Ethos and writing about immigration

To start class today, I’d like you to reflect on the selections from Helen Thorpe’s book Just Like Us and consider it in relation to appeals to ethos. How does Thorpe establish her ethos as a writer and cultivate good will with her readers? How does she present the stories of these young women so as to establish their good character and/or humanize them in such a way as to get readers to suspend any judgment they may have because two of them are undocumented? What makes them sympathetic figures? (Or conversely, what undermines these impulses?)

As you conclude your response, please suggest one or two questions (about ethos or other issues you found interesting) that you think could guide our discussion today.

Emotional reasoning and the rhetoric of social justice

Before class on Tuesday, I'd like you to respond to the question we started our discussion with today: What role do appeals to pathos play in arguments for social justice? Using today’s (and Tuesday’s, if you like) readings and film, draft a few paragraphs in which you make a case for how arguments for social justice—especially those in relation to the murder of Fred Martinez, the acceptance of Native American third and fourth gender roles and sexual identities, or the documentation and memorializing of the Sand Creek Massacre—draw on or are built upon emotional reasoning. How does such reasoning contribute to the persuasiveness of claims made about these issues?

Reflecting on Two Spirits

Before class on Thursday, I would like to reflect on the film Two Spirits, especially in contrast to The Laramie Project. First, share with the rest of us what you think this documentary’s main purpose and argument is. How is it different from The Laramie Project? Second, what do you think are the film’s primary rhetorical appeals? How does it support its main claim and what makes these rhetorical proofs persuasive? How do these strategies differ from those used in The Laramie Project? Aim for about 250 words for your response, and post it here as a comment to this post.

Reflecting on Our First Assignment

To start class today, I’d like you to take a few minutes and reflect on what it was like to write your first essay for this class. Describe your writing process and tell the rest of us about how your piece changed from your initial ideas to your final draft. How did our course reading, class discussion, or blogging shape the argument you made about The Laramie Project? What observations or feedback did your peers give you about your draft that helped you as you continued drafting and revising it? Ultimately, what did you learn about rhetoric, persuasive writing, social justice, or yourself by completing this assignment?

What’s your argument?

To begin class today, I’d like you to take a few minutes and reflect on this passage from Jim Corder’s essay, “Argument as Emergence, Rhetoric as Love”:

The narratives we tell (ourselves) create and define the worlds in which we hold our beliefs. Our narratives are the evidence we have of ourselves and of our convictions. Argument, then, is not something we make outside ourselves; argument is what we are. Each of us is an argument. (18)

Consider Corder’s point in relation to your sense of identity. What narrative(s) do you tell yourself (or others) about yourself? What does this narrative say about your values or your beliefs? What argument does your narrative, or do you, represent in the world?

Rhetor’s Notebook Post #2: Framing the Rhetoric of The Laramie Project

To help you draft this essay, I’d like you to identify a concept (like rhetoric, audience, rhetorical constraints, appeals to ethos, pathos, or logos, argument, love, or social justice) from any of the essays by Covino & Joliffe, Corder, or Miller, which you think will help you develop your claim about the film. First, use the reading to help you define this concept and explain what it means to the rest of us. Then, use this term to open up an initial discussion of The Laramie Project and explain how it helps us understand the film's persuasiveness. How does this concept help you analyze the film and deepen your claim about its persuasiveness? Please post your response to this post before class on Monday.

Responding to The Laramie Project

Now that you’ve finished watching The Laramie Project, I’d like you to take five minutes and reflect on your initial response to the film. What was it like for you to watch it? How would you characterize your response to it? What do you think the film’s main point is? What claim do you see it making about its subject matter?

Kairos and The Laramie Project

Before class on Thursday (Jan. 5), I’d also like you to post a brief reflection to our blog using concepts from our reading to comment on the opening scenes of The Laramie Project. (Please read the article by Covino before responding to the following questions.) How does the film represent its rhetorical situation? That is, what is the exigency for this film? What need is it filling? What audience(s) does it seek to reach and influence? What rhetorical constraints—that is, beliefs or values—does the film portray as shaping its message? (Another way to think through these questions might be: Out of what context does this film emerge? What gives it urgency or timeliness? How does the film respond to the particular situation that evolves out of Matthew Shepard’s murder?) As you explore these questions, include evidence from the film to support your response and aim for at least 250 words. Post your response as a comment to this post.

Introductory Post: Welcome to WRIT 1622

Welcome to WRIT 1622! I’m looking forward to getting to know each of you as students and writers in the next ten weeks. To start us off, I’d like you to use your first post to our course blog to introduce yourself to the rest of our class.

In your post, tell us a little more about who you are. What’s unique or interesting about where you’re from, your family, the high school you attended, your first quarter at DU, or your dreams for your future? (Or anything else about you that you think might interest the rest of us.)

Reflect a bit, too, about what kind of writer you are. What do you like to write? What are your strengths as a writer? What do you think makes writing “good”? How would you define the word rhetoric? (Have you ever studied rhetoric? If so, what did you learn about it?) Last, please conclude your introduction by telling us what you hope to learn about writing from this course and you're looking for as a writer or as a student?

Please post your response as a comment to this post. Aim for at least 250 words. I look forward to reading more about all of you.