Helena Marie Fahnrich

Certainly a fascinating website and incredibly well thought out. When taking a closer look at The Tiziano Project's site, the language is deeply empowering, for example the concept of "self-sustaining journalism" is activistic. In keeping Del Gandio's writing as a conceptual umbrella, the Tiziano Projects' website echoes his rulebook via the four part progression, which both informs and pulls activists in through a this-is-how-you-do-it-here-are-all-our-resources kind of thought process (concept-classroom-get involved-projects). At the very end of the video on the first page, the phrase "New Media" flashes. This ties into Del Gandio's discussion of the formation of new words and I keep thinking about the literary theory and criticism class James and I are in; the term "New Criticism." The way words are exchanged at this point in history show a progression from classic forms of literary theory. We hold the lessons from previous generations i...

Detroit and the Closed Fist: Toward a Theory of Material Rhetoric  centers around the embodiment of rhetorical voice within Detroit and how the statue of Joe Louis' fist calls attention to injustices at the heart of the issue. Marback points out, "In and of itself, the fist does not violently impose an oppositional identity. Rather, the figure of the Black-Power fist participates in struggles over representational power, challenging all Americans to confront the rhetorical and spatial dynamics of radicalization that have constructed people as different and isolated from each other" (p.84). Dickinson's piece Joe's Rhetoric Finding Authenticity at Starbucks  details daily events and language used at Starbucks and how this banality is responsible for widespread success of the corporation. The relationship between the human body and coffee consumption is addressed in the article and also how the experience is an example of postmodern life in it's widespread gene...

A main point of the chapter includes aspects to consider when moving into rhetorical engagement. Aspects include observation of language, awareness of the inherent power in words, how to frame language when moving into an argument, the context of the argument and audience and the social and political considerations to be made. Del Gandio's discussion of the propaganda breakdown formulated in a book by Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman (which sounds super interesting) during the Cold War is significant. Del Gandio states, "All propaganda is rhetorical, but not all rhetoric is propaganda" (120). He also mentions how the goals of propaganda exploit "people's desires while rhetoric seeks to liberate people's desires" (120). The "language of association and coupling" is a notable technique used in propaganda and his discussion on how to take apart a "cluster" is very relevant (specifically in further researching, and refuting through ...

Follow link for an article on the We Energies rate case: http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2014/09/24/short-sighted-move-by-we-energies-against-solar-power/