Hamid's novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist is written in a very distinctive style, using the rare but useful second-person. In this final post, see if you can emulate Hamid's narrative strategy in order to examine the tension that exists between two ways of explaining the world (think about Hauerwas's narrative ethics, or "witnessing"). This involves creating a strongly invoked audience - a person or group of people who do not necessarily share the narrative you use to make sense of the world. This audience is unlikely to be persuaded by your narrative, so your job is to respectfully explain your position in an attempt to clarify it for one who likely will never agree with you. It's not an easy assignment, but done well, it can be revelatory.
Once again, you can try a "deep" issue--or go light-hearted, and in the process, reveal something significant. For example, the conversations Hamid constructs explain events as political as 9-11 and as seemingly inconsequential as pop culture and food; both are relevant to understanding difference.
Blog Post #6 (Due January 30)
Your first blog post analyzed an argument, following on our "Everything is an Argument" reading. The second was a Lifehack, a "How-To" blog meant to instruct, and, more implicitly, to argue for a better way to do something. Since then, you've lost/learned, analyzed, and thought critically about evidence. As we move into our final unit, on thinking about the ethical positions that underlie dissent, your task is to overtly persuade. Keeping in mind the lessons about persuasion we learned oh-so-many weeks ago, write a blog post to persuade your reader to do something, to care about something, to take action. This post can be, as many have been, entertaining; it could also be serious, issue-oriented stuff.
Two forms that persuasive blog posts might take are the "What" and the "Why" post. "What" posts serve to explain a concept in a way that explains why you should care about that concept. They often include a call to action, the end result of persuasion ["What Your Sock Drawer Tells Us About Your Dating Life," "What Greece's Election Means for the Rest of the World"]. "Why" posts ask questions that the post itself answers, are aimed at persuading readers of the significance of the thing or idea, and sway the reader to consider something they hadn't thought about or to re-consider settled choices and routines ["Why Watching Sponge Bob Will Change the Way You Think About Sea Life," "Why the Arab Spring Has Turned into a Deep Freeze"]. Both "What" and "Why" posts rely on examples, facts, statistics, or other sorts of persuasive evidence.
As in your other posts, your evidence can be visual, include hyperlinks, or even link your reader right to another site that invites an explicit action.
If you're ambitious, check out this example:
How to Create Viral Facebook Post
Or, on a lighter note:
Why Kim Kardashian is the World's Greatest Marketer
Blog Post #5: What is your E-dentity?
A person's "e-dentity" is composed of the identity that emerges when we search for that person through his or her digital "traces." Online profiles, records of academic performances, online news stories, photographs, comments we may leave on other people's sites. It's what you find when you Google yourself, and what others find when they search for you online.
For this post, do some research on your own e-identity. You might choose to go broad, by Googling yourself, or narrower: what identity emerges when you search for traces of yourself on your best friends' Twitter accounts? Then, construct a blog post in which you make an argument - textual, visual, or both - about who you are on the internet. You might choose to focus on the accuracy of your e-dentity, what's missing, or its impact on your life. I'll leave the form up to you, but your post should do three things: define some aspect of your e-dentity, explain your evidence, and assess your findings. What do you like about your e-dentity? What do you learn about yourself by thinking critically about it?
A couple of readings that might be helpful to you in thinking about our digital traces:
Thompson, "The Brave New World of Digital Intimacy"
Lori Culwell, "Death and Twitter"
Due: Jan. 19
Blog Post #4: Five Faces of Oppression
In "The Five Faces of Oppression," Young argues that oppression should no longer be understood as an intentional political tyranny of one group over another, but as often unconscious and unintentional, upheld through "unquestioned norms, habits, and symbols"--embedded, she argues, in our everyday practices.
One of most common everyday practices of Americans (and many others, too!) is to consume media information, images, music, etc. In this blog post, you'll subject an artifact of popular media to analysis using the lens of "oppression" that Young provides us. Choose something you like to see/hear/watch and consume on a regular basis. In what ways might this popular text tacitly uphold exploitation, marginalization, cultural imperialism? What ways of thinking, acting, etc. does it help to "naturalize?" How does it contribute to one of these forms of oppression?
Keep in mind that in many cases like this, there is no real oppressor--one person or thing to blame. The object is to illuminate--what's really going on here that, once identified, we might be able to change?
Links to examples of this sort of cultural critique:
West, "I See White People" (warning! Hunger Games spoiler alert!)
Crass, "Expecto Patronum: Harry Potter Lessons in Social Justice Organizing"
Due: TUESDAY, Jan. 15
Blog Post #3: Fight Club
In this scene from the film Fight Club, Tyler Durden gives his fight club "pupils" the assignment of starting a fight and losing it. Why? Knowing how to lose makes you a better fighter.
I'm giving you a similar assignment here: start an academic "fight" and "lose" it. In class on TechnoTuesday, Dec. 9, we'll look at some models of losing well and discuss why it's important to lose. In the meantime, though, think about which of the writers/thinkers/characters we've encountered so far that you are going to pick a losing fight with. This is going to work best if you REALLY have a beef with the person. Just sit in jail, Henry? Really? Do your duty with no regard to moral qualms, Little Abbott? What about the men who died?
Your post will need to demonstrate your understanding of this person's position, argument, and the beliefs that underlie it; you'll also need to demonstrate that you understand and can use the moves it takes to win by losing--remember, in the context we've been talking about, "losing" is really "learning"--recognizing the limits of your own understanding and coming to terms with a new idea. We'll come up with a list of key moves in class on Tuesday.
For an example of a "winning by losing" blog post, see this response to the Louis CK "fat girl rant." Where does the author acknowledge "losing" in this post? What are the phrases or "moves" she makes to acknowledge what she has learned? What does she suggest we can learn by acknowledging how Louis CK (the writer/actor/comedian, not necessarily the character in the scene) has "won?"
Some strategies to try:
- Dialogue (Socratic or not)
- Imagining an intelligent third-party watching your argument
- Imagining yourself as both participant and observer of the discussion
- Inflating your OWN wrongness--set your own views up to be deflated
And...I took up Gabby's suggestion of writing my own "fight club" post. You can find it here.
Thanks to Eric Stephens and Andrea Lunsford's "Bedford Bits" for the idea for this assignment.
PechaKucha
A PechaKucha slide show is a presentation that presents a verbal argument in conjunction with visual images. Each image is shown for exactly 20 seconds; the presenter must perfectly coordinate the timing of his/her words with the visual image, choosing words carefully to bring out important aspects of the image and pack maximum impact. The goal of PechaKucha, according to its website, is to "uncover the unexpected," tell a good story, to intrigue.
For this assignment, you'll answer the question "What do I Believe?" through a 60-second PechaKucha presentation. Choose three slides that make some kind of argument (think about the different kinds outlined in "Everything is an Argument." Then, craft your words carefully. You'll have ONLY one minute. We'll plan to do 30 of these in class on Tuesday, Nov. 25. Those not able to present that day will open class on Wednesday with their presentations.
Here's a video on how to use PowerPoint for a PechaKucha (most important - setting the 20-second time frame!).
There are lots of examples on the website--do some exploring before you create yours!
You should deposit your PechaKucha slide show in this folder.
Blog Post #2: Lifehack
An excellent blog post = Ö +
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A good blog post = Ö
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An aspiring blog post = Ö -
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A weak blog post = 0
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Lifehack.org describes a "lifehack" this way: it is a "phrase that describes any advice, resource, tip or trick that will help you get things done more efficiently and effectively." Thus, by describing a lifehack you are writing to inform, but also to create an implicit argument: "if you share some values, traits, or experiences with me, you ought to consider this advice." Lifehacks share a purpose and format--they are lists with some sort of visual component. Your lifehack should have these elements:
- An intriguing and appropriate title
- A brief introduction to the topic that conveys a clear sense of purpose
- A numbered list (at least 7!) in which each item includes a visual and a textual element. The text must do more than simply describe the visual: it should inject the visual element with meaning generated from your own ideas and experiences.
For the visuals, use your own photographs, or link to images that exist on the web. Be sure to attribute the visuals to the source.
There are MANY different topics to choose from. They might have to do with everyday life, with a ritual or practice, with a field of study, a task. How to make a pie. How to read the Bible. How to avoid buying books for your classes. How to eat vegan in the CSL, etc.
There are MANY different topics to choose from. They might have to do with everyday life, with a ritual or practice, with a field of study, a task. How to make a pie. How to read the Bible. How to avoid buying books for your classes. How to eat vegan in the CSL, etc.
The best way to figure out what a life hack is, is to visit the site and see some for yourself! Here are some student-created lifehacks as examples:
- 10 Survival tips for Architecture Students – Andrew Mesa
- 7 most difficult things to deal with when you are over 6 ft tall – Kyle Lamb
- 7 Types of Brazilian Food You Have to Try by the End of this Year – Rafael Albuquerque
- 7 Reasons the US Should Not Be Petrified of Ebola – Asante Lloyd
*Many thanks to Kim Haimes-Korn for the idea for this assignment*
Blog Post #1:
Using the examples of visual, textual, poetic, even architectural arguments in "Everything Is an Argument," locate an argument that intrigues you. Post it on your blog (by creating a link, embedding an image or file, etc.). If your example is a video, it should be no more than 2 minutes long; textual examples should be no more than 250 words. Be creative in your choice!
Then, write a 400-500 word blog post making sense of its argument. Use question #6 on p. 44 to prompt your thinking. What kind of argument does your "artifact" offer? What sort of stasis question(s) does it respond to? How does it appeal to viewers/readers? How do you know? See if you can use Sarah Vowell's style as your inspiration - think about the interpretation of "The Patriot" that she offers, or even of the sign on the subway.
Make your post by class time on Friday.
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