Memoir

What have you learned about Carlos Eire thus far? Who is he and why do you think he's writing? Also,  what does today's reading suggest to you about memoir as a genre? How would you describe that genre based on what you've read so far?

due in class 11/14

Election Reflections

Now that it's all over but the recounting and at least some of the dust has settled, take a few minutes to reflect. For many of you, this was the first presidential election in which you were old enough to vote. What was it like? What did you learn about the electoral process? What was your favorite moment of the campaign so far?

due 11/9
Note also that Personal Blog 6 has been moved to Wednesday, November 14.

Inquiry Presentations

Choose one of the presentations from today and write a response to it. You might choose the one that you found most interesting, most aggravating, or perhaps the one that you just really want to have a conversation about.

Your post might address the strengths or weaknesses of the argument or other points that weren't mentioned. You should also mention why you chose to respond to this particular presentation and not another.

due October 29

All in Moderation

The moderators for this year's presidential (and vice presidential) debates have been getting a lot of attention, much more than I personally can remember in a past election. What do you value in a debate moderator? What do you think her/his role is and what has been your favorite "moderator moment" thus far?

due October 19

How to Stuff Your Face Like a President: Athens Edition

During Monday's class we took a look at the rhetoric of presidential eating and the New York Times' slideshow, "How to Stuff Your Face Like a President." We spent a few minutes talking about where we should send Obama for a quintessential Athens bite. I think Paul mentioned Big Mamma's burritos (which is probably where I'll frequent this afternoon for my make-it-through-the-rally food).

Then it hit me: Nothing is more Athenian than Casa. We always take guests there so that they get the full Athenian experience. But then, of course I realized that Obama can't go to Casa. (10 bonus points to the first person to tell me why!)

But then a few hours later I saw the owner of Donkey posting to FB that he really hoped President Obama would come to Donkey. We were all suggesting ways that Chris could encourage Obama to stop in. And last night I walked into O'Betty's and the guy at the counter said that Obama might stop in there because he likes to eat at locally owned restaurants. O'Betty's, according to Counter Guy, had been cleared by the Secret Service.

So where will Obama show up? O'Betty's? Donkey? Casa? All have great food and great Athens culture. Also, I'm pretty sure he should drink beer. Because this is Athens.

Wherever it is, I will be taking a play from Maggie's grandparents' book when I have some Obama-supporting friends in town this weekend. 

Postscript: As I was adding in the hyperlinks, I saw a big sign on Casa's page saying that they're closed today. I laughed so hard I almost fell off my chair. So yes Mr. President, if you want the full Athenian experience, go to Casa, find out it's closed, and then go get a Syra at O'Betty's and wash it down with a nice Frescante from my friends, Chris & Angie Pyle.

Personal Blog 6: Face to Face with a President (or at least within shouting distance)

For most of us, getting to hear a President speak live is a once-in-a-lifetime event. What do you think was the rhetorical purpose of Obama's appearance in Athens? (i.e. beyond getting you to vote for him) What specific arguments did you hear him making?

Were there other implicit arguments at work? (perhaps through his appearance in a college town, appearance in Ohio, through the warm-up acts, maybe through his choice of clothing?)

Finally, what was it like to be there in the crowd? Did you find him more or less persuasive in person?

If you weren't able to attend the rally, then an alternate prompt will be added closer to the due date.

due 11/9 to your Personal Blog
due 11/14 to your Personal Blog; respond to the "Election Reflections" post for Friday, 11/9, instead.

The Rhetoric of the Lie

After reading through the factcheck.org responses to the vice presidential and first presidential debates, what do you think is the rhetorical value of lying. Do you think that one kind of lie is more likely to get candidates in trouble than another? Why do candidates persist in lying in this age of near-instant factchecking? From the candidates' perspective, how does untrue information manage to persuade people anyway? (even when it's easy to demonstrate that the information is untrue?)

due on October 17, 2012

Personal Blog 5: Rhetorical Analysis

For Personal Blog 5, I'd like you to write a rhetorical analysis of either Romney's book or Obama's. Your analysis should be sure to identify the author's argument (and some sub-arguments as well) and the key evidence that you see him using to make that argument. Your analysis should also discuss the key rhetorical strategies that the author uses and how he employs ethos.  Note that you will not be able to do a good job with this in 300 words. This post should be at least 500 words, therefore I'm giving you extra time to complete it.

due 10/15

Campaign Books Day 3

What have you learned about each candidate since reading his book? What kinds of things have surprised you? Have your views on each candidate changed at all?

Write one post in response to these three questions. The first half of your post should respond for the Romney book and the second half for the Obama book.

due in class 10/3

Personal Blog 3: Libya, Bad "Movies", and the Believing Game

For this week's personal blog post, I'd like you to consider at least two of the "actors" in the Libyan tragedy at the U.S. consulate/release of The Innocence of Muslims. Take these two actors and use the Believing Game to write about what they did, why, and how it reflects their wider goals/purposes/worldviews.  Below are some possible actors, although you could also write about someone else you feel is relevant.  This story has been evolving over the last several days and I encourage you to spend a few minutes reading online to make sure you're up to date before you write. It could be that new actors will enter this story by the time you write your post, but a few starting points are listed below.

A couple of important details since we discussed this situation in class, as this story is rather confusing: First, "Sam Bacile"isn't a real person. He isn't Israeli or Jewish but instead seems to be a Coptic Christian. The tweets came from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, but the deaths were at the U.S. Consulate in Libya. The tweets were before the deaths that occurred in Libya.

"Actors"
"Sam Bacile", "filmmaker" who released the video
Terry Jones, who showed the film to his church in Florida
Employee in Cairo Embassy who posted the tweets
Mitt Romney
Barack Obama

Personal Blog 2: The Persuasive Power of the Robocall

For this week's personal blog post, I'd like you to consider the persuasive qualities of robocalls, yard signs, and bumperstickers. What do you think is the value of these persuasive acts? What rhetorical strategies do they typically employ? Who is the target audience for them? And by asking you about all three I don't mean to imply that the same response applies to each. Do they have things in common? Are they different in important ways?

post to your personal blog by 9/10



"Campaigning to the Bottom of the Electoral Barrel: Yard Signs, Bumper Stickers, and Worst of All, Robocalls"

I want bad things to happen to candidates who make robocalls. Really, really bad things. First of all, I'm on the Do Not Call registry, which means I DON'T WANT YOU TO CALL ME. And if you're going to irritate me by calling during dinner, or worse yet, during those brief and precious moments of my kid's naptime, at least have the decency to be a human being and not a robot. For years now I've been trying to figure out why candidates use robocalls. I just can't figure out how they persuade anyone. If you have any self-respect at all as a candidate, do you really want the vote of someone who is persuaded by a robocall? I can see how they have some "get out the vote" potential to remind people to vote or to remind people of how scary the opposition is (and thus motivate them to vote), but then couldn't you just save them for the last couple of days of the campaign? Why should we be subjected to them for weeks and months? Selecting a candidate isn't the only persuasive act at stake; your selection doesn't matter if you don't bother to go vote. But if I were ever truly on the fence about two candidates, the existence of a robocall would quickly make my decision clear.

Yard signs and bumper stickers are far less offensive, although again, it's hard to imagine them actually swinging someone's vote. The only scenario I can imagine is that you see all of your neighbors supporting a particular candidate then you decide to support that candidate too...because you're stupid and lazy. Didn't anyone ever teach you about peer pressure in school?

I was actually quite surprised to learn, in 2008, that one campaign was pretty much auctioning off yard signs to the highest bidder. You couldn't just receive a yard sign; you had to earn it by volunteering for the campaign. Really? You want me to pay you for free advertising in my yard? Yet these yard signs seemed to have become status symbols--people wanted them and were so proud of their candidate that they were willing to do whatever it took to "earn" one and display it. (Note that I said "people,", not "me." I remained yard sign-less in 2008.) I'd argue then that bumper stickers and yard signs are most persuasive in their ability to create a feeling of community and generate some degree of excitement about a candidate.

In case you were wondering, no, I have not been exercising my believing muscle in this post. I will now therefore concede that I find yard signs for issues to be useful, and occasionally for unknown candidates for local offices. Sometimes you don't year much about issues until you hit the polls, but the presence of issue-supporting yard signs alerts me before the election so that I can take the time to make a decision.

The Audacity of Hope

And now to do the same thing for President Obama:


Some questions to think about now that you've finished the beginning of Obama's book (and are about to watch his speech):

How does Obama open this book? What are the images and ideas that he begins with? What kinds of things does Obama reveal about himself, his personal life? What does the purpose of the book seem to be—not just “elect me” but elect him for what reasons? What kind of case is he trying to make so far in this book? How has Obama built (or harmed) his ethos thus far?

due in class 9/7

No Apology: Believe in America

Some questions to think about now that you've finished the beginning of Romney's book (and are about to watch his speech):

How does Romney open this book? What are the images and ideas that he begins with? What kinds of things does Romney reveal about himself, his personal life? What does the purpose of the book seem to be—not just “elect me” but elect him for what reasons? What kind of case is he trying to make so far in this book? Or, another way of thinking about it is what are his main criticisms of Obama? How has Romney built (or harmed) his ethos thus far?

due in class 9/5

Personal Blog 1

In addition to the informal blogging that we'll do on this site, you'll also keep a personal blog this semester with formal writing. For these personal blog posts, your writing should be more formal/professional (though not stiff), polished, and correct.

Your first step is to create a blog and send me its hyperlink. You may use any blogging platform/software you choose. After you've created your blog, here is your first writing prompt:


What is your impression of the two presidential candidates thus far? (Note that you don't have to reveal which one you plan to vote for or why.  Just talk to us about your personal, gut response to each. You can dislike Obama but still plan to vote for him and vice versa.)  What has shaped those impressions? Are there particular events, speeches, commercials, news stories or something else that's given you these impressions? Have you had a lot of exposure to base your impression on, or just a little? What else would you like to know about each candidate before election day?

Each blog post must be at least 300 words. Due 9/5/12.

The Believing Game

Spend a few minutes explaining the Believing Game in your own words. How is it related to the Doubting Game? What does Elbow mean by believing as a game?

due in class 8/29

Letter to Dr. Phillips

Introduce yourself to the class by telling us a little bit about yourself. You are welcome, but by no means obligated, to talk about your political feelings/beliefs. You may prefer to keep these things to yourself for now.  Be sure to address the following topics:

• your major and professional goals after graduation
• your language background--home language(s) and languages you've studied
• writing experience (in English and other languages)
• your political history--how interested and involved you are in politics (but you don't need to disclose your allegiances unless you'd like to)
• hobbies and interests

Remember that blog posts need to be at least 300 words long and that you need to send me your blog user name by Friday's class.

due Friday, 8/31