Links to rhetorical tools:

Here are links to the rhetorical tools used in this class:

Schemes & Tropes -- Perelman & Olbrechts-Tyteca -- Fallacies -- Burke -- Rhetorical Toolbox -- Conspiracy Rhetorics

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Helix, vol. 8, no. 2 (May 29, 1969), cover
https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/protests/id/213

Since I will be covering Vietnam, a very broad subject, I have decided to specifically narrow it down to the anti-war movement.
For my analysis I would like to take a look at a piece from the anti-war propaganda that was displayed throughout the nation. I would like to discuss how the bright and unusual imagery , as well as the text attracted people to join the anti-war movement. Seattle Helix, was a sort of underground information group that pulled together newspapers and flyers like these to promote the anti-war efforts across the nation during the late 60's.

I would like to take a look into the imagery/schemes & tropes of this primary source for this analysis.

    emphasis
Color- The different colors in this print are used in specific ways. The green is used to represent growth and goodness, while the red, yellow, and black displayed at the bottom of the page take on a negative role showing fire and hatred represented through the colors. 
    spacing 
kerning
The spacing between the letters at the bottom of the page is very minimal compared to the spacing at the top of the page. The letter spacing at the bottom of the page is very close together giving a feel of urgency to the reader. Compared to the top of the page where the letters are very big and spaced out to attract the reader and draw attention to the page. 
  legibility
The font itself- The font looks to be hand drawn/written, giving the viewer a personal feel, like you get when reading a letter

What I am getting from this analysis is the author encouraging people to join a social cause by giving limited information for an event taking place in support of the students at Berkeley.  There is of course more that I could cover with this analysis, and I may use this piece in my presentation to more thoroughly discuss the Seattle Helix.

British Suffrage Analysis- Madalin Kocian

For my presentation, I will be analyzing the British Suffrage movement. I have been being picky with my primary sources, but below is one source that I will most likely be using in the finished product of the presentation. Please keep in mind that these are my first thoughts over this one source, and the main part of my argument has yet to be made clear. 

Here is the primary source I am analyzing. 
Here are my first thoughts on an analysis. I chose to focus on schemes and tropes, but in the final presentation I anticipate using more of the toolbox methods. 

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Bednar - Rally for Sanity and/or Fear Toolbox




When looking at the two rallies through the Burke frames, the obvious main frame is the satirical.  Colbert’s side is a March to Keep Fear Alive, an inherently absurd reason to rally in Washington, and it’s main points – that now is not a time to be “rational” and “think,” it’s a time to get mad!  Don’t listen!  Get angry! – play up the absurdity for all it’s worth. 

On the other side of things, Stewart’s original rally is a call against the absurdity of the world, a cry of anti-satire.   It’s a rally for people who think that “shouting is annoying, counterproductive, and terrible for your throat,” asking for America to “take it down a notch” when it comes to the vitriolic hate-machine.

There’s an element of the burlesque to Colbert’s approach to his rally – he himself is the fool, and that’s a bad thing.  In the climax of the rally’s performance, this is taken to an extreme, when “Fearzilla,” a grotesque monster made in Colbert’s image, is destroyed from the cheers of the Rally to Restore Sanity.  It’s a bizarre, surreal political cartoon brought to life.

Finally, the “Moment of Sincerity” brings in the tragic frame, and retroactively tints the event with that frame.  Stewart addresses the crowd with his intentions – not to mock, not to suggest that times aren’t tough, but to show that it’s not the end of the world; the media just feeds off that feeling.  The world is flawed.  We like to demonize our opponents, and by doing so, we create our own echo chamber nightmare.

Bednar - Rally for Sanity and/or Fear Values and Fallacies


First, some context -

The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear is a satirical movement that emerged as a response to Glen Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally in August 2010.  Beck’s rally was met with a counter-rally occurring at the same time: Al Sharpton’s “Reclaim the Dream” march to honor the 47th anniversary of MLK’s March on Washington. 

The resulting satirical rally were announced as separate events by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert in their respective shows that September.  Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity was intended to illustrate that the majority of American voters wanted to “Take it down a notch for America.”  Meanwhile, Colbert’s March to Keep Fear Alive was a mock call to action; “This is not the time to be reasonable,” to quote The Colbert Report.

During the actual event, the two hosts would debate fear vs. reason; waging war over songs about trains (Stewart backing “Peace Train,” Colbert championing “Crazy Train,” with a compromise over “Love Train.”), awarding Medals of Reasonableness and Medals of Fear, with a climax of a giant paper-mache puppet of “Fearzilla” being taken down by Peter Pan (played by John Oliver, frequent contributor to Stewart’s Daily Show), signifying reason’s victory.

Premises:
·      Facts/Truths
A key part of Colbert’s rhetoric is “truthiness,” the idea that as long as it sounds about right, it must be right.  Probably.  This ties into likely presumptions as well, but it’s very representative of supposed facts and truths.  Further, it’s modified by amplification – it’s a premise that runs off the division of people.

Meanwhile, Stewart’s campaign is based on the observed – reasonability is derived from having concrete facts that aren’t played up, twisted, or made to fit more of an agenda by incendiaries.

·         Values
Abstract and universal – both sides are campaigning for their own versions of truth and justice.

Fallacies:

·         Black and White
The inherent dichotomy between the two rallies asks for attendees to choose a side – either you stand for reason or fight for fear.
·         Slippery Slope
The main point of the rally is that heavily polarized political discussion is a fast-track to creating wide-spread conflict in social environments.  The “debate” between the two hosts is a satirization of the press’ tendency to create a “24-hour politic-pundit perpetual panic conflict-inator.”
·         Appeal to Fear
I mean, what else would you call a March to Keep Fear Alive?
·         Straw Man
Colbert is the over-the-top right wing caricature (for 2010, anyway…), acting as an incendiary pundit with the goal of riling up anger in the crowd.
·         Guilt by Association
Parodied on the Sanity side of things in their signs as part of their campaign – “I want you to stop drawing Hitler mustaches on everyone.”
·         Bandwagon
The nature of a rally invokes the idea of a bandwagon – everyone else is here, you should be too.

Day 34.5 Toolbox Data Blog Post_Urban Knitting



So I am still analyzing my primary source for my movement. I am using the toolbox we learned regarding Donawerth, specifically centered around Madeleine de Scudéry for right now. Scudéry formulated a rhetoric of conversation for a specific place, a salon. She brings out how the salon brought about social mobility as well as some form of education. Yarn bombing brings about social mobility because it crosses borders, and brings attention to pieces done around a neighborhood. Knitting, thought to be something a grandma does, is used differently in order to start a conversation.

I am working on possibly using cyborg rhetoric for a secondary source, an urban knitting Instagram page.

Chase Maus royal york strike 2.0



The first thing I notice in this article that is written by the activists of the strike is the climax arrangement that is used. They start the article by talking about what will be happening within the strike itself and then proceed to list the reasons why you should be there. These reasons include, you would be helping a good cause, there will be celebrities there and then go on to list said celebrities. They also use emotional appeal in this article by saying that the company is treating them poorly and unfairly and that is why they are on strike. They are revolting against the company because they believe it is the correct thing to do and makes them feel like they are doing the right thing. This same reasoning could also be used for wishful thinking.

The values section is used here as well, by the workers making themselves look like the target of an attack by a bigger entity. They use the values by saying you should side with us not only because there are more of us but you can relate to us in our struggle so you should help. Another key thing they do in the article is amplification, they take the overall article and then break it down into time frames and how the strike is going to look based on a schedule. The justice section for the quasi-logical argument is also present here. They are saying they should be treated as every other worker and should not be made to do things that other workers in that industry don’t have to do.

Analysis of Eastern Germany, 1989 (So Far)



(Disclaimer: I don't really understand what I'm doing and I don't expect this to be right. Let's just try it anyway)

For my topic (Eastern Germany, 1989), I'd like to use the Chicano movement rhetoric from the toolbox to analyze this social movement.

To start, I'd like to make the comparisons between the two movements in that there are multiple people of semi-different backgrounds coming together for political change. In this case, they use their backgrounds in order to achieve what they want in the political climate in which they are in. In the case of Eastern Germany, there's the point that people wish to have the Berlin Wall taken down so that Germany isn't separated into eastern and western. It's this common idea of people banding together to reform their government for the common good.

To go with this, I'd like to turn to the different curves we looked over in class. Specifically, the curve about varying levels of violence.

Image result for berlin wall taken downWithin this revolution, it should be pointed out that there wasn't any violence to be seen. Instead, Germans came together for peaceful protests, urging one another not to provoke the police into anything. In this way, they could show how much they wanted change while not actually getting in trouble. While yes, police did show up to harass the protesters, no one threw a punch or assaulted a police officer. Instead, they simply continued to protest. It eventually led to the government changing their ways and tearing down the wall.


Next, I'd like to take a look at a few primary sources that had to deal with this Berlin wall being up. These sources can be seen as a reason as for why the protest and revolution needed to happen.

For example, a man by the name of Uwe Rosenthal had almost his entire life wrecked by the Berlin Wall and the power that it had. Rosenthal lived on the eastern end of the wall. He had earned a PhD and was about to start his career. Before he could, however, his PhD adviser crossed over to the western part of Germany. Believing that his adviser was selling secrets to the west, police kept constant surveillance over Rosenthal and took his licence. It wasn't until the wall finally fell that he got it back, allowing him to actually go and work with his adviser.

Looking through this source, we can link this back to the reason for why the movement came about. Along with this, we find an argument to be made: The movement came about because of the horrible conditions in which people were forced to live in due to the separation of eastern and western Germany.

And that's about as far as I've gotten.

Monday, April 22, 2019

Urban Knitting 4_22 (Day 35.3)




For some quick background information, this TED talk is given by the person, Sayeg, who started the movement of Urban Knitting also called Yarn Bombing in 2005. I am working on analyzing this talk done by her and am using it as one of my primary sources. This talk does also give a history on how it was started, what she initially gained by starting it, and how
she plans on analyzing the growth that it has had and the impact it has made on her life.


If you are curious, and wish to see what ‘Yarn Bombing’ is, check out the link.


Perelman’s Rhetoric of Argument:

Premises

Values           Agreed upon guides to actions
                                    Sayeg’s guide to action was that she wanted to see something warm and fuzzy and human-like on the cold, steel, gray façade that she looked at. This is why she wrapped her door handle in a knitted cozy. Sayeg’s agreed upon action was to cover objects both large and small with yarn. It became an agreed upon action for her and others to continue covering objects with yarn.

Abstract         Not concrete: “truth” “justice”(?)

Specific         “True for me” “good for you”
                                    Creating the knitted cozy for her door handle was good for Sayeg, it was true for her. It ended up being good for others [you] because there was an explosion of “yarn bombing” across countries.


Premise Modifiers

            Presence        Drawing attention to premises
                                    Premise… by definition an argument, theory, or undertaking on… Sayeg is “enhancing the ordinary, the mundane, even the ugly, and not taking away its identity or its functionality” (1:19). I don’t believe she is claiming there is something wrong with these items, simply stating that she has the ability to change its appearance because she can, and it makes people happy.

Argument Types

Quasi Logical Arguments

            Definition     Identifying or linking an expression with a concept     
                                    Sayeg is linking an expression [her need to do something with her hands] to a concept [of covering the things in her neighborhood with yarn]

            Analysis        Examination of definitional link.
                                    There is a link between what Sayeg has started with “yarn bombing” to what people feel about it in other countries. After Sayeg started this movement, it was picked up in other countries large scale. It means something to people and this is something that Sayeg said she wanted to analyze.

            Inclusion       Treating something as a part of a larger whole
                                    “Urban Knitting” or “Yarn Bombing” has gotten so big that it is a part of a larger whole than Sayeg first initially thought it would become.


Fallacies

           
            Bandwagon                          A popular idea is correct.
            After Sayeg started “yarn bombing” in 2005, it has crossed borders and has been picked up in multiple countries like Germany and England.
            Emotional Appeal               Something is true because it makes us feel good or
                                                            untrue because it doesn’t.
            Sayeg started and continued with “yarn bombing” because it felt good to her. It was an emotional connection, it appealed to her, and she continued chasing the feeling of doing something different, and making people notice.

            Anecdotal Fallacy/ Misleading Vividness         A Hasty Generalization that relies on the availability heuristic ( we generalize from vivid stories more readily).
            Sayeg covered a stop sign in her neighborhood. It caused people to stop and stare. She made the Assumption that they were staring out of wonder at such a strange sight. Some even took pictures. She generealized that it was a positive reaction.



Rhetorical Devices

           
            Comparison Metaphor                   An implied comparison.
            If you think about our hands, these tools that are connected to us, and what they're capable of doing”

           


Chase Maus

Royal York Strike


The first use of Perelman’s argument was repetition. The same signs are seen everywhere and the chants that are used are repeated over and over again to get the point across. This could also be made as a case for loci quantity, the more amount of signs and chanting that is done, the better chance they have to get their point across. There is also an appeal to force/fear, they are threatening to stop working or continuing going on strike if they don’t get what they want.  

Monday, April 15, 2019

Social Movements to Pick from, 2019

You can pick any movement, not just these. The links here are to academic sources that will give some details and analysis and suggest a place to start as you look for texts produced and performed by your movement. Remember, you are not analyzing these articles. You are analyzing primary sources from the movements themselves. This is just a head start on your work for you.

You can pick other movements, as well. When you sign up in the comments, just be VERY specific so that people know what you are doing. Do not, for example, say "feminism." Well, that covers a lot of individual movements people could be analyzing.

Use the comments to sign up for movements. CHECK what other people signed up for. On the last assignment people didn't check and signed up for the same things.

You can use the "social movements" labels on the left side here to see how students in previous years worked with their data. Note: Feel free to utilize good ideas from students who analyzed the movement you are choosing, but be sure to cite their work in your own work. Consider those students scholars you would cite. Some day the same might happen to you with your work on this blog.

1. Black Power

2. Amsterdam Squatters

3. Post WW2 Japanese Pacisfism

4. Save Darfur

5. Australian Women's Movement

6. East Germany, 1989

7. Royal York Strike

8. Knights of Labor, 1880s

9. Hugo Chavez

10. Free Chol Soo Lee

11. Argentina's Piquetero Movement

12. Queer Nation San Francisco

13. 2000s Feminist Anti-War Movement

14. Solidarity

15. Black Lives Matter

16. Occupy Wall Street

17. WTO Seattle

18. United Farm Workers

19. Anti Prop 8

20. Quebec Student Strike of 2012

21. Australian Community Radio

22. Urban Knitting

23. J14

24. Umbrella

25. Egyptian Arab Spring

26. Gay Marriage

27. SlutWalk

28. SafeGround Sacramento

29. Young Lords' Garbage Offensive

30. SDS

31. MLK

32. British Suffrage

33. Pernicious Literature Campaign

34. US Anti-Nuclear Movement

35. Vietnam

36. Gezi Park

37. Anti ACTA

38. Soulforce Equality Ride

39. American Indian Movement

40. John Birch Society

41. Alt-right White Nationalism

42. Rally for Sanity and/or Fear