Analyzing Oppression and Communicating Context (20-30 minutes)

Going back to our class glossary, the definition of oppression we came up with is “the systematic mistreatment of certain groups that arises from the unequal distribution of power and the abuse of that power by certain groups of people.”

Something like sexism, ableism, racism, and other forms of oppression are based on a specific kind of systematic mistreatment. This mistreatment might be very intentional, like antisemitism during the Holocaust. It may be less explicit in its intention like the racism in who tends to get chosen for job applications as this very robust study shows based on low probabilities of acceptance based on distinctively Black-sounding names compared to other names despite similar qualifications.

Sometimes, it might be a mix of both, or, that the distinctions ultimately do not matter. The consequences matter.

I think in chapter 6, there was a good example about mental health and racism in jails and how data analysis could be constructed in different ways. I want us to return to the section “Communicating Context” from chapter 6 (you will have to scroll down to that section, about 3/4ths the way down).

Why do D’Ignazio and Klein argue for using the word “racism” here in how the chart is framed?

Do you find a similarity to whether or not that video from March 22 about the gender wage gap could have a similar explanation? Why or why not?

I think much of this depends on the starting premise: what is racism? what is sexism?

(and, of course, intersectionality helps us think about how there are distinct consequences for people who have multiple identity positions **at the population level**)

With intersectionality in mind, is there a good argument for changing the title of this chart below?

Note the framing in the below image:

To see the image better, and to learn more about how this was calculated, go here: Quick Facts About the Gender Wage Gap – Center for American Progress

In a comment on our text channel for today, do one of the following:

• Create a new title for the bar graph and explain why you offered that new title. Think about how this is a graph for a public audience with varying levels of expertise.
• Explain why the title already in the image is appropriate for this graph. Think about how this is a graph for a public audience with varying levels of expertise.

 

Amplification (20-30 minutes)

As we talked about examples on March 22, here is another rhetorical strategy I want to discuss.

First, let’s take the first 10 minutes of this part of the lesson to read over the Discord posts, re-familiarize ourselves with the reading, and, if you have time, leave a comment on another student’s Discord post (especially do this if you have a comment due by 11:59pm tonight as a comment you do now will count for that!)

Let’s talk about some of your favorite uses of amplification from your classmate’s posts.

Next, I want you to look over some preliminary analysis you have done or a secondary source you have for your Data-Driven Argument paper. Choose a sentence or two that relies on data analysis and apply a method of amplification. Write it privately for now, and then I want us to share some in the text channel for today.

 

Studio Time (10-20 minutes)

Work on anything related to your Data-Driven Argument assignment. I’ll come around to help as needed.

Next Time

-Will have update on where you stand with grade by early next week. However, please see grading contract! You can use that to figure out what your grade is at any time you wish.

-Work on your Data-Driven Argument assignment!

-Half-Draft and First-Draft vs. expectations for the Second-Draft.