Hindsight

Senior year, for most students is dedicated to procrastination and senioritis but for some it’s for panicking about their future. It’s a common theme among students to feel uneasy about their academic choices and future after graduation.

English majors are not exempt from that fear but seem to mask their nervousness due to their easy going nature.

The truth is, every choice a student makes impacts their career in either a positive or negative way and without hindsight many students are left uneasy. There is no direct path when going through ones academic journey. Students learn along the way what choices they need to make to impact them positively. I interviewed five English majors to see how they got to where they are today.

Jared Lampe was originally a video game design major that changed his major after getting his toes wet into field experience that he did not enjoy. He realized that the major he was in was more for programmers and artists but he was drawn more to the written aspect. With his knew major change he is feeling more confident and is enjoying what he is studying. He wishes that he would have had more of a background in the major he was originally in but also he wishes he would have known more about English for New Media.

Ashley Geditz is an English Ed major who has found herself in her third year of schooling and miserable. She feels that she is too far along in her major to switch now but constantly battles between switching or finishing her schooling out. She imparted her wisdom by providing people with the hindsight that she did not have when she started in the major. She warns future students that they may have to switch advisors throughout their career so be prepared for that. Her biggest caveats were focused around classes. She warns that certain classes are offered at certain times so if they are a necessity to your major you should take them while they are available but she also suggests that you should not be afraid of stepping outside of your comfort zone and try classes outside of your major.

Brianna Prill is studying English Education, with a minor in speech theater, and a certificate in English for New Media. She is happy about her career path but if she had the choice she wishes she would have known about the New Media major because she has a big interest in that field. Her biggest advice would be to have a general idea of what classes you need to take and when because those classes may affect how long you attend school. She also encourages students to get to know their professors because they are a major asset along the way.

Chelsea Kruz is an English Education major with a minor in Educational technology, speech communication, theater, also with a specialization in coaching and English for New Media. With all these additions to her major, Chelsea had trouble finding substitutions for classes that she had missed and even had to take colleges at two other universities to be able to fulfill her degree. She wishes that she would have had a bigger involvement in planning out her classes because she relied on an advisor that was new to the program which led her in the wrong direction. After being subjected to many failures with her schedule, she wishes she could talk to the younger English majors and impart her wisdom onto them so they do not make the same mistakes at she did.

Dillon Dwyer is an English for New Media Major. He was originally a Biology Education major. After taking education courses, Dillon realized that he did not want to teach in the high school setting. He reflected on how he did not like some of the aspects of his science degree and the turning point was when he was taking a composition class and a professor urged him to look into the English program. Dillon has a passion for reading and writing, especially comic books and was attracted to the English program because of that. He wishes that he would have known that he found enjoyment out of reading and writing so he could have explored the English major more instead of setting into a major he was not happy in.

                Every student can agree that they wish they had the hindsight they have as upper level students when they were freshmen. Struggle is on every student’s syllabus when they sign up for college. Every choice made provides an impact but no matter which path one takes, they can chalk it up to the real college experience. 

Rhetorical Exploration Four

Convergence of technology is using different mediums of technology for the same purpose. For example the cell phone is not only just a way of communicating with people by talking or texting but is now a device that you can play games on, check the weather, or utilize for social media. The cell phone then works almost like a computer.

                Other forms of technology work in similar ways. No longer do people need a computer when they can use a tablet or a cellphone for almost the exact same functions. Apps are now available on multiple devices which gives anyone the opportunity to participate with any device. Viewer participation has become a social norm in our media. For example, years ago when people watched a show they would participate with one another by having a conversation about it and presently when audiences view shows, they are able to communicate about the shows through social media.

                Bert is evil is an idea that was formulated by teenager, Dino Ignacio. Dino took a photo of Bert from the show Sesame Street and cropped his photo with Osama Bin Laden using Photoshop. There was a website dedicated to pictures of Bert with other historically powerful people like Adolf Hitler and had Bert placed with historically horrific groups such as the KKK. Once you enter the website there is a page dedicated to Bert’s mug shot and links to click on that will prove why Bert is evil. There is a gallery of photos of Bert in historically negative situations. The most popular image is the image of Bert and Osama Bin Ladin.

                The picture of Bert and Osama Bin Laden was printed on signs, posters, and even on t-shirts. In a news covering by CNN reporters, the signs with Bert and Osama Bin Laden on them were exposed to the entire world. That exposure then led to popularity for the Bert is evil website.

                The website, Bert is Evil was created by a teenager for fun. He used Photoshop to create seemingly innocent images for his own personal joke. Those photos were leaked and used during a protest. Dino’s website then became popular because of the news coverage. People participate by adding pictures to the website and can share those photos on different Medias such as Facbook or Pinterest.

                The Television show, American Idol, is a perfect example of technological participation. If you go to the American Idol Website you can follow them on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Instagram and Pinterest. The website even has an option that allows them to remind you to watch the show if you sign up with them.

                The show allows the audience to participate by providing them with multiple mediums. Years back, if viewers wanted to participate with the show they had to call in and vote and that was the extent of their participation. Now they can tweet about the show, follow the contestants on their Instagram accounts, text in votes, or pin pictures of the show on Pinterest. This means that no matter where viewers are they can use their cellphone, tablet, or computer to participate with the show. With this audience participation, the viewer’s feel like they contribute to the show and have say in what happens. This leads to both positive and negative feedback based off the contestants position in the show. But no matter if the publicity is good or bad it is still there which promotes the show further.
                Audience participation for reality shows has become popular but now is becoming a norm for sitcoms. Sitcoms use to be viewed for pleasure but now viewers are given the opportunity to participate during the show. For example, the show Modern Family that is aired on the television network USA, poses questions at the bottom of the screen that viewers can answer by tweeting the show. Then the answers are posted at the bottom of the screen for viewers to see.

                Similarly, the television network TLC often has special episodes of shows that allows for viewers to Tweet to the show. Viewers feel like they get a chance to participate then with the show and maybe get to see their tweet’s on the television. This can be a bad thing if Tweets do not have a gatekeeper, or someone who mages the tweets and only displays the appropriate tweets. If tweets are not gatekept the inappropriate ones could get leaked and then displayed on the show.

Technology has changed the way that we view shows. Participation has become a common asset to shows and how it becomes promoted. Viewers can interact with TV show characters by following their Facebook pages, Twitter pages, Instagram’s, and Pinterest boards. Multiple devices, such as the tablet or cellphone, can be used to participate with shows. Television has changed beyond addressing shows through personal conversation to utilizing social media to converse.This convergence of technology helps to promote viewer participation. 

Color Language

-There are 8-11 Colors that are universal.
-Color discrimination-More than describe one color of red or blue like the word crimson.
-Specific names for colors is based on the person who interprets it.
-Color effected emotion like yellow are mellow, blue and green are relaxing so they are more appealing.
-Colors appear in nature
1. Red-Warm colors-appeals to physical emotion
2. Blue-cool colors- Represents more spiritual responses.
-Cultures perceive color differently
        -We where white for weddings and in Japan that's what they where to funerals.

Censorship in Music

-Blanking, bleeping, re sampling, re singing, backmasking, skipping, disk scratcthing...etc.-Ways to edit songs.

-Kinds of censorship
1. Copyright infringement
2. Political censorship
3. Religious censorship
4. Censorship of artwork
5. Self-Censorship

-Banning a song will bring more attention to it.

History and Discourse

-"Words have power"
-Historical Figures
      -Abraham Lincoln
      -Hitler
            -He did a lot of damage by only using words
            -They all are good speakers that changed the world in one way or another.
Moral Versus Ethical Dilemma
-Discourse-The way we view and talk about History.
-"History is written by the writer."

Drawings!

Active Listening

Contemporary Rhetoric is the first class where I was told to doodle during class. I was a bit surprised that I was given permission to do this during a lecture but I came to understand why it was important. When I am doodling I am not just focusing on what I am drawing but I am engaging myself in conversation because I am keeping my mind busy. Instead of staring off into space, I am able to stay focused in class and as a result, I participate more.

Similarly, I used a technique like active listening during a test once. To overcome my fear of test taking, I used a tinker toy to distract me from my nerves. During the test I would play with a hackey sac so the focus wasn't completely on the test. By doing this, I was able to relieve stress because I had my mind occupied without giving it a chance for nerves to settle in. 

On our first day of active listening I tried to bend wire but I dropped my paper clip about three times and my paperclip privileges were revoked by Brianna and Jesse.:) Instead of wire bending I doodle and I can focus on class better when I am doodling.

Good Luck Charlie

The Disney show, Good Luck Charlie, had it's first lesbian couple on the show. 

Disney has never pushed the envelope like this before. 

The network is aimed at kids yet they incorporated this hot button topic. 

Huckleberry Finn

Huckleberry Finn and Jim banter about the meanings of words. They talk about how the English and French are two different languages and neither of them have grasped why the two langueges use different words for the same reason.

-"Well then, why ain't it natural and right for a Frenchmen to talk different from us? You answer me that."
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Accomplishing Goals

1. Find Rhetoric in the shows I watch.
2. Listen for Rhetoric in conversation.
3. Pick out Rhetoric in readings and other class work.
4. Investigate how rhetoric has adapted in new media.
5. Recognize when rhetoric is being used and practice using it on my own.

Rhetorical Exploration #2

Canonical books are incorporated into classrooms because of their significance to our society; however, there are books that re band from our curriculum because of the content within them. The stories may have overall positive theme but because they may include harsh content, they are banned from schools. In our society, people go out of their way to find offense in things.

Below is a list of examples of books that have controversy as to whether or not they should be banned from schools. The stories have positive themes but they are overlooked because of the controversy.

                1. Harry Potter-Harry Potter is about a wizard that overcomes adversity however many people are fixated on the idea of the book teaching witchcraft. 

                2. The Absolutely true diary of a part time Indian- The story is about a young Indian who transitions from his tribal school into a public school. People have banned this book from schools because of it's harsh language. The word "masturbation" and "boner" were used within the story (but not it's literal context) so therefore it was deemed inappropriate for schools.

                3. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- The book is about a young boy who see's the wrongs of racism but is not favored by many people because of it's use of loaded words and the repetitive use of the slur "nigger." 

Burke's Take:

-Use of rhetoric- Students are not allowed to read certain books because of the books contents; however, by banning books we are sheltering students from important life lessons. Instead of addressing topics we are pushing them under the rug and saying that it is not okay to learn these materials. –Even though kids already are exposed to these ideas, words, phrases in other forms of media.

-Essential to our existence- These Ideals that we are sheltering our children from is only harming them because we are not addressing these issues nor are we letting our children be predisposed of them in an environment that we can teach them in versus them learning through television, internet, and friends.

-Reveals how we operate- As a society, we find offense in everything. People go out of their way to be offended. So by banning books we are just putting yet another restriction on a topic we don’t want to address. The cycle will never end. 

My solution: Banning books should be dependent on the student. Because most high school students are minors, parents should have the liberty of deciding whether or not their child should be able to read certain books and if it goes against their morals, teachers should provide an alternative to the assignment. Students should be able to make these decisions on their own, yet, they are not even allowed to use the restroom without asking therefore they are treated like a minor and should have to have the consent of their parents before engaging in certain novels.