Rhetoric and Ideology project
In this project, we looked at our ideological experiences as Americans and examined how our exposure to rhetoric shapes our views. We looked closely at rhetorical discourse from the past and the present in an effort to deconstruct the ideas upon which America is built. We dissected many rhetorical pieces and studied the devices used in persuasion. Another part of this process was identifying and understanding our own ideas about America and expressing them through seminars and projects. We studied the art of Rhetoric, which, can be roughly defined as symbolic expression designed to modify the perspective of its audience, through language and images that seek to persuade, animate, motivate. Each of my peers originated our own rhetorical discourse, through a rhetorical presentation, that reflected our own ideological bias on an issue that was important to us as young Americans.
project reflection
In this project we were asked to deconstruct American ideology and to choose a topic that we felt passionate about that would be presented in a persuasive manner. This piece reflected on our beliefs on our country and was intended to convince an audience using rhetorical discourse. We began by studying and understanding America. We learned about the flaws in the economy, the county’s race problems, and civil disobedience, all through real world examples. In our project we embedded Aristotelian appeals and rhetoric devices to help effectively persuade our audience. I choose to do my topic on how the public education can better itself to cater to the 21st century in a way that allows students to be passionate about learning. I picked this topic because I have attended a public school where I did not learn things that I needed to know to be successful and happy which inclined me to switch to a charter school where I became passionate about education. I wanted to share with the world that there was something wrong with how kids are learning. I appealed to my audience through a presentation that showed my emotion towards the subject and allowed the viewers to understand both sides of the issue from my perspective.
My project incorporated the art of rhetoric by assisting in advocacy and distributing power and builds a community. Through my project I wanted to give the children of this nation knowledge, or a voice rather. These students were not learning in a beneficial way, and I appealed to the audience by telling them and speaking for all of the students who want to learn, that something needs to change. The way I spoke about my personal experience with such passion allowed for my audience to see that students need this change. In my rhetoric I distributed personal power by telling parents, teachers, and students that every child deserves a better education from a students perspective. I was the voice of students everywhere, I told everyone how important it was that they get the right education, and I was their proof. My presentation built a community because it exposed what was wrong with our system and a showed the direction we need to take as a nation. My rhetoric showed parents and teachers that what they truly value is the education their children are getting.
I choose this topic because I had a strong personal connection to the subject. I knew first hand both sides of the issue, which really supported my rhetoric. I connected personally through my experience at a school that wasn't doing its job and then a transfer to a school that opened my eyes to the problem at hand. I was able to show my audience that I am the evidence of the change that needs to be made. This added emotion to my presentation and hard evidence. What I liked most about this project was seeing that people had already made this connection and that changes were starting to be made. During my presentation I was able to directly tell my old teacher who is part of the system what wasn't working and what need to change and why. This made me happy because I knew I was really sending a message that my rhetoric was working.
With this project I had a hard time narrowing my focus on the public education system. There were so many aspects of the topic that I felt needed to be looked at and heard, but not everything could be talked about. I didn't know what to tell people. I realized that the most powerful way for me to express how I felt about the public education system was to share my personal experience. I also wish I had more time to really make a strong argument, to say what I wanted to say in a powerful way without being repetitive. I would have liked to rehearse more and video myself presenting in order to make sure the presentation in my head was just as powerful as the one I did on stage at exhibition.
Through this project I have learned many things about rhetoric, ideology, the American experience, and myself. I learned that I have a strong voice that deserves to be heard. I have learned that I can use rhetoric to make my voice heard. I have also learned how to identify types of rhetoric and how powerful it can be. I know now that rhetoric is full of many ideologies that may or may not affect my life. That it is important to be able to identify ideas and tear apart rhetoric to fully understand. I have learned that it is important to be an open minded individual, that your ideology might change. As a young American I have learned that the important people are not all they cracked up to be and that there is a lot about the American experience that I have yet to explore. This project has helped me to see that my ideology as a young American is always changing as I open myself up to the world.
My project incorporated the art of rhetoric by assisting in advocacy and distributing power and builds a community. Through my project I wanted to give the children of this nation knowledge, or a voice rather. These students were not learning in a beneficial way, and I appealed to the audience by telling them and speaking for all of the students who want to learn, that something needs to change. The way I spoke about my personal experience with such passion allowed for my audience to see that students need this change. In my rhetoric I distributed personal power by telling parents, teachers, and students that every child deserves a better education from a students perspective. I was the voice of students everywhere, I told everyone how important it was that they get the right education, and I was their proof. My presentation built a community because it exposed what was wrong with our system and a showed the direction we need to take as a nation. My rhetoric showed parents and teachers that what they truly value is the education their children are getting.
I choose this topic because I had a strong personal connection to the subject. I knew first hand both sides of the issue, which really supported my rhetoric. I connected personally through my experience at a school that wasn't doing its job and then a transfer to a school that opened my eyes to the problem at hand. I was able to show my audience that I am the evidence of the change that needs to be made. This added emotion to my presentation and hard evidence. What I liked most about this project was seeing that people had already made this connection and that changes were starting to be made. During my presentation I was able to directly tell my old teacher who is part of the system what wasn't working and what need to change and why. This made me happy because I knew I was really sending a message that my rhetoric was working.
With this project I had a hard time narrowing my focus on the public education system. There were so many aspects of the topic that I felt needed to be looked at and heard, but not everything could be talked about. I didn't know what to tell people. I realized that the most powerful way for me to express how I felt about the public education system was to share my personal experience. I also wish I had more time to really make a strong argument, to say what I wanted to say in a powerful way without being repetitive. I would have liked to rehearse more and video myself presenting in order to make sure the presentation in my head was just as powerful as the one I did on stage at exhibition.
Through this project I have learned many things about rhetoric, ideology, the American experience, and myself. I learned that I have a strong voice that deserves to be heard. I have learned that I can use rhetoric to make my voice heard. I have also learned how to identify types of rhetoric and how powerful it can be. I know now that rhetoric is full of many ideologies that may or may not affect my life. That it is important to be able to identify ideas and tear apart rhetoric to fully understand. I have learned that it is important to be an open minded individual, that your ideology might change. As a young American I have learned that the important people are not all they cracked up to be and that there is a lot about the American experience that I have yet to explore. This project has helped me to see that my ideology as a young American is always changing as I open myself up to the world.