This course has allowed me a few firsts. My first interaction with feminist theory and my first interaction with and creation of a blog, to name a few, were due to this course. Coming into this course I looked at it as a way to open my eyes to things from new and interesting perspectives. Being able to observe, interact and objectively analyse a situation was and is my main goal.
This course has introduced me to feminist theory, diffusion of innovation theory, narrative theory, rhetorical analysis and some insight into communication research. While I cannot say that I fully understand all that has been taught throughout the semester I am confident that the knowledge that was imparted on me has significantly altered the way that I view everyday activities and the media and with a little more research and revision can become so integrated into my own thinking that it becomes second nature.
Feminist theory though, has been my greatest challenge to date. I am unable to fully understand the perimeters of the theories. Hopefully it comes full circle before the exam date.
Overall this course has met my expectations and while at times I felt overwhelmed with all the new theories and perspectives, it is through this state that I am able to point out my weaknesses and work on them till I achieve the desired results.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Assignment#3 Group Assignment
In this assignment it was decided from early on that my group would do something local. After failing at many searches for local communication acts on the 1990 coup, the local government programme ‘Matthew in the Middle,’ and local comedian acts, just to name a few we stumbled upon a young lady performing a monologue on being a good exemplar. This monologue was most apt to be studied from a narrative perspective but what we also found as a group was that there were a number of alternative perspectives of communication that it could have been studied from. One of the perspective we looked at was the cognitive dissonance theory and how its scope was broad enough to encompass the totality of the monologue.
Cognitive is mental/ mind and dissonance is discomfort/ conflict. Mental conflict occurs according to Leon Festinger when an individual’s behaviour does not coincide with his/ her attitudes and beliefs or vice versa. He outlined that when in this state an individual will either change their behaviour to be in sync with beliefs or vice versa. Festinger also stated that action will be taken to maintain a state of consonance by the individual and they may either
1. Change their thought to parallel behaviour
2. Change behaviour to parallel thought
The motivation he stated comes from the discomfort an individual feels when in this state and that it is innate in humans to have inner harmony at all times.
When we looked at the monologue we saw that the main character was in a constant state of cognitive dissonance due to mixed messages from her mother. Her mother relayed to her that she must follow in her footsteps, but when she does she is scolded because the image her mother sees is not one that she would like to be associated with, hence the reason for the orator’s cognitive dissonance.
While the narrative paradigm was one also fitting for this communication act, as it explained how the story progressed and how plots are unfolded, this theory that stemmed from the psychological field appealed to my group mates and me. The novelty of the theory and the fact that the monologue fit so well into its frame work was the ‘icing on the cake’ so to speak.
This group project forced us all to look into areas that we did not look before. The fact that we had no restrictions on theories used to explain our communication act gave everyone an opportunity to be creative and research new and exciting areas in the communication realm that we may not have touched on.
Cognitive is mental/ mind and dissonance is discomfort/ conflict. Mental conflict occurs according to Leon Festinger when an individual’s behaviour does not coincide with his/ her attitudes and beliefs or vice versa. He outlined that when in this state an individual will either change their behaviour to be in sync with beliefs or vice versa. Festinger also stated that action will be taken to maintain a state of consonance by the individual and they may either
1. Change their thought to parallel behaviour
2. Change behaviour to parallel thought
The motivation he stated comes from the discomfort an individual feels when in this state and that it is innate in humans to have inner harmony at all times.
When we looked at the monologue we saw that the main character was in a constant state of cognitive dissonance due to mixed messages from her mother. Her mother relayed to her that she must follow in her footsteps, but when she does she is scolded because the image her mother sees is not one that she would like to be associated with, hence the reason for the orator’s cognitive dissonance.
While the narrative paradigm was one also fitting for this communication act, as it explained how the story progressed and how plots are unfolded, this theory that stemmed from the psychological field appealed to my group mates and me. The novelty of the theory and the fact that the monologue fit so well into its frame work was the ‘icing on the cake’ so to speak.
This group project forced us all to look into areas that we did not look before. The fact that we had no restrictions on theories used to explain our communication act gave everyone an opportunity to be creative and research new and exciting areas in the communication realm that we may not have touched on.
Rhetorical Analysis
Rhetoric according to Trish Roberts- Miller is the study of potential misunderstanding. The word potential is very important as many factors can alter the effectiveness of an argument. Rhetorical analysis entails an in-depth look at the arguments presented by individuals and outlining the rational and reasoning of the situation or scenario. Without an ability to critically analyse a piece one would not be able to make informed decisions and it may be quite easy for many persons to miss the true topic at hand or the stasis. In analysing Hip hop vs. America it was evident that there were many errors in reasoning/ fallacies and it showed that without the study of rhetorical analysis it is quite simple to lose sight of the real topic at hand.
Being able to identify fallacies to me is the most important aspect of rhetorical analysis. Once you are able to identify them and have been privy to the many ways they can be used to buy an audience, then one would be better able avoid using them in an argument and know how to counter them with an opponent who knows no other technique.
Many of us are guilty of using fallacies and may not know that we are guilty of such. Red herring, ad hominem, bandwagon, false cause, false dilemma and hasty generalisations have become so integrated into many of us and our arguments that it is like second nature. Dr. Michael Dyson in the clip provided n ‘Hip hop vs. America was the most prolific presenter on the panel but he was also guilty of using many fallacies for example red herring throughout his presentation. He like many others, and given our current political state our political leaders as well, veer from the topic at hand and throw in issues that do not directly related.
In the end, rhetorical analysis is not just a theory that we should leave in the room at the end of class but a habit that we should adopt and integrate into our life styles. Rhetoric and rhetorical analysis will always be around and being able to identify the fallacies and steer away from them in our arguments can and will minimise the potential for misunderstanding.
Being able to identify fallacies to me is the most important aspect of rhetorical analysis. Once you are able to identify them and have been privy to the many ways they can be used to buy an audience, then one would be better able avoid using them in an argument and know how to counter them with an opponent who knows no other technique.
Many of us are guilty of using fallacies and may not know that we are guilty of such. Red herring, ad hominem, bandwagon, false cause, false dilemma and hasty generalisations have become so integrated into many of us and our arguments that it is like second nature. Dr. Michael Dyson in the clip provided n ‘Hip hop vs. America was the most prolific presenter on the panel but he was also guilty of using many fallacies for example red herring throughout his presentation. He like many others, and given our current political state our political leaders as well, veer from the topic at hand and throw in issues that do not directly related.
In the end, rhetorical analysis is not just a theory that we should leave in the room at the end of class but a habit that we should adopt and integrate into our life styles. Rhetoric and rhetorical analysis will always be around and being able to identify the fallacies and steer away from them in our arguments can and will minimise the potential for misunderstanding.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
My Expectations
Communication analysis from my simple perspective is the deconstructing of all acts of communication. It should be the ‘fleshing out’ of all types of communication with the intention of looking beyond the face value of an act.
What I expect to take away at the end of this course is not only the ability to look below the surface of any communication, but also be able to identify strategies used and the relevance of the strategy in the act. As well, be able to observe everyday activity in society from an alternative and more educated perspective than my own.
Communication is the means by which message are sent between persons through media. Whatever the medium used and whomever the messenger may be communication occurs around and within us every second of our day. To be able to remove myself from any act and observe as a learned third party would be my greatest accomplish in the end.
What I expect to take away at the end of this course is not only the ability to look below the surface of any communication, but also be able to identify strategies used and the relevance of the strategy in the act. As well, be able to observe everyday activity in society from an alternative and more educated perspective than my own.
Communication is the means by which message are sent between persons through media. Whatever the medium used and whomever the messenger may be communication occurs around and within us every second of our day. To be able to remove myself from any act and observe as a learned third party would be my greatest accomplish in the end.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Fallcies
We all 'commit' fallicies in our speach and in our writing to effectively get our point across, but it is being able to effectively use these fallicies and identify them that will separate the communicators from the speakers.
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