Notes On Reading: Intertexuality

Slate.com "Summary Judgement" Notes:

In the Baby Mama segment, he chooses one clip that demonstrates interplay between the two main characters, which he references in a movie critic quote, and he also chooses a rather forced, predictable, and unfunny clip which is a perfect example of a negative quote he references from a movie critic.

With Harold and Kumar, he chooses stereotypical clips that simply convey the stoner movie quality of the film.

He demonstrates two sides of opinions on the movies, but references both positive and negative comments. He then references those comments in the clips he chooses to show of the movie.

1) Direct quotation
2) Indirect quotation
3) Mentioning a person or idea
4) Comment/evaluation of an idea on a text
5) Referring to general ideas of a subject

Kleimann: Details

(ERIN AND AARON)

What details does she provide about the setting (in the first two paragraphs)?:

-The study is set at the USGAO (United States General Accounting Office.
-The GAO is a midsized organization
-In 1990 the GAO provided 1200 written reports
-GAO employs 5000 people
-GAO is influenced by national policy
-GAO has 14 regional and 2 overseas officers
-Four programs division and three technical divisions
-The primary assignment team generally includes a primary writer and two levels of supervisors, with the primary writer being a professional who writes.

Why does Kleimann want readers to know these certain details?:

In terms of size-- groups, the organization as a whole, et cetera-- it is important for the reader to have a frame of context when discussing how individuals and groups of individuals within this large entity (the GAO) collaborate to achieve goals. For instance, having a "working group" of 5-6 individuals per project is much different if those 5-6 individuals are part of a larger body that is constituted of only 20 people as opposed to 2000 people.

Education is also an important factor when one considers the implications of the structure and operation of collaborative group. Are all involved of equal or close to equal education, or to those that are more educated lead the project(s) while those of less education are utilized as gophers, et cetera. In discussing the GAO, for example, it is important to not that most if not all employees have a similar level of education in understanding the way that collaborative groups will work together.

What take the time to sort through 2000 different comments and categorize them?:

By categorizing comments on an issue and/or object or set of objects she is able to create a more three dimensional image of the subject matter in that she gains clarity on all different angles as opposed to simply reading them all and forming an image.

WWD: Activity 3, P. 94

In assembling the resources for my undergraduate paper-- titled Moral Dialogues: Shakespeare in the Service of Sexual Stereotypes in 19th Century Schoolbooks-- I was first and foremost concerned with assembling resources that, if at all possible, were written during the 19th century or, if that was not possible, written as direct commentary on schoolbooks in the 19th century. While I incorporated a few quotations from our primary text, Shakespeare in American Life, it was much more my desire to focus my essay on direct textual evidence that would support the fact that 19th century schoolbooks employed Shakespeare in order to promote sexual stereotypes. Through using material that was almost exclusively from the 19th century, I was able to present a paper that went beyond the simple mold of presenting a thesis and then using quotations from experts commenting on a similar thesis in order to argue for or against a given issue. Instead, I was able to allow the reader to draw his or her own conclusions based on the bowdlerization and rampant editing of Shakespeare's work, and only when the point had been made in other was did I finally bring in the words of modern scholars to furthur drive the point home.

Notes on Reading 9/25

One of the jobs of the ethnographers is to ensure the reader he or she was there through data, et cetera.

Query: Does Kliman assure you that she was there? How?
Her level of detail in describing the evidence for her conclusions seems to assure the reader that she was present to witness them. An example would be quotes from interviews.

In specific:

Page 3 (61)-- One primary writer characterizes his... et cetera.

Notes on Grafitti Movie:

METHODOLOGICAL NOTES:

To begin, they all come prepared with paint, notes, and outlines as to the project they intend to undertake-- as they work, they continually reference not only the notes, but Seen's input as to how he thinks the project is progressing as well.

Seen instructs his students visually as well as verbally, pointing out key points on the wall where he expects parts of the art to fall.

As a pupil works, he has all of his materials handy beneath the ladder, as well as a copy of the intended artwork in his hand which he keeps referencing.

OBSERVATIONAL NOTES:

Seen is obviously in charge of the group and the others accept his authority and suggestions as if he is a mentor.

The other occasionally disagree but they voice their suggestions among themselves, not to Seen.

Seen very much takes on the role of Mentor and/or Teacher with the guys in the group. He is constantly speaking and imparting knowledge to those that look up to him. At time Seen can be condescending, but it is in very much the same manner as a coach hammering an athlete in order to produce better results from him by way of saying, in a roundabout manner, that they expect better of their pupils.

As the project continues, the others become more comfortable speaking and interacting with Seen as opposed to staying rather passive and quiet in the beginning. As the project develops, each artist seems to find their own voice, while Seen becomes more receptive to those voices.

Seen's confrontational tone begins to lighten up as things develope, and he is quickly treating his "students" more like equals as he sees their efforts begin to come to fruition. Despite this, Seen very much still has his "vision" and is not particularly willing to compromise on this, though he is much more friendly in the enforcement of his thoughts.

Seen's enthusiasm only increases as the project nears completion, which makes him an even more fervent teacher.

9/25 class notes

Types of details (noted during observations):

A. Roles how each performed their tasks

B. Specific embodied activities - typing; silently reading; level of comfort: stumbling over words , pace of activity, posture, amount of discussion, body language, et. cetera

C. Speech (Types/Topics; Sequence; Tone)

D. Other (things happening or a lack of an action happening)

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Three Types of Notes Ethnographic Researchers Take:

1) Observational Notes
2) Theoretical Notes
3) Methodological Notes

Observing Erin and Vanessa

The girls began by brainstorming by way of discussing their own personal reasons for involvement in PWE. They traded and fielded questions, taking notes where their answers overlapped. After approx 5-10 of this they began writing the body of their work, Erin typing while Vanessa observed and threw in ideas as they went along.

Initially the girls struggles and said they "felt weird" because they were being observed. In an effort to be funny and to ease their minds my partner and I scooted our chairs back approximately a foot-- and oddly enough, the relaxed almost immediately and produced three sentences in the time it took them to produce one with us sitting closer to them.

Throughout the process Erin vocalized each word as it was typed, and paused intermittently to discuss choice of words, direction of flow, and the expansion of ideas. Multiple times throughout Erin would stop and ask Vanessa is she was pleased with the tone of their collaborative work. Vanessa was always quick to interject ideas or choices of wording without embarrassment, which was received well by Erin.

On the whole, they both led the project equally, with no clear "boss" emerging.

Upon completion they were happy with their work without having reread it.

The primary reason that a background in PWE would be positive for an English major lays in the fact that experience in professional writing and editing can gear an individual towards a vast variety of different occupations and fields of study or work.

Critical analyzes of communication in all areas of daily life are essential to success in absolutely any field. The ability to communicate one's ideas effectively, regardless of occupation or background is essential for team building, cooperation, leadership, et cetera.

Also, understanding how others communicate with us will allow us to better comprehend and reconstruct and/or deconstruct the arguments or assertions of other individuals within our social and occupational network.

For example, an English literature major may never have an interest in copy editing, however, he or she may well choose to pursue a career in publishing. Experience in the field of PWE will gear this individual towards a professional and analyzed approach to conducting a very writing intensive business and/or hold an occupation that centers around the written word in any of its various forms.

On the other hand, an English major more focused on technical writing will be able to further improve their skills as an editor in preparation for a variety of occupations, such as magazine editor, textbook editor, et cetera. Though an English major with a background in technical writing is already bound to have extensive experience in these areas, this will only be bolstered by PWE classes that not only focus on arguments, but on the psychology behind the construction of arguments and their purposes within a given social group.

Obersving Writing Collaboration Picture

1) First and foremost, it would seem that the young woman in the pink shirt is in command-- she is either speaking or has recently finished speaking, or has possibly written an idea on the board and is now pointing to it. Either way, she holds the collective attention of the group.

2) Due to the proximity of the two men in blue shirts, it would seem that they are perhaps collaborating together while part of the whole collaborative group. Their body language seems to indicate attentiveness and comfort in near proximity, and lends itself to thought they are probably communicating with each other.

3) The woman in the green shirt seems a bit disinterested- whilst the others seem to be actively engaged, she is sending back, arms crossed in front of her, meaning she is probably the most quiet member of the group and is not particularly comfortable speaking with anyone else.

4) The group seems to be divided into three parts: (1) Those with keyboards on their laps are most likely actively jotting down ideas or outlining thoughts while (2) those seated are probably the most vocal in actually discussing those thoughts aloud with (3) the group leader, who is probably using or creating some sort of visual aide and leading the discussion in some form or manner.

5) Looking out the window one gathers the impression that this group is comprised of five students who are working in mid to late afternoon, most probably after school.

Stasis theory: Rhetorical Activity 3

Article: Gov. Palin may save face of McCain’s campaign (from the DA)

Analysis:

The argument appears to be that McCain's choice of Sarah Palin for his VP nominee was an effective way to re energize the conservative base, especially evangelicals. The article assumes (quite rightly) that this outcome is a desirable one, meaning that this is an article written mainly about Quality. While this particular article seems to take the tone of an expose of sorts, the position around which the article is centered seems to be two fold: (1) That McCain was in desperate need of an event that would put him back on the national radar after having flied so low during the waning days of the Democratic Nomination Process, and (2) the his choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate accomplished this end. Point one is take for granted and not much evidence if offered to sustain this premise, but it can be excused as, true or not, it was accepted as common knowledge by most mass media and therefore, in the framework of this article, admissible if only as a acquiesce to a previously stated premis, regardless of its authenticity. The article is not at all argumentative, and cites many reasons as to the the thesis being correct. Because of this, stasis is achieved almost immediately.

Submitted Comment on 9/09

AUXILIARY ASSIGNMENT:

The "finishing" process of the text hinges entirely upon the peer review comments of the young man's contemporaries and instructor. At this point, he has assembled a text that he finds at least satisfactory, but the final polish is added after direct criticism is supplied from sources outside of the audience. In examining the notes taken during this finishing process, we can begin to understand what aspects of the paper-- in its nearly completed form-- were cut entirely, and what aspects were found to be satisfactory and/or deserved further focus and enhancement.

Example:
Professor Wible's comment on a sentence in which the student discussed a previous internship as well as many hours spent working on a farm-- in the original draft this is a small sentence, after peer review, it is very much expanded and therefore manages to augment the student's "argument" that he is the best candidate and deserving of the position for which he is applying.

PAGE BY PAGE BREAKDOWN

Page 13: The peer review comments enable the writer to see how his audience is interpreting his text, to see if he is meeting his goal in the text.

Page 14: Again, the structure of the outline lets the audience know how organized the person is, this influences how the audience views the outline.

Pages 15-16: Skipped by instruction

Page 17: The instructor's comments work in association with the peer comments. They both let the writer know what is important to say. This is important because it allows the writer to have an idea of how affective the document is. The instructor's comments will help the writer to bring out the details in his text that otherwise would not have been expanded upon.

Class Handouts

In understanding the needs and expectations of your audience (in this case, an employer) a writer is able to more effectively focus his thoughts and efforts, creating a document that is more distilled in the potency of its relevant content and otherwise free of superfluous information, exposition, or prose that does little to further the point/goal of the text. It is in this way that the packet of information as well as the comments provided on the student's work can assist in understanding the writing process as a whole.

For instance:

-Reading the assignment description gives us a lens through which to better understand the text, as it gives us a very concise look at the goals (both practical and academic) that the writer had in mind as he assembled the text.

-By examining the job ad in this specific instance we are able to understand the audience and requirements the author interpreted in the assembly process of his text, and we can compare the author's thoughts to our own and find certain areas that could be improved.

AUXILIARY ASSIGNMENT:

The "finishing" process of the text hinges entirely upon the peer review comments of the young man's contemporaries and instructor. At this point, he has assembled a text that he finds at least satisfactory, but the final polish is added after direct criticism is supplied from sources outside of the audience. In examining the notes taken during this finishing process, we can begin to understand what aspects of the paper-- in its nearly completed form-- were cut entirely, and what aspects were found to be satisfactory and/or deserved further focus and enhancement.

Example:
Professor Wible's comment on a sentence in which the student discussed a previous internship as well as many hours spent working on a farm-- in the original draft this is a small sentence, after peer review, it is very much expanded and therefore manages to augment the student's "argument" that he is the best candidate and deserving of the position for which he is applying.

Activity: Two Drawings to Analyze an Exploratory Essay

Interestingly enough, both my drawings were very similar in terms of their content and the ideas and steps of the writing process they conveyed, except that in using metaphors to represent key elements of the process, I included the previous work in the field (radio) that led to my fascination with how larger scale stations and/or personnel used writing in the workplace.

When drawing the concrete activities, it was a matter of processes with a logical beginning and end that led into each other-- brainstorming topics, selection of topic, brainstorming ideas, drafting ideas, etc. The metaphors, however, were a bit more abstract and included such things as my previous experience, my fascination, et cetera.

In short, the concrete drawing focused more on a logical set of steps that led to the creation and completion of the paper, whereas the metaphoric drawings included much more abstract concepts, as well as the catalyst for the paper itself.

What is Kairos

Kairos refers to, speaking in terms of its uses in rhetoric, the effect that is generated by adding a sense of urgency and/or particular relevancy to a given subject matter by way of appeals to the audience's sensibilities, most notably anxiety and fear, or more optimistically, to the positive impact a given subject matter could have on present or near future events or states of being. This is, of course, reliant upon seizing the moment (in the true sense of Kairos) when the most prescient and advantageous oppurtunity presents itself.

Query: What/who must the rhetor be aware of in dealing with questions concerning hurricane Gustav and/or Katrina:

FEMA
President
FEMA
Governors
Environments
Citizens
Victims
Press
Weater Center(s)

Expansion on Unanswered Questions from Last Time

Define: Discourse Community:
"Identity Kit" -- comes with an appropriate costume and instructions on how to act and talk as a member of a specific group. EX: "Being trained as an engineer, one learns how to speak, think, and act like an engineer."

In my own case: I am a member of the Libertarian Party. The instructions as to how to act and talk are, in short, that one that is a member of my party must be well informed as to the political issues of our time, and must view them through the prism of ideals that embody the Libertarian party-- namely, that individual liberty in all aspects of American life should be the foremost concern of all Americans in how and what they allow their government to accomplish any ends, good or bad. As such, a Libertarian is expected to be rather vocal in their critique of the more vanilla flavors of the other major parties, in that they are drawn much more along very central lines and, by and large, never really backup their claimed ideals with action. To "speak" like a Libertarian is to be speak (or write) with a tone of revolution that, while restrained and humble, must be able to convey the idea that we live in a nation with a broken political system and that most of the problems the average American faces are by and large the result of their own cowardice in continually propping up a failed structure of bi-partisan politics.

Social Perspective:
The most important suggestion to ME given by Faigley is that a writer must not only understand or cognitively attend to how he or she will represent themselves in text, they must also understand how this representation will be fluid based on changing situations within and without a given social group.

This, as well as the other suggestions will affect a PWs work in that it will certainly alter their thought processes in representing their thoughts and personality through writing, as well as altering the content of their texts by giving the PW more tools to create a more sharp, more effective piece of prose for a given audience or community.

Sept 2: Kairos and Rhetorical Activities

Activity 1)
The issue I chose to examine for Activity 1 is the selection and consequent fallout of Governor Palin as John McCain's running mate in our presidential election.

Having surveyed and selected articles concerning Mrs. Palin in many different forms of media, it is readily apparent that the writers of such are relying up kairos entirely as their primary form of attention seizing technique. By and large, smaller, more local publication rely upon kairos in the sense that the news is (or was) breaking and immediately pertinent in its effect upon the voting population. Larger, national publications, however, seem to rely much more heavily on journalistic opportunism; Palin's actual selection is quickly buried beneath efforts to snipe the selection through articles that highlight Palin or the implication of her as Vice President in a negative light, creating an urgency by implying that to elect her presidential ticket may well put the country in peril.

Given that November looms just over the horizon, there is little need to establish relevance in writing about Palin-- the subject is immediately pertinent. However, many writers do indeed use the opportunity to change the subject from Palin's selection to stories concerning Palin's past or supposed past, exemplified by the many articles concerning the embarrassingly named "Troopergate" and "Babygate" scandals. By arguing these issues, writers and publications generate additional interest in that the original, more "vanilla" topic is lost in a sea of innuendo concerning the governors supposedly sordid past.

Activity 4)
Issue: The drastic need for a viable third party in an American electoral system that has been hijacked by a constrained, corrupt, restrictive two party political system.

Contrary to popular belief, there live in this country men and women who are members of BOTH the NRA and the ACLU; men and women who are atheists or agnostics, yet believe in the freedom of worship; men and women who believe in small government, yet support the war in Iraq. These men and women, however numerous, look ahead to November with the overwhelming feeling that these beliefs are too conflicting to leave them with a logical choice as to the man they want to see taking up residence in the White House. These voters-- call them Libertarians, moderates, independents, or what have you-- find themselves constrained by the very system of democracy that is meant to amplify their voice as American citizens; they find themselves having to choose one smaller subset of their beliefs on which to base their votes, as opposed to being offered a viable candidate that embodies most, if not all, of the beliefs they hold to be in the best interest of the country. Despite this sorry state of affairs, our nation remains married and beholden to a two party system of government, even as our nation and the world at large begin to descend into chaos before our eyes. If ever there were a need for Americans to reject the system entirely, to cast their votes for a third party that embodied the best of both conservatism and liberalism, it is now... as, if events the world over continue to worsen, they may well never get another chance.