Episode 9: Overcoming Cancer

 rhetoric, this rhetorical life  No Responses »
May 242013
 

Overcoming rhetoric is not limited to disability—we see it in motivational messages every day that ask people not to let obstacles get in their way, as if they can so simply choose to make those decisions. And while Jolie’s op-ed is not about disability per se, there are strong overlaps here to how we make choices about our bodies, how we represent our bodies, and how we literally (through reconstructive surgery) construct our bodies to fit the norms set for them by societal conceptions of “beauty” and “women.”

Billboard image that reads, "Threw cancer a curve ball. Overcoming. Pass it On." Image of a boy in a baseball uniform with one leg.

Billboard image: “Threw cancer a curve ball. Overcoming. Pass it On.” (image via values.com)

This episode addresses the overcoming rhetoric around cancer and the expectations that we set for women’s bodies—a conversation that stems from Angelina Jolie’s May 14th New York Times op-ed titled “My Medical Choice.”

To read a PDF of the full transcript, please download it here: Transcript for Episode 9.

The music sampled in this podcast is “Quartz Boy” and “Cartoon Friend” by Pixie Lord.

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Episode 8: “The Silent Protest” with John Carlos

 activism, rhetoric, this rhetorical life  No Responses »
May 042013
 

The video provides details referenced in Carlos’s remarks over the next hour, the conditions of racism that John Carlos’s actions responded to, his childhood in Harlem, how he got involved with the Olympic Project for Human Rights, and other details about how the silent protest was developed and interpreted in its time.

Book cover of The John Carlos Story

The John Carlos Story (image via johncarlos68.com)

Episode 8 features a recording of Dr. John Carlos’s featured session at CCCC in Las Vegas this past March (read the description here). Shannon Carter, Associate Professor of English from Texas A&M-Commerce, has been working closely with Carlos and introduces his keynote by identifying three themes that are relevant to our field: time, collective action, and reciprocity. In his address, Carlos offers insights into the 1968 Mexico City silent protest, his experiences facing racial prejudice, and the choices we all make as writers working for social justice.

To read a PDF of the full transcript, please download it here: Transcript for Episode 8.

The music sampled in this podcast includes Prefuse 73, J Dilla, Digable Planets, Curtis Mayfield, & Mos Def.

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Episode 7: Transnational Feminism Panel

 pedagogy, research, rhetoric, this rhetorical life  No Responses »
Apr 122013
 

From a feminist perspective, what does it mean to live a rhetorical life in a globalized world? Why is a feminist perspective productive for 2013? What are important sites and lived spaces in which we need to be rhetorical? How do you bring a feminist perspective that highlights a transnational world into your teaching, your administrative duties, your service work, your field commitments, personal life, and your activism? How do you locate transnational issues and sites that are important? And finally, how do you enact a feminist transnational method?

On March 22nd, the CCR Graduate Circle hosted our first live-recorded podcast event:  “Feminist Perspectives on Living a Rhetorical Life in a Transnational World.” To facilitate this conversation, we invited a range of diverse speakers with different areas and levels of expertise on transnational feminism and rhetorical studies. Participants in the panel included Rebecca Dingo, Dana Olwan, Anna Hensley, Tim Dougherty, and Eileen Schell.

Image of "transnational" woman's face.

“Feminist Perspectives on Living a Rhetorical Life in a Transnational World.” Image created by Seth Long.

To read a PDF of the full transcript, please download it here: Transcript for Episode 7.

The music sampled in this podcast is “Stay the Same” by Bonobo.

 

 

 

 

 

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Episode 6: Challenges of Specialization with Jim Seitz

 graduate school, this rhetorical life  No Responses »
Mar 292013
 

As undergraduates, students are often unaware of the specializations available to them with their majors and future graduate careers. In an effort to help students negotiate these challenges, Theresa Keicher—a PhD student in the Composition & Cultural Rhetoric program here at SU—spoke with Jim Seitz, Associate Professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh. We asked if he could share some of the productive ways that students could start thinking about specializations within Composition and Rhetoric.

Photograph of Application, The Challenges of Specialization with Jim Seitz

The Challenges of Specialization when Applying to Graduate Programs

Episode 6 explores the process and challenges of specialization that undergraduate and MA students face when applying to English and Composition Studies graduate programs.

To read a PDF of the full transcript, please download it here: Transcript for Episode 6.

The music sampled in this podcast is “One Word Extinguisher” by Prefuse 73.

 

 

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Episode 5: The Rhetoric of Occupy Wall Street with Dennis Trainor Jr.

 activism, rhetoric, this rhetorical life  No Responses »
Mar 152013
 

There are many rhetorical issues to explore through the Occupy Wall Street movement: the framing of the 99% vs. the 1%, materialist physical rhetorics of occupied space, and so on. We’ll get at those, but it’s also important to note that the most commonly stated victory of the Occupy movement is a rhetorical one. That is, we often hear about the movement changing the national conversation.

American Autumn: an Occudoc (image from democraticunderground.com)

American Autumn: an Occudoc (image from democraticunderground.com)

Episode 5 explores the rhetoric of the Occupy Wall Street movement and features an interview with filmmaker Dennis Trainor Jr., who discusses his recent documentary, American Autumn: an Occudoc. This episode also includes a response from Deborah Mutnick, Professor of English at LIU Brooklyn.

To read a PDF of the full transcript, please download it here: Transcript for Episode 5.

The music sampled in this podcast is audio from American Autumn.

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Episode 4: Interview with Jason Palmeri

 book review, pedagogy, this rhetorical life  1 Response »
Mar 012013
 

As writers and composition instructors, we struggle to keep up with the influx of new tools and composing spaces, from Twitter and WordPress to tablets and smartphones. Though the digital age might have us believe we live in a unique era, we have always been multimodal, forced to choose between traditional alphabetic writing and other modes of communication, such as speaking, listening, and image making. Or at least, that’s what Jason Palmeri argues in his engaging new book, Remixing Composition, released last spring by Southern Illinois Press.

Remixing Composition: A History of Multimodal Writing Pedagogy by Jason Palmeri

Remixing Composition: A History of Multimodal Writing Pedagogy by Jason Palmeri

Episode 4 features Jason Palmeri discussing digital and multimodal composing, the challenges of incorporating multimodality into our curricula, and the importance of interdisciplinarity.

To read a PDF of the full transcript, please download it here: Transcript for Episode 4.

The music sampled in this podcast is “One Word Extinguisher” by Prefuse 73.

 

 

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Episode 3: The Political Economy of Composition with Tony Scott

 Assessment, book review, this rhetorical life, WPA  1 Response »
Feb 152013
 

Central to our work in Composition and Cultural Rhetoric is the teaching of first year writing. Regardless of your position in the university, you have inevitably found yourself or still find yourself sitting in a dungeon on the bottom floor of a building in a cubicle grading papers, meeting with students, and chatting with colleagues about how life is really unfair. No doubt during one of those venting sessions you have dreamt about how wonderful it would be to be paid more, to have fewer students in each of your classes, and to have more freedom in your classroom to teach what students want and need to learn.

Dangerous Writing: Understanding the Political Economy of Composition by Tony Scott

Dangerous Writing: Understanding the Political Economy of Composition by Tony Scott

Episode 3 features Professor Tony Scott talking about the influence and ongoing relevance of his book Dangerous Writing: Understanding the Political Economy of Composition.

To read a PDF of the full transcript, please download it here: Transcript for Episode 3.

 

 

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Episode 2: “And the Blood of Children Ran…” with Minnie Bruce Pratt

 activism, research, rhetoric, this rhetorical life  No Responses »
Feb 012013
 

In the first part of this keynote address from Syracuse University’s Conference on Activism, Rhetoric, and Research, Minnie Bruce Pratt discussed shifting definitions of what it means to be an activist and a feminist, considering the rhetoric we use to talk about change and action. In this second part of her address, Minnie Bruce considers what research has to do with change, with the connection between words and action, the connection between symbolic representation and material realities.

Minnie Bruce Pratt (image by Leslie Feinberg)

Minnie Bruce Pratt (image by Leslie Feinberg)

Episode 2 is part two of Minnie Bruce Pratt’s keynote address. To listen to part one, visit the previous post.

To read a PDF of the full transcript, please download it here: Transcript for Episode 2.

The music sampled in this podcast is “On Children” by Sweet Honey in the Rock.

 

 

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Episode 1: “And The Blood of Children Ran…” with Minnie Bruce Pratt

 activism, research, rhetoric, this rhetorical life  No Responses »
Jan 182013
 

The following audio comes from Syracuse University’s inaugural Conference on Activism, Rhetoric, and Research (CARR). In this keynote, Minnie Bruce Pratt—a lesbian writer and white, anti-racist activist—wrestles with questions raised by Chilean poet and revolutionary Pablo Neruda. How are words related to action and to our moment in history? What do words like “change” and “action” have to do with us if we’ve never thought of ourselves as activists? And if we have been activists for many decades, what happens if we consider again the words we use?

Minnie Bruce Pratt at May Day 2012 (image by Ashley Sauer)

Minnie Bruce Pratt at May Day 2012 (photo by Ashley Sauers)

Episode 1 is part one of Minnie Bruce Pratt’s keynote address. To listen to part two, please visit the next post.

To read a PDF of the full transcript, please download it here: Transcript for Episode 1.

The music sampled in this podcast is “On Children” by Sweet Honey in the Rock.

 

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