Today’s Plan:
- Write Up #2 Quick Hits
- Reviewing Texts
- Sample Rhetorical Analysis
- For Next Class
Write Up #2 Quick Hits
I kept a few notes as I went through the second set of write ups. These were so good!
Jen highlighted Miller’s line “As long as there has been democracy, there has been demagoguery” (and noted how the roots of Hitler’s rise to power lie in the hopelessness experienced by Weimar Germans) and Jessica questioned the meaning of “smart people” if our history is littered with terrible mistakes in judgement. Together reminds me of Churchill’s frustration: “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…” (1947) (and, hence, Burke’s emphasis that rhetoric deals with the scramble of the human barnyard)
Joshua noted the emotional intensity of demagoguery, noting how “Brewed with passion, fear, and in many cases hate, these two sides are pinned against the other, stuck in their viewpoints that they will never give up ground”
I wrote this as a response to someone’s paper: I think Miller wants us to focus less on *who* someone is, and more on what we can do to help people. We need to talk about specific changes we want to make, and try to debate the pros and cons of those changes. And we need to use facts to support those arguments, not “ideas” or “opinions.” This means we need to be willing to listen to other people’s facts and not dismiss them because of who they are.
Violeta thought through the idea of “infotainment.” This made me think of recent debates regarding censorship/regulation on social media, and how other countries (Canada and UK included) have review boards that certify news organizations. In America, any such regulation is problematized by the spirit of the first amendment (I say spirit since all the first amendment guarantees is that the government will not punish you for speech, it does not guarantee that private entities need endorse or broadcast that speech)
Reviewing Texts
This might wait until Wednesday.
Rhetorical Analysis
Today in class I wanted to work on a rhetorical analysis, to give you some sense of how close reading works and how you might approach using the heuristics I’ve shared / we’ve developed.
First, a refresher on those heuristics:
One more thing: Burke, trained incapacity and perspective by incongruity. [can’t pay attention to everything, discourse patterns experience, etc.]
Second, our text: David Chapelle’s SNL monologue (take 3?).
For Next Class
Give your text a close read and use the heuristic to begin your analysis. I’m going to ask you to work in socially distanced groups on Wednesday, so please bring 5 copies of a one page handout that includes a selection of your text (it doesn’t need the whole thing) and a question or an idea to discuss in your group (I’m planning on groups of four–so the 5th copy is for me).
Class will be optional on Friday. Your homework for next Monday will be to finish your rhetorical analysis paper. I will provide a rubric for the paper on Wednesday. You can bring a paper on Friday and we can discuss it, or you can stay home and work on the paper on your own time.
