Rhetorics of Crisis in Times of Disaster

Assignment 3: due 9/6 at 9:55am

Lakoff and Johnson discuss how metaphor creeps into our daily speech in ways that we often do not recognize. One example they offer is the abundance of metaphorical language associating aspects of time with aspects of money. Their essay uses this example to demonstrate how common metaphors in our speech patterns reveal common concepts in our thinking (i.e., “that time is a limited resource” or “time is a valuable commodity”). Interestingly, another metaphor often associated with money is water. Assets often have “liquidity.” Bank accounts are sometimes “frozen.”

After you read the article, think about common phrases that contain hidden metaphors. Choose two and write ~100 words on each metaphorical phrase. Your goal is to theorize–to make a guess or a hypothesis–about the larger associative concepts behind these ordinary metaphors that people use without realizing it. Lakoff and Johnson’s essay provides an excellent model for how to do this.

In your response, you should try to include (1) your own description of the metaphor, (2) a discussion of the contexts in which it is used, such as where you have heard it before, (3) a brainstormed interpretation regarding the many possible associations of ideas that this metaphor links (i.e., that time and money are both valuable in some way, or that water and digitized money seem to “flow” in different directions), and (4) a clear statement of your theory about the hidden concept that this metaphor reveals.

***Note***  Since some of you speak languages other than English, I would encourage you to analyze one (or even two) non-English expression(s). If you go this route, make sure that you translate the expression into English in your post so that non-speakers of the language can follow.

Assignment 2: due 9/4 at 9:55am

As indicated in the syllabus, in addition to the reading your assignment is to find a rhetorical object (music video, image, article headline, advertisement, or whatever you find that you think counts as an artifact) that relates to a crisis from the past year. You might remember a crisis or emergency and search around the Internet for things related to it. Choose something that catches your eye. Once you do so, write a rhetorical analysis of what you found. Respond in 250 words. Describe and interpret your textual object. Your reading for this weekend mentions some key terms for rhetorical analysis: Audience, Purpose, Genre, Media, Logos, Pathos, and Ethos. While I don’t expect you to cover all of those areas (but you can try!), your response should analyze how at least three of them are working in your object. I will be looking for you to mention those three terms in your piece. Please also remember to describe BEFORE you interpret.

How to post: To the left of this post, there is a link “Leave a comment.” Click there to create your post. You should post a link to your rhetorical object and paste your 250 rhetorical analysis below that link.

Me

Hello everyone! Please turn in your assignment by posting it as a comment in response to this post. First click on the header “Me” to open the full post. Then press the “comment” button below to add your writing.

Since I have added you as a “Contributor,” your comments will not be public to the rest of the class until I press “Publish,” which I will not be doing for this assignment. If anything goes wrong, please email me to let me know and email me your written work as well. Looking forward to reading your writing!

Me

Hello everyone! Please turn in your assignment below as a comment in response to this post. Since I have added you all as “Contributors” to the blog, this means that what you post doesn’t go public to the rest of the course until I press “Publish,” which I won’t be doing for this assignment. Looking forward to reading what you write!