In this class we investigated literacy practices as rhetorical endeavors of resistance to power structures that attempted to control and deprive certain populations from the pleasure and agency of meaning-making. Through informal, formal, and multimodal assignments, we developed a strong foundational knowledge of rhetorical theory through a thematic study of the literacy practices of figures such as Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, Paulo Freire, Malala Yousafzai, Mary Daly, and others.
For this class, the major assignment was a rhetorical analysis paper on a topic of our choice. This allowed us to select our own objects of study and utilize them how we wanted to. For my paper, I decided to select six feminist speeches from various time periods as my objects of study. I analyzed the rhetorical strategies that were shared among the feminist speakers in their respective speeches. Further, I made the claim that rhetorical education should include preparing students to be activists by teaching the application and use of popular rhetorical techniques, in addition to simply teaching students to identify the strategies. Bellow is my full paper that also was submitted to Young Scholars in Writing.
Civil-Rights-Rhetorical-Essay-2