The Rhetoric of Protest (Spring 2008)

At the beginning of the semester, I ask you to define the criteria that constituted a protest (e.g. why does protest happen? when does something count as a protest? what conditions need to be met? how big does it have to be? what makes a protest successful?).

For your final post in the class, I would like for you to look back at your original answer, re-read it, and then rewrite your answer based on your experience in the class. What parts of your original answer would you now change? What did you not mention then that you might mention now? Also, what parts do you still agree with?

Please feel free to look back over the various examples we've studied over the course of the semester and use them as evidence for your answer (i.e. after I read about ____, I realized ____).

For this coming week, we'll be looking at protest songs. For this upcoming Monday, you'll each be bringing in a song that you feel makes a protest. For this week's post (due by Sunday April 27), I want you to explain what kind of protest your song makes, and why you consider it to be a good example of a protest song.

Other issues to think about include: how effective are protest songs? How effective is/was your choice? What kind of change can/does a protest song make?

After looking at Ann Coulter and the concepts of fallacies for Monday, you have started to think about how political pundits affect the landscapes of politics and popular culture through the mass media. As we look at Coulter and Moore throughout the week, I would like you to think about the greater context of their respective claims. While some of us may disagree with their claims, or some might find their methods questionable, they both provide excellent examples of people who mobilize audiences through the mass media. Whether we like them or not, their works influence the way that many Americans think.

In the upcoming week, we will discuss the ways in which political pundits use the mass media to debate the various policy issues of their respective political parties. In preparation for this week's blog post, I ask that you read the "Fallacies" chapter in our course packet, then watch the Ann Coulter clips available via our course calendar.

For the actual post, I want you to reflect on Ann Coulter's style of argument. What kind of tone does she use? How does she present her points? Judging from the clips you've watched, do you find her persuasive? Why might other find her persuasive? What kinds of fallacies can you find in the various clips?

This week we move into Unit 3, which will focus on the ways in which groups use the media both to showcase their protests and as a means of protest. For this week's blog prompt, we will think about protest in video. On Monday, we looked at various viral videos (e.g. George Allen, Will.I.Am, etc.) and on Wednesday we watched Jesus Camp. Each of these videos espouses a specific point of view about its subject matter. In class, we discussed how the different viral videos influence the ways that we might think about Allen or Obama.

Turning to the film, what are some of the ways that Jesus Camp makes an argument about its subjects?

For this week (the week of Spring Break), you will write a detailed description of your writing process. The point in writing this blog is to work at becoming aware of the things that we do (or don't do) when we write. Once we start to think about the process itself, we can make ourselves better writers by tweaking and revising this process.

So, you will want to consider your process: How do I start? What is the first thing that I do when I sit down to write a paper? Do I think about it first? Write an outline? Free write? How much time do I leave myself? What parts are easiest for me? What techniques seem to work well? Or, where do I always get stuck in my writing process? Where or when do I have the hardest time?

As we wrap up Unit 2 this week, we are looking at two very different examples: a documentary called The Yes Men and punk rock culture. While these two protest groups differ in terms of claims, methods, and size, they both use their appearance as a means of making a protest.

For this week, here are some questions to get you started:
What kind of appearance does each group cultivate? Is their choice of appearance related to their values? Does it demonstrate their values? Why does appearance matter?

For Mike and Andy of the Yes Men, what kind of ethos do they create? In what ways do they use appearance to construct their protests? This might include business suits, costumes, etc.

This upcoming week, we look at both PETA and the Guerilla Girls. While distinct in terms of their protest claims--one fights for animal rights while the other hopes to increase representation in the art world--both groups use various mediums (internet, billboards, stickers, bumper stickers, etc.) to present their claims. Does this effect who each group is able to reach? How? Are certain mediums more effective for certain groups? Why or why not?

Thinking specifically about PETA, audience response is often extreme - people usually love PETA or hate them. How do you feel about the group? Why? Challenge yourself to think about PETA's argument from a stance opposite to your own - what do you have to believe to agree/disagree with this group?

This week we move on from Unit 1, which focused on the Civil Rights Movement and the tactics of non-violent protest. In Unit 2, we will focus on analyzing the strategies and claims of various protest movements, beginning with Critical Mass.

In one online source, Critical Mass is called an "organized coincidence" because it has no leadership or membership. As we will see in the movie we will watch on Monday, the routes of some rides are decided spontaneously by whoever is currently at the front of the ride, others are decided prior to the ride by a popular vote of suggested routes often drawn up on photocopied flyers. The term xerocracy was coined to describe the process by which the route for a Critical Mass can be decided: anyone who has an opinion makes their own map and distributes it to the cyclists participating in the Mass. Still other rides decide the route by consensus. The "disorganized" nature of the event allows it to largely escape clampdown by authorities who may view the rides as forms of parades or organized protest. Additionally, the movement is free from the structural costs associated with a centralized, hierarchical organization. In order for the event to function, the only requirement is a sufficient turn-out to create a "critical mass" of riders dense enough to occupy a piece of road to the exclusion of drivers of motorized vehicles, pedestrians, and other road users.

Last week, we looked at ethos, pathos, and logos. As we end our first unit, we have focused in on ethos as a way to talk about the ways in which a protest group presents itself.
For your blog post this week, here are some different questions to consider.

Last week we looked at speeches from Stokely Carmichael and Fannie Lou Hamer. This week we examine Freedom Marches, Malachai Richter, and Cindy Sheehan. How would you describe the ethos of one or all of these protests?

Which do you find most persuasive, and why?

What kind of ethos do you find appealing? How has that led to your interest or support of a protest group?