For Weds. 1/28

Please click here and read/watch the inaugural address.

In 1 page, typed discuss what you find moving in this speech. Analyze why it is moving. Does President Obama use appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos? Is this an argument? Discuss.

Styles of Argument/Rhetoric: Satire

First, your analysis paper is due on Tuesday 10/21 and is worth 100 points. Bring it to class, typed and ready to turn in.

Now, we turn our attention to the way people make arguments in our society (in and beyond the Academy).

We start with one of my favorites--satire and other creative modes for making one's point.


Read: Bachelder's "A Soldier Upon A Hard Campaign" From The Believer. Oct. 2004.
Read: "Bush Calls For Panic". From the The Onion, Oct. 15, 2008.
Read: Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron" from the West Valley College website.

And Watch this and this.

Reading for Sept. 30th

Hi. Your reading assignment for this weekend is to read this and the handout from Alain De Botton's Consolations Of Philosophy (which you will pick up in class tomorrow).

Instead of a precis, you will write a story. Notice how both of these readings tell the story (life story to an extent) of two different people in order to make a point. Your assignment is to mimic this. Write a story--about a person you know, or don't know, but know a lot about--in order to make a point about life, politics, etc.

Study how each of these stories tells its story, and how dialogue, point of view and character all play a part in that telling. Look at the author's use of pathos. This could evolve into something you use in your researched argument so have at it.

Due: 10/2/08, 2-3 pages.

Homework for Tuesday 9/23

Read: Good Reasons 353-376 (about gay marriage and rights).

Write: A short (1-2 pages) refutation/support of one of the points of view expressed in an article. Be sure to accurately name the article and the author. Practice arguing here. Use good reasons to support your claim--x/y is right/wrong because a,b,c.

Have fun.

Jeff

Tues. 9/16 Viewing

Sorry this is a bit tardy.

Watch the You Tube video, "Mouth Revolution," here. (Click the word here). Think about humor. About what you eat and why and be ready to talk about it. We will revisit food problems several times throughout the semester, so get ready.

Due: Precis of the video and the Schlosser reading

Revision to Thursday's Homework

Hi,

I just noticed there are actually three essays in the assigned reading for class tomorrow. Please read them all, including the ads at the end, but only write a precis of two of them.

Remember to type your homework and turn it in on time. I DON"T ACCEPT LATE WORK!