Directions
By the end of the semester, you should write a 4-5 page rhetorical critique of an artifact of your choice that applies a methodological or theoretical perspective drawn from rhetorical scholarship. You have been offered numerous examples of this scholarship as readings throughout the semester. You are also invited to do your own research. I recommend using the database “Communication and Mass Media Complete” available through the Auraria Library. We can take a look at this database during class in an upcoming session.
You may choose any artifact that can be studied using a rhetorical lens (e.g., platform speeches, online social media posts/movements, T.V. shows or films, media coverage of major events, music/sound, visual images, and the list goes on). If you would like to share your plans with me for feedback before the end of the semester, I would be happy to assist you in both selecting and narrowing your focus for this project. We will also spend some time in class doing this.
Your critique should accomplish the following:
(1) Describe the historical context of your artifact (e.g. when was it produced, by whom, and for what specific audience). You might also include discussion of how your artifact has continued to circulate beyond its immediate context if this is a relevant factor;
(2) Analyze and evaluate the artifact using any of the theoretical perspectives, critical tools, and/or terms we have learned so far this semester;
(3) Describe the key implications you think your readers should remember about the artifact. In other words, tell us the key insights you gleaned from the process of engaging this artifact as a rhetorical critic and how these insights provide a justification for your audience to care about or attend to it.
For the purposes of this critique, I’m asking that you write in an essay style. Please include an introduction in which you state a central thesis you plan to pursue (e.g., “I will engage in a rhetorical critique of my artifact using Vicaro’s concept of ‘deconstitutive rhetoric'”), several body paragraphs in which you discuss your theoretical approach and then quote from and discuss vivid/robust components of or examples from your artifact, and a conclusion in which you highlight key implications of your work.
