COMS 444 –Case Study #1: Rhetorically Imagining the Political Purpose We have come to the end of our first section, and we now have the opportunity to reflect on our course material and connect it to contemporary examples of political rhetoric. For our first case study, we are how political rhetoric works to negotiate civics, values, knowledge, and our sense of what needs to change or stay the same in politics. Prompt We will be using Representative Ted Yoho’s comments about Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, his apology on the floor of the House of Representatives, and her response as our first case study. Read the documents and watch the two videos posted on Canvas in Announcements/Artifacts for Case Study # 1. Then, answer the questions below. There is no minimum length, just make sure to provide a thorough answer. When you provide an example, it has to be unique, so don’t merely reuse an example from the Anderson reading. 1. What is the rhetorical context for this controversy? Identify at least two examples relevant rhetorical context. What are some things happening at the time or in the videos that help you determine the rhetorical context? Your examples can be aspects of the context generally, or one of the elements of Bitzer’s rhetorical situation — exigence, constraint, and/or audience. 2. How is language being used to shape the audience’s view of events? Identify at least one specific example of language from each video. How is language being used to negotiate values, establish a view of the situation, and/or recommend a course of action? 3. How do affective economics play a role in this case study? Identify at least one example of affective economics. How do we see affect used in this controversy? Which concepts, ideas, activities, people, or places are aligned together? 4. How does this controversy negotiate what is appropriate civic practice? Identify at least one example. There are a couple of ways to answer this question. You can identify which ‘American’ values as expressed in the founding documents assigned on Week 2 are highlighted or used in these video clip or you can consider what counts as appropriate ‘civic’ rhetoric COMS 444 –Case Study #1: Rhetorically Imagining the Political from the Jordan and Anderson readings from Week 3. Just make sure to use an example not discussed in the Anderson reading. 5. Evaluate the quality: Choose one of the videos, and based on your answers to questions 1-4, make an initial evaluation of the quality of their rhetoric. Was this an effective response to the rhetorical context? Why or why not? How to Get the Most Out of This Assignment: 1. Be specific: Remember, the point of the assignment isn’t just to watch the videos. Rather, you should look for what specific, unique observations you can make using course readings. What might Burke, Nichols, Weaver, Parrish, Bitzer, Black, Ahmed, Jordan or Anderson say about these texts? Provide specific examples from the case study articles and videos, and from the reading. 2. Be engaged in class: Upload your answers to the case study to Canvas by 11:55 pm on February 25th. 3. Consider grading criteria: You will be evaluated on whether you answer each question completely, the specificity of your examples from the videos, the specificity of your reference to course materials, and the correctness of your application to course material. You will receive 20 points for responding to each question. Purchase answer to see full attachment Tags: Audience Perception Alexandria Cortez videos Representative Tod Yoho Use of language abrasive confrontation User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following our company’shonor code & terms of service.
