothesis, the capacity to internally represent action-guiding norms evolved as a solution to the distinctive problems of standardizing, learning and teaching complex motor skills and craft skills, especially skills related to toolmaking. We have an evolved cognitive architecture for internalizing norms of technique, which was then co-opted for a rich array of social functions. There was a gradual expansion of the normative domain, with ritual playing an important role in bridging the gap between concrete, enacted norms and general, abstract norms, such as kinship norms. I conclude by stating nine predictions arising from the skill hypothesis.

Crafting short films

In this article, we focus on film making as a part of craft studies and narrative inquiry. Short films were created in a course in the craft teacher master’s degree at the University of Helsinki. The aim of the course was to serve several purposes such as 1) to enable students to become familiar with a new way of deepening conceptual thinking through making, 2) to apply and develop craft skills in working on a selected concept or theme, and 3) to understand the dialogue between conceptual and material artefacts. We explore the opportunities to transmit multisensory experiences via short films. For illustration, we introduce two short films created during the course. Using the deliberative interviewing method, we have broadened the perspective on reflective and analytical level.

Studio Project on the Sculpture Entitled Retrospection and Prodigy Series

An artwork creation requires a particular process which involves knowledge, creativity and skill. The process demands the artist’s comprehension of the work’s issue that is usually incorporated in the artwork. This article discusses the process of sculpture that applies via the studio-based research method of which the study has integrated data investigation, progression of idea, fabrication of artwork and art criticism. This study determined a series of sculptures titled Retrospection and Prodigy made by Mohd Khairi Baharom (2012) which practiced the studio-based research method. To incorporate the critical issue in the sculpture, the studio project investigated the sculptor’s center of discussion that has been used in the phenomenological study approach. The sculptor’s childhood memory lives in rural areas with limited accessibility causing the expansion of his imagination and craft skills. This matter has motivated him to use his childhood reminiscence for the aesthetic content in the sculpture. The sculpture process involved several phases of studio projects such as data compilation, concept and form development, and artwork fabrication. The additional data of sculpture criticism has also been included in the article for better interpretation.

Toolmaking and the evolution of normative cognition

We are all guided by thousands of norms, but how did our capacity for normative cognition evolve? I propose there is a deep but neglected link between normative cognition and practical skill. In modern humans, complex motor skills and craft skills, such as toolmaking, are guided by internally represented norms of correct performance. Moreover, it is plausible that core components of human normative cognition evolved as a solution to the distinctive problems of transmitting complex motor skills and craft skills, especially skills related to toolmaking, through social learning. If this is correct, the expansion of the normative domain beyond technique to encompass more abstract norms of fairness, reciprocity, ritual and kinship involved the elaboration of a basic platform for the guidance of skilled action by technical norms. This article motivates and defends this “skill hypothesis” for the origin of normative cognition and sets out various ways in which it could be empirically tested.

The developing speciality coffee businesses of Bangkok, Thailand and Penang, Malaysia. A story of entrepreneurial passion and creativity?

Purpose: This paper considers the recently emergent speciality coffee industry in Bangkok, Thailand and Penang, Malaysia. It addresses the research questions of what are the motivations and attitudes of small, entrepreneurial, speciality coffee business owners in both countries. Methodology: The study’s methodology was interview-based qualitative data gathering with no pre-determined hypotheses. Interviews were semi-structured. Questions considered motivations and attitudes variously but particular points of focus were passion and creativity. Analysis was through thematic content analysis. Findings: The main findings were that participants considered themselves to be passionate and creative, wanted to educate about coffee (the primary finding) and have no expectation and little hope of becoming wealthy through their coffee enterprises. Their focus was on other elements of happiness than money. It transpired that their passion was not an entrepreneurial passion, financially driven, but a passion for craft skills and production, and attendant lifestyles that were simply not concerned about income maximisation. Implications for theory and practice: It presents a potential view of entrepreneurship at major variance with the views of classical economics. Few entrepreneurs interviewed saw their businesses as having potential for wealth creation. Concerns to maximise income or profit were not prevalent. These were not the financially driven entrepreneurs of classical economics. Their focus was on their craft and its skills. All understanding of the mindset of the small speciality coffee business owners and creators is an insight of substantial practical importance, for instance, to those seeking to supply to them and perhaps other similar small businesses, or to advise them, including Government and Local Government advisory services. Originality and value: The question set for this study had never been asked before, so the study is unique within the industry. Its value lies in two areas, the practical real world of business, as mentioned, and for future researchers in entrepreneurship. With these small businesses built from lifestyle concepts rather than classical economic concepts, notably of income or profit maximisation and scale appropriate to those, strong doubt is thrown on the validity of those classical economic views. An important value in this study is precisely that it drilled down and struck a plethora of motivations and attitudes informally held by entrepreneurs, people of a type that do not usually inform studies of entrepreneurship but may inform future researchers, particularly when reviewing the growing body of small artisanal and craft businesses.