The legend of zombies and their existence has been argued by many. Like UFOs, extra-terrestrial creatures, and famous monsters such as Big Foot, there have been many documented sitings of these legendary creatures. So too have various experts and magazines reported on such sitings as well as given documented evidence to back up their arguments. Putting aside their own peresonal convictions and beliefs, most people will agree on one thing- that zombies have influenced our society in more ways than one. Harvard Botanist E. Wade Davis, who has published a paper on his findings in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, has reached a startling conclusion: "Zombiism exists and is a societal phenomenon that can be explained logically." (Diederich and Wallis)
Lately, zombies have made their way into popular culture. The common question raised by most is whether or not we should be frightened or intimidated by these creatures. It is easily forgotten that there are more pertinent dangers that should preoccupy our time. But what is the fun in that? Zombiism has long been a popular topic, and why? Because it is easily arguable and interesting. What documented proof do we have that these zombies are not harmful to our society? "Other monsters may threaten individual humans, but the living dead threaten the entire human race," says Max Brooks, author of the 2003 best seller The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead, of the undead's popularity. "Zombies are slate wipers." (Wilson)
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Construction a Research Log
Possible topic ideas: Rehabilitation of prisoners, socialized medicine, hazing in Greek life (fraternities and sororities), music and crime. Narrowed down to Hazing..in Greek Life and other organizations, such as the military.
Possible stances: How does this effect the organization's motive? How is this viewed by outsiders? Does this give some sort of fraternization to the organization that makes it vital to the definition of their purpose. What are alternatives to hazing in these organizations? I want to address the different view points of this issue and discuss the pros/cons of each side. I think there are two equally important view points that deserve attention in this paper. I think most readers will be able to identify with hazing in some part of their life, be it sports teams, military, school, Greek Life. What are the origins of hazing? How have ideas evolved?
-Los Angeles Times reports in 2002 "a fraternity member at nearby Butte Community College died after drinking so much that his blood-alcohol level rose to 0.496% -- more than six times the amount at which a person is considered legally drunk. The university does not consider the death its responsibility, but many students and scholars who study hazing tie the incident to Chico because the young man's fraternity was affiliated with a house recognized at the university."
-Stophazing.org
-National Study of Student Hazing with 50 pages of doctoral research. "Hazing in View"
-http://hazing.hanknuwer.com/hazingreadersorority.html
Possible stances: How does this effect the organization's motive? How is this viewed by outsiders? Does this give some sort of fraternization to the organization that makes it vital to the definition of their purpose. What are alternatives to hazing in these organizations? I want to address the different view points of this issue and discuss the pros/cons of each side. I think there are two equally important view points that deserve attention in this paper. I think most readers will be able to identify with hazing in some part of their life, be it sports teams, military, school, Greek Life. What are the origins of hazing? How have ideas evolved?
-Los Angeles Times reports in 2002 "a fraternity member at nearby Butte Community College died after drinking so much that his blood-alcohol level rose to 0.496% -- more than six times the amount at which a person is considered legally drunk. The university does not consider the death its responsibility, but many students and scholars who study hazing tie the incident to Chico because the young man's fraternity was affiliated with a house recognized at the university."
-Stophazing.org
-National Study of Student Hazing with 50 pages of doctoral research. "Hazing in View"
-http://hazing.hanknuwer.com/hazingreadersorority.html
Thursday, April 30, 2009
The Perfect Topic?
1) I think an issue that would be of great interest to me is the military, more specifically, the drastic cutback of today's branches. I feel drawn to this topic because I myself am in the Army, so it greatly effects me.
2) As a cadet in Army ROTC, I am constantly in the company of retired and active duty military professionals. Their job is to teach me and numerous others the tactics and military strategy. They play a vital role in preparing the next generation of America's leaders.
3) I would be moved very strongly if I were to hear any topic of the military being discussed. I always feel a sudden passion when this topic gets brought up, and I feel like I have to give my own opinions. It would irk me greatly if I were to hear someone give their input on this issue I would want to know their opinions and how they come to that conclusion.
4) The military, especially its role overseas, is definitely a common topic discussed by the media in every form. Turning on the TV and glancing at the front page of a magazine will reveal at least on perspective of the U.S. military and its recent success and/or failure.
2) As a cadet in Army ROTC, I am constantly in the company of retired and active duty military professionals. Their job is to teach me and numerous others the tactics and military strategy. They play a vital role in preparing the next generation of America's leaders.
3) I would be moved very strongly if I were to hear any topic of the military being discussed. I always feel a sudden passion when this topic gets brought up, and I feel like I have to give my own opinions. It would irk me greatly if I were to hear someone give their input on this issue I would want to know their opinions and how they come to that conclusion.
4) The military, especially its role overseas, is definitely a common topic discussed by the media in every form. Turning on the TV and glancing at the front page of a magazine will reveal at least on perspective of the U.S. military and its recent success and/or failure.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Self-Assessment of Paper 1
1. The assignment was to write an essay, or rhetorical analysis, of a current political cartoon or magazine advertisement. The main focus of the essay was to explain the author's use of various rhetorical appeals.
2. Based on the subject of my political cartoon, the American economy, I am trying to tell my audience about the current state of it and how the author sees our country's newly elected leader, Obama, handling it.
3. The audience of my paper is my English professor and my fellow classmates. Not knowing their own political preferences, I tried to keep this interpretation as straight-forward and non-partisan as possible.
4. In terms of visual rhetoric, I felt it necessary to place my cartoon on the second page, right below the start of the third paragraph. I made this conscious decision in hopes that my audience would get their own image from the first two introductory paragraphs without first making a biased interpretation off of the actual cartoon. Only until I started explaining the various details did I add the cartoon into the essay.
5. I am most proud of my conclusion, or last paragraph. I feel it is short and sweet and right to the point. Nothing is more dull than a long, dragging conclusion. Mine sums up the basic rhetorical appeals and how the author uses them. Most importantly, I ask my readers the question that is raised by this cartoon and let them make their own analysis of the deep-rooted meaning within it. Nothing is better than leaving your reader wanting more or just simply pondering your essay.
6. My second paragraph I am less satisfied with. It can be considered problematic because I automatically jump into the American flag and how I find it to be the most important part of the interpretation. Now, this may be open to debate. I probably should not be so bold as to tell my audience what I think THEY should find important. I think I saved it though by backing it up with the public law quotation, for this tells people the role it plays in the cartoon.
7. I feel I picked a cartoon that was challenging yet interesting to write about. It was not necessarily easy to interpret, but once you really read into it the options were endless. I feel I played upon this very well. The hardest part to me was staying non-partisan, for I wanted soooo badly to incorporate my own personal political preferences. But I kept focus and looked at the cartoon from both viewpoints. I wanted my audience to see the cartoon not as I did, but as non-partisan viewers. This way, they could better interpret the cartoon. Its very easy to find within political cartoons an aspect that supports your own political party, but this doesn't necessarily mean it was the author's intent that you see it that way. Hence, I did not display the cartoon until the second page, third paragraph, when I started dissecting it. Overall, I am very pleased with my paper and the revisions I have made. The rough draft was a little short on information, but I made some additional revisions to make sure that EVERY rhetorical appeal was addressed. My thesis merely stated the most important ones that I wished my reader to focus their attention on. I feel however that the final paper was concise, informative, and grabbed the attention of my readers. YAY!
2. Based on the subject of my political cartoon, the American economy, I am trying to tell my audience about the current state of it and how the author sees our country's newly elected leader, Obama, handling it.
3. The audience of my paper is my English professor and my fellow classmates. Not knowing their own political preferences, I tried to keep this interpretation as straight-forward and non-partisan as possible.
4. In terms of visual rhetoric, I felt it necessary to place my cartoon on the second page, right below the start of the third paragraph. I made this conscious decision in hopes that my audience would get their own image from the first two introductory paragraphs without first making a biased interpretation off of the actual cartoon. Only until I started explaining the various details did I add the cartoon into the essay.
5. I am most proud of my conclusion, or last paragraph. I feel it is short and sweet and right to the point. Nothing is more dull than a long, dragging conclusion. Mine sums up the basic rhetorical appeals and how the author uses them. Most importantly, I ask my readers the question that is raised by this cartoon and let them make their own analysis of the deep-rooted meaning within it. Nothing is better than leaving your reader wanting more or just simply pondering your essay.
6. My second paragraph I am less satisfied with. It can be considered problematic because I automatically jump into the American flag and how I find it to be the most important part of the interpretation. Now, this may be open to debate. I probably should not be so bold as to tell my audience what I think THEY should find important. I think I saved it though by backing it up with the public law quotation, for this tells people the role it plays in the cartoon.
7. I feel I picked a cartoon that was challenging yet interesting to write about. It was not necessarily easy to interpret, but once you really read into it the options were endless. I feel I played upon this very well. The hardest part to me was staying non-partisan, for I wanted soooo badly to incorporate my own personal political preferences. But I kept focus and looked at the cartoon from both viewpoints. I wanted my audience to see the cartoon not as I did, but as non-partisan viewers. This way, they could better interpret the cartoon. Its very easy to find within political cartoons an aspect that supports your own political party, but this doesn't necessarily mean it was the author's intent that you see it that way. Hence, I did not display the cartoon until the second page, third paragraph, when I started dissecting it. Overall, I am very pleased with my paper and the revisions I have made. The rough draft was a little short on information, but I made some additional revisions to make sure that EVERY rhetorical appeal was addressed. My thesis merely stated the most important ones that I wished my reader to focus their attention on. I feel however that the final paper was concise, informative, and grabbed the attention of my readers. YAY!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
A New Leaf?
In this PETA advertisement, Pamela Anderson is striking a risque pose to make people want to "turn over a new leaf" as vegetarians. This advertisements obviously employs the use of ethos, for it is using a famous actress/model to sell a vegetarian way of life. The hope of PETA is that their audience admires Pamela Anderson and views her as a role model. Most women will think to themselves: "If Pamela Anderson can look this good as a vegetarian, maybe I can too!" In this way, PETA is strategically using a cause/effect ploy to evoke in its audience a certain reason to want to change. Sadly, what this advertisement does not tell you, is that Pamela's look has been achieved through repeated cosmetic surgeries, hours at the gym, and the use of make-up artists.
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