1) What information did you find useful in this class?

The information that I found interesting in the class were the different styles of methods for criticism. I found out that there are so many ways how we can analyze and artifact.

2) What was your favorite part of this class?

My favorite part of the class was posting the blogs on Blogger. I thought that it was a better way to learn and I expressed myself through not only text but through pictures and videos. I also work for a hip hop blog so making the posts wasn’t too difficult because I wanted to write about things that actually interested me. I would have preferred writing a blog more than using Blackboard.

3) What do you think was the most challenging aspect of this class?

The most challenging part of the class was reading the text. Often I felt confused reading the assigned chapters. But when I came to class I understood each method more clearly.

4) How might you incorporate the knowledge and experiences gained from this class into your life beyond this classroom?

Taking this course has challenged me to think more critically. I would like to really look & analyze an artifact in a deeper form. This class has also taught me how to be a more effective writer. I will use what I have learned and apply them in the future.

5) Think of a question or issue that is most pressing to you right now. How would you use your knowledge of rhetoric and/or rhetorical criticism to gain perspective on this question or issue?

How will I pass my Exit Writing Exam? I will use one of the methods that I have learned and focus on the major elements of each essay. By planning, and organizing my thoughts well I will be to determine a solution to a problem and use strategic forms of writing to achieve my goal.

Thank You Ms. Guler! I enjoyed taking the course and I hope you have a GREAT Summer!!!!

-Sam

The Person who i chose is Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne is a famous rapper who has recently been sentenced to prison. There have times that he's had a brush up against the law. Lil Wayne has also had alcohol/drug abuse related problems in his life. He seems to portray a "Bad boy" persona & I wanted to talk about how he handles problems in his life and the hip-hop community. There are many songs that i would like to analyze where he portrays as a gangster and how much power and dominance he has.

For my 2nd essay, I would like to analyze the Columbine High School massacre case. Sometimes I hear people jokingly saying, "stop making fun of him; he might 'Columbine' the school." The first time I heard something like that was when I first started attending High School. I immediately knew that "to Columbine" a place meant going on a killing rampage and shoot innocent people.

This Fantasy theme depicts the killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, slaying their own peers near Littleton, Colorado in 1999. In the aftermath of the shootings, there was a great deal of debate about what "provoked" the killers to do such a horrific crime. One of the biggest pressures of High School is fitting in and joining cliques. Teenagers want the sense of feeling important and having friends. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold felt the feelings of helplessness, insecurity and depression, as well as a strong desire for attention. Some schools also began programs to expose and stop school bullying, which many charged had fueled anger and resentment within Harris and Klebold. When teens are teased to an high extent they tend to have low confidence and want the feeling of power.

These killers were often made fun of and outcasted as "nerds" who were unpopular and ostracized by much of the school's population. So when a student is picked at so much he/she might retaliate against those they felt pain against.

"The term Columbine has also become a household name and is associated with anybody who wants to do a school shooting. Charles Andrew Williams, the Santee shooter, reportedly told his friends that he was going to 'do Columbine' (none of them took him seriously). Columbine has also become the model for all other future school shootings, with some kids aspiring and saying they want to "outdo Columbine."

SOURCE - Fact-Archive

Attached is a documentary of what the killer's lives were like & how much ridicule they went through.

Dances with Wolves Directed By: Kevin Costner


I chose to go to see "Dances with Wolves" which was directed by actor Kevin Costner. Kevin Costner was the main character of this movie. He played as a Lieutenant named John Dunbar. Dunbar was dubbed a hero after he accidentally led Union troops to a victory during the Civil War. He requested a position on the western frontier, but found it deserted. He later found out he was not alone, but meets a wolf he calls it "Two-socks." Dunbar then meets a curious Indian tribe. Dunbar quickly made friends with the tribe, and discovered a white woman who was raised by the Indians. He gradually earned their respect of the native people, and disregarded his white-man's culture.

Having been sent to a remote outpost in the wilderness of the Dakota territory during the American Civil War, Lieutenant John Dunbar encounters, and is eventually accepted into, the local Sioux tribe. He is known as "Dances with Wolves" to them and as time passes he becomes enamored by the beautiful "Stands with a Fist". Not soon after, the frontier becomes the frontier no more, and as the army advances on the plains, John must make a decision that will not only affect him, but also the lives of the natives he now calls his people.

This movie depicted the Indians in an unstereotypical way. White Americans during that time thought of the Indians as beggars, savages, and thieves. White men took over other people’s land and killed the buffalo for only game. I know that a lot of people have misunderstood, mistreated, or misjudged someone in their lifetime. All people are worthy of respect, you cannot just judge by first instinct or by what others say. Americans back then were small minded, revengeful, prejudiced, and swayed by rumor very easily.

Everyone in the world has to make a first impression on something new, sometimes it is a bad impression and they assume that you are always like that or that’s how you view everything. Whether you make a good impression or bad impression everyone is worthy of respect. You can’t just hate somebody just because how they act, and this is exactly what the Americans did. Many people have thought of someone in a certain way including myself, after you make those actions you look back and really think about it and how you had no right to do whatever you did. September 11th had a huge impact on the Middle Eastern people, many Americans depicted Arabs in a wrong manner. Just because a select few people did the wrong thing, doesn’t mean that everyone in their culture is one of them. Stereotyping is the one of the worst traits that Americans possess. In the movie John Dunbar was almost the near opposite of the average person back then. He took the time to understand what these Indians were really like. It turns out that they were extremely friendly and very helpful. The average American would kill John Dunbar for being a traitor even though he was one of them. Nobody takes the time to take in what people have to say over a period of time, they jump to conclusions. If everyone in the world acted as John Dunbar did the world would be such a better place. People keep talking about the bad of someone more than the good and that is all that spreads throughout the country. They don’t emphasize on the good traits, they tell the bad and only the bad even though these people have a lot of good in them.

The Indians were very good people and John Dunbar took the best of the American traits and put them all to use. In the end I’m sure he thought happy even though his own country would not accept him for John Dunbar, they looked at him as an enemy and only an enemy. The Americans did not take the time to compromise with the Indians; they kept shuffling them around like a deck of cards and throwing them wherever there was land and no food. If the Americans would have talked to the Indians they could have sorted it all out and the world would be a better place because of it. If only everyone could be like John Dunbar was this world would be nearly perfect. I know that nobody can do that though because you say you can but you do not follow it forever, because rumors change your mind in a heart beat.

Artifact – Website

Agent – Twitter

Act - Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers.

Scene – People throughout the world on the Internet or cell phone

Purpose – to get a message or specific idea sent across to one another

Agency – to comprehend or understand messages. This allows users or Tweeters to communicate effectively.

I think one major reason Twitter is being used is because it’s a good way to keep in touch with busy friends. Some may think that you may feel too connected and don’t want to know what they are doing every single moment of their lives. But, in my opinion if you have a close relative or family member I would like to know what’s going on with them.

Another reason why Twitter is being used is because usually a business or a corporation has a product/idea they are promoting/selling to the consumers. Since users can only type up to 140 characters, tweets need to be specific in order for the message to be fully understand. A tweet should consider the 5 W’s [Who, what, where, when, and why]. By using this social network many ideas and products are created in a fast pace.

More is Explained in this Video:

Heroes is a science fiction television show which is aired on NBC. The show Heroes is about ordinary people who discover that they hold superhuman abilities and how these individuals who hold superhuman abilities live their lives. When choosing the show Heroes I wanted to write about it simple because I would like to discuss the ideology of good and evil of science.

The first series of the shows starts off with a seemingly ordinary group of people gradually and the audience witnesses with the character the process of becoming aware of their abilities. Events occur that illustrate their reactions to these powers and how the discovery of superhuman ability affects their personal and professional lives. We soon then learn that at the same time as these characters are learning about their powers several ordinary individuals are investigating the origins and extent of these abilities. Dr. Suresh, a scientist, continues his late father's research into the biological source of the change, while Noah Bennet represents a secret organization known only as "The Company".

The Company refers to a fictional international organization. Its primary purpose is to identify, monitor and study individuals with genetically-derived special abilities. Throughout the show, a majority of the people who have super powers learn that they are connected with one another. They learn that the Company injected humans with drugs causing them to mutate or have specific powers. Each of the characters is drawn, willingly or unwillingly, into the Company's conspiracy to control super powered people and into a race to stop an explosion from destroying New York City. The Company is responsible for a number of viruses, drugs, tracking systems and mutations. The original purpose of the Company was to protect and serve the Government of the United States. Nevertheless, with great power, there comes GREAT responsibility.

The ideology common ideology of good and bad soon begin to arise. This ideology is easy to relate to and find in our common day world. The theme or concept of individuals trying to do the right thing in a world full of wrong is a theme that many audience members could relate to. Also the show is looking at how key science is to our society as well as how potentially dangerous it could be if in the wrong hands. In our current world today we continue to see news reports about Weapons of Mass Destruction and other nuclear products being developed and many of us in the world view these weapons as evil science. Since the beginning of time we have learned that there has always been a battle between good and evil, Heroes is a show that looks at this theme of good and evil and tries to connect the issues that many of us face through characters like us.

The first artifact that can be analyzed is a painting called a river Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies, 1899 by Claude Monet. Claude Monet who was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's. I saw this painting at the National Gallery of Art. I just liked the colors, shapes, shadows, and tones that he used. This painting reminds me of not rushing things. You need to take your time and spend some effort. The Lighting and shades you use the more details you can show.

The second artifact that I chose was a show called Heroes, which is aired on NBC. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the characters' lives. The series emulates the aesthetic style and storytelling of American comic books, using short, multi-episode story arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing arc. I think lets viewers look at the world at a different way and how science can help someone or it can destroy a lot of other things.

The last artifact that I can analyze is a TV show called Family Guy which is aired on FOX. The show usually has funny way of showing parody about American Culture. Family guy usually shows a number of miscellaneous clips which makes fun of a political figure, celebrity or current news.

Chapter 7: Ideological Criticism










An ideology is an organized system of beliefs, values, and ideas that shows a different aspect of the world. These aspects reflect the basis of social economic, political or cultural interest.



The primary components of an Ideology are evaluative beliefs. These beliefs can lead to infinite possible judgments. One example that was brought up in the reading was the issue of immigration:

- Too Many People come to our county.
- Immigrants only come here to live off welfare.
- The Government must send back illegal immigrants.
- Immigrants fill up inexpensive housing and take jobs from people who need them.

In this Clip: A woman gives tells us her beliefs about Immigration and how we should we deal with it. She asks other people for their ideology about this situation.

The textbook, Rhetorical Criticism by Sonja Foss defines Neo-Aristotelian criticism as a method of criticism that was developed to analyze speeches, and discursive text. It is analyzed in a 4 step process: [1] selecting an artifact; [2] analyzing the artifact at; [3] forming the research question; & [4] writing the essay.

There are 3 basic steps in analyzing the artifact. Neo-Aristotelian criticism analyzes biographical information by reconstructing the context in which the artifact occurred, apply the 5 cannons to the artifact, and assess the impact of the artifact to the audience.

The 5 canons of rhetoric are -

1. Invention [the location and creation of ideas & materials for the speech]
2. Organization, location, creation of ideas, & materials for the speech
3. Style [the language of the speech]
4. Memory [mastery of the subject matter, which may include memorization of the speech]
5. Delivery [management of the voice & gestures in the presentation of the speech]