Throughout
this course, I learned more about the idea of rhetoric. Placing an idea in view for everyone to
criticize (which thankfully, I didn’t actually have to do at any point) is
something that requires a lot of tact. There is typically a certain arrangement of
words that one can use to make someone see eye to eye with them. Unfortunately, there are an infinite number
of word arrangements which will only reinforce their stance against any one
cause. This is what I’ve learned most of
all in this class through our writing assignments.
Also to be taken into consideration
is the question of whether or not a topic is worth putting out there for the
public. If people believe something, is
it their right to believe it or is what they believe inherently wrong? Who exactly gets to decide this? The fact that everyone, for the most part,
thinks differently is one reason why I normally keep my opinions to
myself. It’s rare that I stick up for
any one cause and I won’t do it unless I’m 100% certain that it needs to be
spoken against. I would wager that
anyone who argues a cause (no matter how idiotic) thinks the same exact thing,
too. My point being, who exactly is ‘right’?
As far as my class expectations, I
feel that I got exactly what I could have wanted out of the class
material. It had been so long since my
last actual writing-based class so I really needed something to un-rust my
writing skills. Translating Tradition
gave me a good chance to do this by breaking down writing pieces and analyzing
them. While I’m aware that I really only
had to do this once, it was interesting to read through the other works and
contemplate how I might interpret them if I had to. I was also given a helpful reminder on how to
write in MLA style.
The pairing of Translating Tradition
and Critical Situations worked just fine.
I’m not much of a recreational reader so I may not be the best person to
ask about how well they meshed together, but for the purpose of the class it
was made to work in accordance with everything else we were doing at the
time. I think that Translating Tradition
was more of an ‘example’ of rhetoric while Critical Situations broke down the ‘science’
of rhetoric. Therefore, all in all, I
would say they were a good combination.
The pieces which I wrote for my first
and second projects were a test of how well I was able to put words
together. There’s a certain way to write
that just flows. I’m not sure if I nailed
it or not, but if writing is compared to cooking, you want your ingredients to
blend and complement one another. Every
word is important. As for my topic, my
topic was related to the morality of carrying a firearm defensively (and
legally). I’m obviously all for
self-protection and leaned more toward it being a positive thing rather than a
negative thing. Guns are clearly an
unfortunate invention, but seeing that they’re not going away anytime soon, I
feel that it’s important that people learn to use them in self defense rather
than do nothing and become a victim. Not
something I prefer to discuss in depth in a public setting, but take it for
what it is.
I was a little disappointed that we
didn’t put more into the blog. I
understand that it may have been somewhat of an experimental phase for future
courses, but I can just imagine a really interesting writing environment if the
students are given full creative freedom and are not so formally
restricted. I’ve seen writers clam up
and write boring sheets of junk when restricted, and write masterpieces when
given a little bit of free space. Someone
who is considered dull might actually be hilarious if they are comfortable
saying whatever they like (within reason of course). This doesn’t mean that I think it should be a
free for all of profanity, vulgarity, and the pushing of personal agendas, but
giving students a simple guideline and loosening them up is an excellent
start. I think that if the whole blog thing
was a type of experiment, it got great results as it stood this semester. It was good for the amount that we used it.
Finally, this was a good course for
me. Normally, I’m not so inclined to
even speak in front of people but I was able to do it with relative ease. I’m so nervous any other time that I’d rather
bolt off when asked what I think (which I literally did on the very first day
of class). The amount by which the whole
class setting was so laid back that I didn’t feel like I could possibly mess
anything up, therefore I felt I could speak freely. Certainly keep this up. I had a great time with this class. I think that just about everyone could
benefit from it.
