Kinneavy's Conception of Kairos for Composition Classrooms: It (May) Work

Mackenzie and I examined Kinneavy’s conception of kairos primarily because we felt that he offered a very useful and well-nuanced take on the modern composition classroom and closely matched some of our own philosophies on the college composition classroom and our pedagogical efforts. Once Kinneavy explained his conception of kairos by situating the term and its composition by way of exploring both the explicit and implicit mentioning of the term in classical rhetoric, theory, and schools, we felt that he established meaningful grounds for exploring its application into the modern composition classroom. By defining kairos as (a.) neutral and a “good time” and (b.) appropriate measure, there was great room left for exploration and how the term could be applied to modern composition theory (85). Because Mackenzie and I have some background in teaching writing and the composing process, Kinneavy’s work seemed to be something that, at the very least, would serve as one other theory that could possibly be built off of if proven not to work in the classroom.  

            As we explored Kinneavy’s conception of kairos before exploring how he believed kairos could be applied to the composition classroom, we noticed a large variety of intricacies that could complicate the application of the concept to the classroom and instruction. Kinneavy mentions subtly when he admits that the second element of kairos is “more elusive” (85). We realized that the dimensions of kairos that Kinneavy would ultimately explore would be the very reason why he felt that this term should be the basis of the modern composition classroom. Without these intricacies and interwoven concepts and dimension, the term could not be extended much further than the first definition of kairos, as a neutral or “good” time, that Kinneavy offers us, and could never serve as a basis for the building of a complete composition program at any level.

            Perhaps this is good time to explore these intricacies as Kinneavy explains them. These “dimensions,” seemed quite far-fetched and overreaching before Mackenzie and I looked to create a schema for his argument for kairos’s inclusion in the modern composition classroom. However, after accepting several assumptions that Kinneavy has based his theory off of, there does seem to be a very nice case for concept to serve as this basis for which he advocates. The ramifications of such an inclusion could only be explained by the historical insight Kinneavy affords his readers. The close relation to justice, justice being determined by circumstance, to kairos, was quite the compelling case (87). Although Kinneavy requires that we accept his proposition of an extension of the definition of kairos to include this relation, his grounding of the two concepts and their relation certainly serves his purposes well. By including the grounding of several theories by prominent philosophers, Kinneavy makes what we believed to be a very sufficient point. Kinneavy includes Plato’s doctrine of virtue as a philosophy grounded right time and proper measure, the two components of kairos, and how this doctrine serves as the basis for Aristotle’s extension of virtue and “emerges as the classic Greek doctrine of virtue” (88). By noting and explaining just how woven concepts of kairos are included in many of the most prominent theories are, Kinneavy is able to create a line all the way to composition theory of the 21^st century.

            In Kinneavy’s case-making agenda, he explored the epistemological dimension of kairos. This, in competition with kairos’s ethical dimension and its consequences, is probably Kinneavy’s most compelling case. In modern composition classrooms, we as instructors seek to create student-writers that are well-rounded, critical, observant, self-aware, culturally aware, and see writing as a commitment to the exploration of self and all things that surround the self. As Kinneavy explains, kairos works very well to create this kind of student-writer we are so looking to create and mold in our composition classrooms. Kinneavy explains kairos as a trend of thinking that is in direct opposition to the adopted Western approach that our schools have seemingly taken. By Kinneavy’s assumption, or perhaps Tillich’s assumption, our composition classrooms have taken the approach that favors logos, or a form of thinking that is “characterized by an emphasis on timelessness, on form, on law, on stasis, on method…” (89). However, a kairos approach adequately opposes this type of writing and composing. He explains Tillich’s favor for kairos by offering its (possible) achievements. These include that

“it brings theory into practice, it asserts that continuing necessity of free decision, it insists on the value and norm aspects of ideas, it champions a vital and concerned interest in knowledge because knowledge always in relevant to the situational context, and it provides a better solution to the problem of uniting idea and historical reality than the solution of either Hegel or Marx” (90).

The consequences of adopting such a dimension of kairos into the construction of a composition classroom, we may be able to mold the student-writers that we so desire. Student-writers that are far more conscious, aware, and critical of themselves as writers and the subject matter and communities they are situated within. By accepting this approach, modern composition instructors may be able to attain what they originally claimed was their emphasis and goal for any student-writer.

Perhaps, this does not serve as an adequate representation of Kinneavy’s argument in totality, but it does offer some insight as to why Mackenzie and I chose the author we did, why we found ourselves accepting both his idea of kairos and how it could serve us in the construction of a more viable for our goals composition program. This does not mean that Kinneavy’s approach is completely bullet-proof, for many of the assumption he makes are far-reaching for the sake of his efforts, but we can accept his theory as something that could possibly be built off of for our efforts.