Hey all!

Our discussion was so great today that I ran out time to talk about next class in any detail.  That’s an AWESOME problem to have!  Here is the assignment as it appears on the syllabus:

Assignment: View all of the campaign videos posted on the class blog.  Choose at least two videos to comment on.  Use some of the concepts and tools for rhetorical analysis introduced in chapter 1 in your comments.  Do not limit yourself to “good/bad,” “true/false,” “either/or.”  I want you to think about what each video is trying to do and it’s trying to do it. Generate a list of key words, images, sounds, etc. that are used to represent each candidate. Bring your list to class.

It’s kind of self-explanatory, but I wanted to just follow up.  Just like we did in class today with “The One” video from the McCain campaign, I would like you to look carefully at all of the videos posted below on this blog.  Pay particular attention to HOW the videos are designed (see the section in Rhetorical Visions on composition analysis)…what kind of strategies do they employ?

In addition to bringing to class your list of key words, images, sounds, etc., I’d love to hear more of your responses.  So, here’s what I’m going to suggest.  Once you take a look at the videos, either post a comment to this post or create a separate post.  If you want to create a separate post, log in to WordPress.com, click on “ENG 025,” and “Write” a new post.  When you log in you should be taken directly to the “Write Post” page (which looks like an email screen”.  If you are not, click the “Write” link on the upper left hand side of the page and then click “Post.”

Give it a shot!  Can’t wait to read more.