Week 9: Botswana
Mon 3.18/Wed 3.20
Read: FOREVERS—Part 1: Undercitizens
Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; Writers workshop*
Due: ROGERIAN ARGUMENT (FINAL DRAFT; EMAIL BY 5 PM)
*Bring Draft 1 of your infographic on Mon. 3.18
Upcoming:
Week 10: United Arab Emirates
Mon 3.25/Wed 3.27
Read: FOREVERS—Part 2: The Business of Burning
Class: Reading Discussion; Multimedia presentations; Lecture—“Understanding Aristotle’s Modes of Persuasion”
Due: REFLECTION 4 AND 5
If President Trump is to be believed, the US southern border is in crisis, under siege from what he's called an "invasion" of Central Americans in so-called "migrant caravans." To his supporters, the southern border represents a breach in our country's security and sovereignty. Migrants, they say, will strain our already taxed resources, as well as introduce a host of problems, including crime. While it is true that there has been a recent increase in the number of migrants reaching the southern border, it is also true that the majority have been women and children seeking asylum—an act which is not illegal.To opponents, Trump's border crisis is a manufactured ploy designed to appeal to his base. They point to the disastrous effects of his anti-migrant policy, including the family separations and child detention centers. Further complicating this debate is President Trump's insistence on a wall along the US-Mexican border. Despite opposition from a majority of Americans, the president recently evoked the powers of a national emergency to secure the funds for his border wall. The wall aside, what is to be done about the influx of migrants seeking asylum at the border? With no end in sight for conflicts in Central America, what should Americans do with these asylum seekers? Using a Rogerian Argument by way of an infographic, propose a solution that bridges the divide on this debate.
For this assignment, all six components of a traditional Rogerian Argument (overview of the issue, summary of opposing view, statement of understanding, stating your position, statement of contexts, and common ground solution) should be illustrated in one of three areas on the slide: pro, con, and solution. Aim for some variation of THIS configuration. Also, find samples HERE and HERE.
Infographics are most easily utilized in PowerPoint (or a comparable program). Additionally, if you are experienced in them, you may also use Photoshop or Illustrator, though it is by no means required. This assignment will be delivered electronically.
A well-executed infographic will:
Have a title that articulates your Rogerian Argument
Have a design dictated by the topic
Visually translate perspectives and facts in a clear and enlightening manner
Stay within the parameters of the Central American migrants debate
You may choose your evidence from the articles below and/or from your own research:
Cultural appropriation is the act of one culture "incorporating" aspects of another culture into its own. This differs from cultural exchanges
in which American hip-hop and Bollywood-style dancing incorporate each
other's moves, or Korean and Mexican cuisines integrate each other's
ingredients. In cultural appropriation, a dominant group assimilates
aspects of a foreign culture without regard to their original use or
intent. In other words, parts of one culture might be absorbed into
another in insensitive, even offensive, ways, often for their perceived
exoticism or cool factor. This extends to the religious and spiritual
practices of other cultures, as well. Thus, in America, we've seen
hipsters embrace Dia de los Muertos, the popularization of sacred Maori
symbols as tattoos, celebrities sporting Kabbalah string bracelets, and
the labeling of a clean, Asian-influenced design as Zen-style. Each of
these is misunderstood and, in turn, misapplied; and yet, each has
seeped into American pop culture. How have you seen the religious or
sacred iconography of other cultures absorbed into the American
mainstream? And what of those instances when a particular culture is
offended by the use of their religious imagery in the mainstream, such
as No Doubt's 2012 Native American controversy.
What is the line between simply borrowing, often sacred, cultural
artifacts and misusing them? For example, can we truly understand the
traditions of Ojibwa dreamcatchers when they're worn as earrings, or respect Hindu and Buddhist principles when we do yoga with goats? Is it possible to appreciate another culture's artifacts in a respectful manner? Finally, how might cultural appropriation affect Americans' views of the globe?
Include at least one of the following in your discussion:
As a medium, film is tremendously influential in teaching American filmgoers about the world around them. Often an American’s first trip aboard comes courtesy of a film. For example, before we’ve set foot in Paris, we’ve likely already experienced the city in a movie. Burke’s Dramatistic Pentad offers us a useful tool for deciphering the motivations film scenes, including those of Americans overseas. Below you will find scenes from ten films. You will use the Dramatistic Pentad to identify specific rhetorical elements in three of those scenes illustrating an American (or Americans) interacting with a foreign culture in another country. Additionally, you will analyze the ratio between two elements.
Directions:
Choose three scenes from below. Also, choose one ratio with which to examine all three scenes (e.g. purpose:agent, scene:agency).
Using the Dramatistic Pentad, identify what you believe to be each of the five elements (agent, agency, etc.) for each of the three scenes (or “artifacts”)—see model below.
In
one paragraph, examine how your chosen ratio functions in each of the
three scenes. For example, what is revealed by examining the scenes
through this specific ratio? Are there similarities? What are the
differences? You might also consider how this particular ratio informs
us versus another.
Example:
Commercial: “Start the Day Write” from Kellogg’s
Artifact Description: A boy sluggishly wakes up for school. After a bowl of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, he is more animated. Later, at school, the boy enthusiastically answers his teacher’s questions thanks to the boost he got from the cereal.
The Dramatistic Pentad:
1. Act: A boy’s morning sluggishness is only helped by eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes cereal. 2. Agency: In order to pep up her sleepy son, the boy’s mother purposefully serves him a sugary breakfast cereal. 3. Agent: The boy’s mother, who serves her son a sugary cereal in order to wake him up. 4. Scene: Split between his home and his classroom. 5. Purpose: The boy’s mother, needing an efficient means to ready her sleepy son for school, feeds him a bowl of sugary cereal. She succeeds in that he is very engaged soon after in school.
***
Choose three scenes from the following for your analysis:
"The Mouth of Truth" from Roman Holiday (1953)
"I'm Sally Bowles" from Cabaret (1972)
"The Slaughtered Lamb" from An American Werewolf in London (1981)
"Is this the Bus to Cartagena?" from Romancing the Stone (1984)
"I Don't Know Why People Say This Country is Civilized" from The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
"Are You Married?" from The Quiet American (2002)
"Suntory Time!" from Lost in Translation (2003)
"Dancing Queen" from Mamma Mia! (2008)
"He Got You a Suitcase?" from Leap Year (2010)
"Actually, Paris is the Most Beautiful in the Rain" from Midnight in Paris (2010)
While American high school seniors are fretting over admission into
their colleges of choice, many international students are preparing
to take a 12-month break from school called a "gap year." This practice, originated in Britain, involves young people
deferring college for a year to travel or live abroad. So, while most
American are experiencing their freshman year of college, students from
these countries might be volunteering in Africa, working in Southeast
Asia, or touring the United States. Proponents of gap years say these
students return to college and work more mature, having gained a year's
worth of real-world experience. Assuming you did not have a gap year (if
you didn't, you're not alone—only 8% of Americans typically delay
college by one year, and only third of those use that time to travel),
how might a year of travel/living abroad before college have affected
you? Are Americans missing out on opportunities by going straight into
college from high school? Should Americans adopt, even mandate, gap
years ? Why or why not?
