Welcome to Hello Gorgias!
Reading critical theory and philosophy can be so challenging that the prospect of writing it often feels impossible. But you don’t need to write like an academic or have a college degree to be a great theorist. You just need a passion for the material and be dedicated to honing your craft.
Hello Gorgias! (Gor-gee-us) is a place where emerging theorists and philosophers can discuss the writing process, learn to develop long-form arguments, and get help communicating complex ideas to a general audience. Posts are between 500-1000 words and go out on Thursday at 12:00 PM (EST).
Who am I?
I am a published writer, rhetorician, and theorist with a PhD in rhetoric and writing studies and 15+ years experience as a speech and writing coach.
In addition to weekly posts on rhetoric and the writing process, I also offer summer writing workshops and personal writing consultations (with discounts for paid subscribers). You can read more about those below.
Writing Consultations
I am currently accepting new clients for personal 30-minute writing consultations.
One (30-minute) consultation is $50.
Three (30-minute) consultations is $125.
Five (30-minute) consultations is $200.
What will you get out of these meetings?
As much writing help as we can squeeze into 30 minutes!
We can brainstorm, discuss research strategies, or develop a plan for revision. I can help you refine the structure of your argument, develop an outline, or offer line-by-line feedback on your work. Or we can start mapping out potential counterarguments and thinking about how you’ll respond to the most relevant critiques of your work.
This time is yours, so it’s ultimately up to you to decide how you want to use it.
To schedule a consultation, email me at hellogorgias@gmail.com.
Don’t take my word for it…
"Going into the consultation with Andy I had specific questions in mind regarding the piece I was writing. Andy addressed the specific questions and concerns I had and helped me think through the strengths and weaknesses of my current draft. Most importantly, he made me think about the purpose of the piece and who my audience is. Writing is ideally a collaborative effort, rather than merely a solitary, solipsistic activity, and Andy is a great collaborator for those writers wishing to improve their craft."
-Jordan S.
“I took a one-on-one consultation from Andy to discuss my writer’s block and anxiety about writing. After the consultation, I started to write more consistently. Hello Gorgias! really helped me to re-approach my ideas about writing and reading in a different light. Now I feel better and in peace about my own process of writing.”
-Kerem T.
Who is Gorgias?
Gorgias (483-375 BCE) was a pre-Socratic philosopher and orator associated with sophistry, a school of thought that emphasized the practical importance of rhetoric in civic and political life.
Like many of the sophists, Gorgias is often misunderstood. This is largely thanks to Plato, who famously portrays him as a shameless flatterer with little regard for truth or virtue.
When you read Gorgias himself, a more nuanced picture begins to emerge. Gorgias is best known for championing the rhetorical and educational value of paradoxes. He was not a relativist, but he did reject the idea of a timeless and universal truth.
For Gorgias, the truth is often complex, situational, and subject to change. When he demonstrates how weak arguments can be made to seem strong, he’s offering his audience an exercise in critical thinking — like a teacher who plays devil’s advocate or asks students to debate both sides of a topic.
Aspiring philosophers can learn a lot from Gorgias. Coming up with a good idea is only half the struggle. As Plato himself knew all too well, philosophers also have to find a way to communicate their ideas to a wider audience. That’s where Hello Gorgias! comes in.
If you’re interested in Gorgias, you can learn more about him here.
