Obama and Speeches

We are continuing our analysis of political speeches. For our next class, take a look at two things.

1) Choose an historic speech from this list:
American Rhetoric Top 100 Speeches
You will use this speech as the subject of Paper #1.

2) Watch the Obama speech here on Thursday night. (You will have to download some software to view this speech. The speech will also show up on YouTube and other major news outlets, so try there if you cannot download the software.)

Post a reply, commenting on a moment that resonated with you, that seemed to have high rhetorical impact. Please also include the time marker of when that statement in the speech was made.

Debatable Literacy

For the first reading, take a look at "Literacy Debate -- Online, R U Really Reading" by Motoko Rich.

Study Questions:
Consider particularly the portrait of your generation via the Konyks.
What does the layout of this online article say about the NYT's online readers?
How does the video complement or contrast with the article?
Be particularly attentive to claims of realms of rhetorical mastery.

Welcome

Welcome to a course in multimedia rhetoric: spanning images, text, and interaction.

Rumor has it that Americans are not reading anymore. Instead we surround ourselves with moving images, flashing screens, and shuffling playlists. That may be so, but all this information for our ears and eyes is still infused with rhetoric. In this course, you will learn to defuse it and reuse it for yourself. In this course, you will learn to defuse it and reuse it for yourself.