Topic 1:
In class on Wednesday we talked about the issue of sweat shop labor in developing nations. Barboza discusses the inhumane kidnapping of children to work in sweatshops in China, arguing against such dehumanizing practices. Kristof, on the other hand, argues that sweatshops are necessary because without them, the people who work there would have nothing to live on. So, they are a necessary evil. The point of looking at these two articles together was to illustrate that many important topics are too complex for easy answers. Can you think of another topic that fits into this model? What are the complicating factors that make your issue too complex to be easily decided? How does this issue illustrate the importance of seeing more than one side to an issue?
Topic 2:
Continuing on this topic, what responsibilities do we have as consumers? Should we be aware of where are clothes are made and by whom, and should this knowledge inform our purchasing decisions? Come to a consensus as a group and defend your position with evidence.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Blog Post Ideas for 2/11
Blog Project 1
You have read Paulo Freire's "The Importance of the Act of Reading" and Peggy McIntosh's "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," and you have watched "Brazil in Black and White." Each of these suggests that many of the advantages that allow many of us to pursue an education, career opportunities, and so on, and which we see as natural elements of a meritocracy are in fact bestowed on us, not through our merits, but through our membership in particular exclusive groups.
The McIntosh piece and the film both point to race as one of these "invisible knapsacks." What others do you see and what evidence do you see of the existence of these knapsacks? How do these give privilege? What parts of this knapsack should be rights for all and which should we try to abolish as oppressive?
Blog Project 2
Having just experience two substantial snow events back to back, we have all probably been watching a lot of weather lately. So, find one or two news stories, news advertisements, or other weather related media and perform a rhetorical analysis on it. What are the ad's explicit and implicit messages? How do the news outlets you are looking at talk about weather and why do you think they talk in these ways? Did your example attempt to name the weather phenomenon? If so, what effect did this have?
In short, what arguments do these supposedly objective news stories make?
You have read Paulo Freire's "The Importance of the Act of Reading" and Peggy McIntosh's "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," and you have watched "Brazil in Black and White." Each of these suggests that many of the advantages that allow many of us to pursue an education, career opportunities, and so on, and which we see as natural elements of a meritocracy are in fact bestowed on us, not through our merits, but through our membership in particular exclusive groups.
The McIntosh piece and the film both point to race as one of these "invisible knapsacks." What others do you see and what evidence do you see of the existence of these knapsacks? How do these give privilege? What parts of this knapsack should be rights for all and which should we try to abolish as oppressive?
Blog Project 2
Having just experience two substantial snow events back to back, we have all probably been watching a lot of weather lately. So, find one or two news stories, news advertisements, or other weather related media and perform a rhetorical analysis on it. What are the ad's explicit and implicit messages? How do the news outlets you are looking at talk about weather and why do you think they talk in these ways? Did your example attempt to name the weather phenomenon? If so, what effect did this have?
In short, what arguments do these supposedly objective news stories make?
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