RCL #1 – Analysis of online ‘deliberation’:
Find a lively comment thread for a story on a news site or special-interest site/online forum/blog that intrigues you. It may be an overtly ‘opinionated’ article or a supposedly neutral one. You can choose something fun here – like fan summaries/critiques of the latest episode of a reality TV show, reviews of a new video game, red-carpet fashion assessments, speculation about what’s known about the new “Star Wars” movie, discussions about sports figures or games, etc.
Choose a story that generated spirited and passionate comments, including at least some instance of the people commenting responding to each other directly and offering differing opinions.
Provide a link to the story/comment thread (if possible; personal social media accounts may not be link-able), and in paragraph form, discuss the nature of the commentary – to what degree is it deliberative, based on the criteria described in Gastil’s chapter and discussed in class? (Reference at least a couple of the 9 criteria.) Is there recognition of (and respect for) various viewpoints? How useful do you find the discussion in terms of furthering understanding? Essentially, is anything you see happening there anything close to DELIBERATION?
It’s fine if you focus only on a small batch of the comments in a long sequence.
If you have the time and interest, you are very welcome put up a comment that specifically seeks to foster deliberation, and report on what responses, if any, it receives.
RCL2 – Ideas for in-class deliberation test-run:
Consider the topic for our ‘test’ in-class deliberation on Thur.:
Television programmers have an obligation to present diversity in the casts of TV programs.
Find and read two worthy articles that address some aspect of this issue. Link to them within your post. They may be about diversity in the media in a more general sense, or television specifically, as long as they address inclusion on television in some respect (do not use reviews of specific programs as articles here). Consider your own TV-viewing habits – the shows you enjoy and the diversity they do (or don’t) represent.
In your post, offer some of your thoughts and perspectives on this this issue. Tie in/reference specific info from your two outside sources in your reflections (you do not need to agree with the ideas stated in the articles). Otherwise, pursue any threads related to this issue that are of notable interest to you.
Also, offer two specific deliberation discussion prompts for this subject. These should be exploratory questions (not yes/no response questions, or fixed-answer questions that have a ‘correct’ answer or ask for a list of ideas in response) that are phrased in a neutral, non-opinionated manner. These will give us fodder for prompts for our in-class deliberation.
RCL#3 – Focus for Persuasive Essay:
Identify your proposed purpose statement/thesis for your Persuasive Essay. Be sure you have firmly committed to an approach that is recognizably either Question of Value (It is wrong for England to retain possession of the Elgin Marbles) or Question of Policy – Passive Agreement (England/The British Museum should return the Elgin Marbles to the country of Greece).
Offer the specific purpose statement as the first sentence in the blog post, then space down to start the next paragraph, so the proposed thesis is very conspicuous.
Then, in paragraph form, discuss and justify this focus. Why is it notably important to address the issue in question? Why are you particularly intrigued by and motivated to research and discuss it? What are some of the main conceptions/misconceptions that many people hold about the subject?
Include a (short) list of your main research questions for the essay. But to get you underway with some preliminary research, also tie in at least 3 specific pieces of evidence from valid sources as you discuss the topic that help substantiate its significance and/or suggest your proposed solution is appropriate. Cite sources parenthetically in the text and include a short “Works Cited” list for the 3 sources – all done in proper MLA format.
RCL #4 – Analysis of the appeals of an advocacy web site:
Find a web site for an organization that accepts donations from the general public to advance some specific cause (political, environmental, etc.).
Be sure that, to the best of your knowledge, is an actual organization, not a parody – though some actual sites might almost read as parodies! It should be an entity/organization that’s bigger than one person (not some person asking you to send them money to make a film, get plastic surgery, etc.) and that (presumably) those involved are entirely serious about the cause(s) that are advocated.
Choose an organization/cause that you do NOT, generally speaking, support yourself. You may simply be ambivalent or uncommitted as far as the cause goes, or you may very actively oppose the organization’s goals; you may even consider the cause reprehensible. This will allow you to view the site’s arguments more skeptically. (Plus, you’ll have more fun filleting the arguments!)
Analyze the logical appeals found on the web site. What arguments are made to support the cause? What problems do you find with the logic involved? What specific arguments are advanced? What evidence is offered? Are specific fallacies evident? You can also address any reasonable logical appeals you find.
Focus mostly on logical appeals, but you may also have observations connected to such overlapping matters such as ethos or pathos appeals, or comments on the visual aspects of the web site. Organize your post around perhaps 3 notable observations about/arguments on the site.
RCL5 – Focus for Advocacy Project:
Discuss, in paragraph form, what subject/cause you have chosen for your Advocacy Project, and what mode (creating a web site, making a video for YT, etc.) you have chosen for executing it.
Why is this focus/cause particularly important to address? If your focus is connected to your Persuasive Essay topic, how is the Advocacy Project focus different? Whether or not the focus relates to the essay focus, indicate if you expect to advocate specific audience action(s), or if your main goal is to build awareness. Why is the chosen mode particularly useful for your persuasive goals? Thinking fairly generally, what are some persuasive strategies you think will work well to meet your goals?