Rhetoric

This element of the conceptual age, according to Daniel Pink, is incredibly important. I agree. My experience has shown that what we do and HOW we do it makes a difference.

If you don’t think so, remember this. Long ago researchers found that typed papers did better than handwritten papers. The design was more uniform and, therefore, seen as better.

Here is an article on how design, and digital visualization, can impact résumés.

This is what such a résumé might look like:

A link to sign up for Vizualize.me.

LiveScience has an article about how the names were configured for the September 11 memorial. Math Keeps Friends and Colleagues Together narrates the search for a way to connect those on the memorial who were connected with each other in life.

There is special meaning for the North and South Memorial as well.

This is an excellent example of conceptual elements which are part of the Conceptual Age and, the more I read and think on this topic, the more I am sure that we are already IN the Conceptual Age.

Scholarly Kitchen has a post on copy editing and open-access repositories.

We should remind ourselves that all three studies investigate the changes that take place after a manuscript has passed through peer review. The purpose of copy editing is not to detect serious flaws in theory, methodology, analysis or interpretation — that is the responsibility of peer review — but simply to make a paper more consistent and readable. We should therefore not expect to find fatal errors at the copy editing stage, as implied in the Goodman study.

Still, we are left hanging on whether copy editing sufficiently improves an academic article to justify its persistence, and ultimately this question rests on whether you value its services.

I think that the Thatcher study (with which the author began the article) had something interesting to say about Harvard open-access documents:

[M]ost errors were minor, such as spelling errors, subject/verb disagreements, dangling modifiers, and others Thatcher calls “stylistic infelicities.” His editors also spotted more important problems in the author manuscript, such as quotation errors, citation errors, and errors in tables and figures. One editor came up with a more disconcerting error in an author version: The omission of author identity details, conflict of interest statement, funding information, and an acknowledgment section.

Interesting. Harvard. One of the leading universities in the world. But still there were problems.

Would this indicate to us a need for peer review? Would it indicate the same to our students?

Composition Exercise Book – The Write Book

NOTE: We have extended the deadline for submissions to July 1.

The Write Book
FORM: Composition exercise book (not a reader!) tentatively titled The Write Book. We are putting together a collection of exercises to be used as an aid to instructors in the high school or college composition classroom.

PREMISE: This should be a practical, hands-on collection of exercises that instructors of composition—especially but not limited to TAs in their first years of teaching—can use live in the classroom. This is not a reader (which there are plenty of already) but a handbook much like “The Practice of Poetry” in which poets share their best writing prompts and in-class exercises. This is meant to be an aid to class work; a workbook for students will be designed to accompany the text.

Examples of what we are looking for might include a 15 minute in-class exercise on paraphrasing, a full hour exercise about narrowing a topic, or a multi-class period peer-review protocol or extended exercise on thesis statements. These can include any exercise which works on a specific skill or problem.

Send us the exercises which have worked for you in the classroom. Please include:
1. A brief narrative of the exercise(s) which explains step-by-step a) what you do to prepare and b) what you actually do once you are standing in the classroom.
2. What kind of paper or assignment is the exercise meant to accompany (argument, description, compare and contrast, etc.)?
3. What specifically should your exercise help students to do (does it help students create thesis statements, paraphrase passages, rebut arguments, etc.)?
4. Give us an approximate time frame for the exercise (does it usually take 15 minutes or two days?).
5. Let us know of any special requirements such as a computer classroom, reference materials, an overhead projector, the Internet, etc.
6. Include the titles of any essays or written texts used in the exercise.
7. Any potential problems.

You will be given full credit for your exercise, so provide your name and affiliation.

Also Looking for Assignment Sheets
We will also include a section with examples of different assignments and prompts, so feel free to send us your best assignment sheets also. In addition to assignment sheets, please include:
1. a brief write-up that explains where it comes in the semester,
2. what assignments proceed and follow,
3. what are its strengths and weaknesses,
4. why is it a useful assignment for the comp classroom, and
5. any practical tips for making the assignment work in and out of the classroom.

Send exercises, assignment sheets, and/or questions to Russ Brickey at brickeyr@uwplatt.edu, Laura Beadling at beadlingl@uwplatt.edu, or Kory Wein at weink@uwplatt.edu by July 1.

A new tt-academic has been thrown in the deep end and told to develop a discipline-specific first-year writing course for the uni at which the person teaches. This is about all the specifications that the person was given. Having never even taught such a course before, and not being a rhetoric professor, the academic sought ideas from the CHE fora. As usual, the other academics were quite willing to share their experiences.

From the CHE fora:

Elsie:
The slogan of Writing Across the Curriculum in its heyday (courses like this one were inspired by WAC) was “Writing to learn.” How can you use writing to help students learn about the author? How can you use what and how the author writes to develop your students’ understanding of how to write well? Your author isn’t just subject matter but can also serve as a model.

Use reading logs to make sure that your students are reading the author, and then have them use the logs as notes toward an essay analyzing the author’s argument. Use topics raised by the author as the basis for the students’ research topics. Require the students to use the author as one of their sources but then go beyond the reading to their own research. Have them debate the author or explore the debates the author is engaged in?

In this type of course (which I teach regularly), the topic of the course and associated readings provide the matter about which the students write and research. It’s not a course of “lecture on Tuesday, writing process on Thursday”, but asking students to write their way into learning about the topic. This approach can be very difficult for lecture-oriented faculty to conceptualize. They look at courses like this and say, “It has no content!” It has plenty of content: the topic, the writing process, analytical thinking, research methods. What it doesn’t have is 50/75 minutes of lecture material on a daily basis. It has activities that lead students through the process of learning about the topic by asking them to engage with it in an active way.

ChangingGears:
You have to be very careful to avoid setting the course up to seem like two separate courses: one about the subject matter they’re reading about, the other about writing (elsie addressed how to avoid this and I use the exact same method she outlines) and one f2f course and one online course. They need to see the connection between the two.

I’ve found that discussion of the readings is much more productive via a blog (BB has a blog component or you can use a free blogging tool like blogspot or WordPress). Having the discussion take place first in the online part of the course has several benefits: everyone gets an opportunity to participate in the discussion, the students have to think about what they want to say before articulating it in writing (but an informal type of writing, without pressure to be perfect, which is why reading journals are so beneficial, but blogs are much easier to monitor and grade than traditional journals and students can’t wait until the night before the journal is due to write out all of their entries), students can read and directly respond to what their peers have to say (again, with time to think about their response), etc. etc. Then, when you meet f2f, you can address paritcularly interesting or debatable issues that came up in the blog (again, to help connect the two aspects of the course).

In terms of what to do online vs. f2f, I’ve found the flipped or inverted classroom model to be especially effective. Basically, the things that students would normally do in class (like lectures and discussion) become homework and the things that would normally be homework (like drafting their writing assignments) become classwork. This is effective because students have you and their peers there to provide immediate feedback, rather than them spending hours completing an assignment incorrectly.

I do this:
online–students watch mutimodal lecture on some aspect of writing (how to argue a point, how to integrate others’ ideas, how to organize an academic essay, etc.) for homework; they then complete the assigned readings and then blog about them
in class–we spend a few minutes addressing any questions about the lecture; then we spend some time addressing the discussions that took place on the blog (this may lead to the need to continue the discussions in small groups or via a free writing session); then students are given their writing prompts (which are tied in some way to the assigned reading/blog discussions and requires them to practice the writing skill addressed in the lecture) and begin drafting; students can receive feedback from me and their peers at any time during the drafting process
homework–students complete the writing assignment and submit it electronically to me for assessment

My own take on the situation:
As a rhetoric and composition academic, I would emphasize the process of writing. As others, such as Dr. Skallerup, have mentioned in #fycchat on Twitter (Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. EST), reading in the academic discourse, and a discussion of what it takes for that writing to be produced, is also important.

I have never taught a first-year writing discipline-specific course. I have, however, taught a second-year writing discipline-specific course, to which the students were supposed to come having already mastered the basic art of writing an essay and doing generic research. My curriculum, choices, successes, and failures are recorded in “Writing in the Social Sciences: An Old Concept, A New Course” in Currents in Teaching and Learning.

I thought the question was interesting and perhaps relevant for more than this single academic who has just been thrown into the deep end of the pool having just mastered the baby pool. It’s a challenge and a daunting one, but one which can bring satisfaction and development to our students.

I went to a conference session that sounded fascinating from the title. The presenter, however, decided to talk about something else. It wasn’t particularly interesting. Having talked to experts, I am not sure it has validity. But I wrote about it anyway because I was blogging the conference.

The only thing that was interesting about the talk was the handout, which may or may not have been related to what the presenter said they would talk about originally. I don’t know. The presenter did NOT talk about the handout or anything having to do with the handout. He didn’t even mention the handout. However, he handed out the handout and it was the most interesting part of the presentation.

See how Aubrey Beardsley’s is clearly a baby and is not significantly different from Wells’ hand drawing for The War of the Worlds. The resemblance is even more striking if the Crea drawing for the work is examined. (Apparently no net copies exist of the drawing at this time.)

I wonder if the reason/explanation behind folks’ inability to see babies before birth as human is connected to the visual presentations of Martians with Wells. Have we had fetus as invader imprinted on our psyches from a science fiction author’s appropriation of the image of a baby before birth to illustrate the evil invading aliens? Was that his purpose?

Is that what you see when you look at the two pictures together?

I think this may be one of the most influential examples of verbal rhetoric ever in the history of mankind. I wonder if Wells intended just this end.

I listened to a TEDTalk video by Marian Bantjes, a graphic artist, who used her work as a backdrop for her talk.

[O]ne of the things religions got right was the use of visual wonder to deliver a message.
…
I am mystified as to why visual wealth is not more commonly used to enhance intellectual wealth.
…
seeding the imagination of the populace
…
Inspiration is cross-pollinating.

And I think that this is something that would be interesting to insert/discuss/show with a section on visual communication, particularly in technical communication, but perhaps at any time I am teaching visual rhetoric.

The images are just two of the hundreds that she showed and in no way are indicative of the style or presentation of all or even most of her graphic work. They are, however, two in a row at the end, when I had decided to blog, and they are especially beautiful to me, a lover of jewel tones.

Two new and useful posts have been spotted at University of Texas’ rhetoric hub of Blogging Pedagogy.

Crowdsourcing Narrative Techniques: TV Tropes in the Literature Classroom

and

Poetry in Images.

8166 Rhetorics of New Media (Gurley): RC-Rm 18
Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity: A Trickster at Work
Rachel Anderson, Grand Valley State University (She is a medievalist doing pop culture. I love it.)

This would have been a live blogging of the session, if I had been able to get an internet connection.

example of tricksterism: Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity

reading signs made her laugh:
“My comedy channel: Fox News
My news channel: Comedy Central”

This rally was held at end of October 2010. Stewart is not an overt political activist? Instead, in his rhetoric and its representations of it at the rally, Stewart speaks as trickster.

Anderson uses Just Gaming as a theory base.

The media response was interesting and so was Stewart’s response to the media.

Stewart is a key figure in (political) popular American culture.

2 modes through use of language:
rally attendees signs (collected by The Huffington Post)
Stewart’s speech

Stewart has been getting into “more serious reporting,” such as in October 2004 when he accused Fox of “hackery.”

He is all about the debate and has a willingness to engage his guests in current issues.

Since 2001 Colbert and Stewart promoted Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. Original responses to the announcement of the rally were positive. WSJ quickly said it was a response to Beck’s rally, which is clearly an example of tricksterism.

Stewart himself evaded giving reasons for creating/holding rally.

What is Stewart doing here?
role as trickster
literary and culture trickster = god, goddess, demi-, Loki (as example)

Loki promised ridiculous payment for Asgard on a crazy schedule. Problem is that the giant was able to finish, with help of his horse.
Loki turned himself into a mare and lured the stallion away. Loki then gave birth to an eight-legged horse.

Anderson could not explore the whole ideology of tricksterism, because that would take too much time, since it is a huge area.

2 major concepts:
ruse = retell story, refocus the narrative to enable the audience to see another angle
game of the just = (reading assignment on topic)

The trickster is a consummate game player. The trickster is always trying to figure out new moves. Trying to invent new games.

Justice = reevaluation of moves in a game

“Absolute injustice would occur if the pragmantics of obligation, that is the possibility of continuing to play the game of the just, were excluded. That was unjust.” (Lyotard and Thebaud, Just Gaming 67)

Justice is not an ideal. It’s a space. It’s a space of negotiation, narrative, game-playing.

Stewart is a self-aware trickster. Most clearly expresses this Nov. 19, 2010 during an interview with Rachel Maddow. Several times referenced ideas of “gaming.” “Politics is a Democrat and Republican game.”
He said there is a bigger difference btw folks with kids and without kids (parents/nonparents) than between Dems and Repubs. (Maybe he’s right, too.) By doing this, the trickster Stewart introduces new angle into the game.

He does acknowledge power of politics. Then he delves into the issue of his rally as a political statement.

Does Daily Show function only as entertainment?
He was asked this question in the interview.

His answer included:
“form of me around” “a comedian… who criticizes [politics]”
“[I have] No ability to really do anything”
“The rally was to deflate the bubble… articulate an intangible feeling… say it’s a real feeling… idealistic but it’s impotent…”
“serve the best purpose that I can” in being sardonic

The interchange indicates Stewart’s understanding as his role as trickster. Maddow appears to be pressuring him into a role. Stewart has the feeling (Anderson thinks) that politics is more than a left-right side and that his job as trickster is to create a place btw political streams that is as wide as possible.

Some who attended or participated did not like (in the rally):
lack of directed action
rally’s message unclear?

Fun stuff:
rhetoric of the signs at the rally
then photographed at the rally
posted on fb and The Huffington Post

Some of the signs:
Somewhat Irritated about Extreme Outrage
What do we want? Respectful Discourse. When do we want it? Now would be agreeable to me, but I am interested in your opinion.
Hey Hitler. Give me back my nuance.
One of us or perhaps both of us may be correct
Real patriots can handle a difference in opinion

pi is all the irrationality I need
People who use hyperbole should be shot
God hates signs.
This is a sign.
The people behind me can’t see.
End Road Work.
Only the jesters dare speak the truth.

All of what Stewart does shows the nature of his role of trickster, by keeping the game going. (What game? I am just a bit confused.) The tricksterism lets them–Stewart and Colbert– play the game of the just.

Stewart recognizes, accepts, and embraces his role as Loki-like trickster.

Questions:
How did you get interested in Stewart?
spend lot of time working with Loki, saw Maddow interview, most self-aware expression of tricksterism that I’ve ever heard… got the transcript… analyzed how he was constructing himself in that way.

Is Glenn Beck a trickster? Beck versus Stewart
Is his rally a space to be a game player?
Relatively self-aware. Created persona.
find him amusing when I watch him as a performance

lacks the sense of irony that Stewart does
Stewart intends his audience to read him as ironic.
Beck has less nuance.

Where Stewart was talking to Maddow and calling her out as partisan. Showcasing the places where he thinks the left closes down the debate. He would do either, but the right tends to give him more material. (Bias is clear. There is plenty to whatever.)
Stewart has not spared Obama in the last year. Extremely cynical to Libya. Does not lampoon them quite as effectively.

Doesn’t go out of his way to be balanced. Takes his material where he finds it.

Beck doesn’t want anyone on the field. Stewart is worried about the stadium. Feel as if Beck is generated by an outside force. Stewart is more authentic.

Stewart has managed to outlast most other figures.

Stewart is now doing Beck imitations. Stewart is all the sudden keeping the presence of Glenn Beck around by doing those imitations.

signer people “The Silent Majority” like the 70s
telling the people in the stadium that they are on the field
really loud folks are shutting down the game

refocusing technique to move around power

notion of the troll
troll v. trickster
troll lacks nuance and just wants to irritate
famous personalities that you would now consider trolls
Is the troll an aspect of the trickster?

Other people did not show up:
NASA and New Media: A Study of NASA’s Emergence into Socializing Networks, YouTube, and Apps
Maria Baugh-Horstman, University of Houston – Clear Lake

Wikimemory
Nathan Kuntz, California State University Fullerton