Commencement Speech

You are giving a speech before the entire IU graduating class at commencement. Your theme is the future of the graduating class after graduation. Write the first paragraph of your speech. Compose a full paragraph that is meant to be spoken (rather than just read). Somewhere in the paragraph, use a periodic sentence, a running sentence, and a sentence using the plain style. Your instructor will look for all three. Start your blog this way: "If I gave the commencement speech at my graduation, this is how I would start:..."

If I gave the commencement speech at my graduation, this is how I would start:

This is the day. The day which we have dressed up, posed for pictures, fastened our robes, pinned our caps, arranged our tassels, lined up alphabetically, waited patiently--all for this moment. We've spent years working hard on our degrees, but I would first like to reflect a little more on academics. I'd like to reflect on our experience as Hoosiers, from football and basketball games to trying new food on Kirkwood and Fourth Street, to experiencing the arts and interesting speakers at the Auditorium to dancing for the kids of Riley Hospital for 36 hours to the Little 500 and more. Today, we leave with a wealth of new experiences and knowledge afforded to us by Indiana University in the wonderful city of Bloomington.

Encomium with Schemas: Fall

Don't stick schemas together in an artless manner just to get through the assignment (because that won't earn full points). Try to create eloquent language (like Kennedy) that will orchestrate an emotion in your audience with the rhythms of your prose. You're composing a speech as a public figure (or her speech writer), and you're going to write one or two paragraphs of soaring rhetoric as part of an encomium, a speech of praise for a living person or thing (instead of a eulogy, which is praise for the dead).
You must use at least two schemas in your speech fragment. You can praise a great social leader, sports figure, anybody doing great things . . . or a great natural park, an endangered species, a beautiful work of art.
The one condition: It has to be something public (not some private friend or object), some person or thing that many people share (e.g., Yellowstone Park).

As winter approaches with each passing day, we ought to take a moment to appreciate the autumnal beauty around us. It is a time of wearing sweaters in the chilled air, a time of wind-swept leaves, a time of orange and red and yellow.  It grants us timely traditions such as hay rides and dress-up frights. It cools us down after the sweltering summer and warms us into the chills of winter. So, let us give thanks to fall, the intermediate season which generates beautiful landscapes of soft warm colors. Let us enjoy it while it is here and look forward to it every year.

Bumper Sticker

This time I want you to explain to them (the general public) a principle you've learned in this course:  People in general are not all that aware of how a single slogan or symbol (an ideonode) can actuate [excite, bring to life, animate] an entire belief system (an ideoplex). Take a bumper sticker slogan, and explain the whole ideology that springs up when someone reads just that single phrase.  Here are some bumper stickers to get you thinking, but hopefully you'll find one yourself: "Burn Fat, Not Oil," "Protect Our Borders," "I make milk. What's your superpower?" "NRA: Stand And Fight." (Stay away from real inflammatory bumper stickers for this assignment:  You only have three paragraphs.)

This bumper sticker is very simple, consisting of just one word ("Adopt"), but the paw print makes it into a symbol that relates to a much larger set of ideas surrounding animal ethics. The paw print brings to mind animals, particularly domestic pets like dogs or cats. Coupled with "adopt," the sticker as a whole calls to mind local human shelters and their humanitarian projects to rescue and give homes to pets.

This extends beyond simply adopting pets from humane shelters, however. Buying dogs from pet stores is usually not ethical according to animal activists, as the Some argue that buying from a breeder is not only expensive but encourages this growth of domestic pet population. As such, adopting from a shelter is the more ethical choice, which this sticker reflects.

The use of the paw print also brings about some pathos, much like those sad ASPCA commercials. Much of the population cares deeply about furry, playful creatures and would like to help them out if they can. This bumper sticker could serve as a call to action or a reminder of an option when considering getting a pet.

Symbol

This will be a great prep exercise before you write your Speech #4 outline. Pick a symbol (Snapchat, Adidas, Selena Gomez, Grand Theft Auto, Uber, Brangelina, etc.)  that you think unconsciously taps into a whole ideoplex of values, and that you think is problematic. Again, since you're writing to publics who don't know our theoretical terminology, use common ordinary language. Do three things in your blog: (1) Describe the symbol you're interested in analyzing. (2) Describe the ideology it supports. (3) Say why you think that ideology is harmful and needs to be challenged.

The symbol I am interested in is analyzing is the Confederate Flag, which represents the Confederate States when they attempted to succeed from America over their right to own slaves, which began the Civil War. As such, there is an association of the flag with racism, white power, and "Southern Pride."

In my opinion, as of many of those with my social views and those from the Northern states, the symbol is problematically entrenched in racism. In the Southern states, however, the symbol is often normalized, even though about 75% of African Americans living in the South find it a symbol of racism. It has even been used by white supremacists groups, after all. This is an ideology that glorifies "protecting" America from those who aren't white and returning to a time where they did not have to confront their racist values. The notion of "The South Will Rise Again" indicates more of a threat to our current system of government and rights than it does instill an arbitrary pride for living in the south.

Meanwhile, insisting just the flag just is a symbol of the south ignores its problematic history. There have even been cases with teenagers who pose with the flag and have a completely warped view of the history behind it. I believe we need to challenge our perceptions of items we view with serious nostalgia because otherwise we will be unable to make progress as a society.

This I Believe

Describe the elements of an ideology that you believe in (i.e., the ideonodes of an ideoplex).  Since the public that reads your blog posts doesn't know the terminology we're learning in this course (ideonodes, etc.), just use ordinary language terms that describe its values and practices. Name at least five or six norms, maxims, icons, or practices you support, and say what kind of ideology they support. This could be the values of the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts you belonged to as a kid, the value system of the sorority or fraternity you now belong to, or the social values you want to adhere to when you leave college and start your own family or join a commune. Title and begin the blog post with the (famous) phrase "This I believe." Make sure that you're not just talking about values, beliefs and opinions, but about the concrete symbols that represent those values, beliefs, and opinions. This is what your instructor will be looking for in assigning points.

One ideology that I suppose describes my major outlook into my career as a writer, teacher, and general person is that of honesty to adolescents and young adults about various issues--basically social liberalism but in terms of issues relevant to their age. For instance, I would acknowledge the existence of LGBT+ individuals, often represented (in some classrooms and offices I've seen) by a sticker of support, likely with the pride rainbow colors (a major symbol).

Another aspect of this includes awareness of diversity and multiculturalism, often represented with a globe and/or different people holding hands. For me, this would mostly include reading, recommending, and writing stories about all different kinds of perspectives, including different races and ethnicities, sexualities, and physical and mental abilities. Furthermore, there's also an emphasis on feminism (represented often with the Rosie the Riveter image). In my case, this would mean writing and recommending stories that challenges gender roles and empowers female characters. All of these aspects would also mean that I treat all of my students equally.

Charity is another example, which is often represented by images of hands. I would probably donate to children's and book-related organizations that help out kids in need.

Lastly, I also try to spread awareness of mental health, which affects more individuals than many people realize. Mental Health Awareness is represented by a green ribbon and it has various maxims like "Stop the Stigma." I want to let my students know that I am there for them and help them find the resources they need, as well as explore some of the ways it has affected me in my own writing.

Analogy: Violence in media and real life

Make an argument assessing the strength of the analogy between violence in
 movies (or video games) and violence in real life. The analogy would be of the form 
A:B::A:C. (Violence in horror movies is closely related and perhaps
 contributes to violence in real life). Say if you think there's a strong 
connection or no connection. Support your argument with careful reasoning 
and/or an example. (Don't cite empirical evidence for this argument. Stick 
with your own logic and good reasons

I do not think the analogy suggesting the correlation between violence in movies (or another type of fiction) and violence in real life is credible. After all, fiction and real life are not analogous in the least. Fiction is carefully constructed to display a particular theme or message, whereas real-life is much more random (though, yes, I admit this depends upon one's religious beliefs). Furthermore, just because a film or novel is displaying violence does not mean it is presenting it as a good solution to one's problems or a positive recreational activity. Where intentional violence occurs in real life, however, the perpetrator intended harm. While he or she may have had reasons for it (racism, protest, etc), her or his main purpose is not artistic. It is harming real people, not fictional representations.

The depiction of violence in media often contributes to a larger theme that may even be a commentary on real-life violence, rather than an influencer of it. The Hunger Games, for instance, is built on the concept of children forced to kill other children. Despite the violent premise, however, the storyline emphasizes government corruption, disregard for life, and protests in opposition. As such, the purpose of the violence is to display its destructiveness--not portray the behavior as acceptable. Another example would be the murders with sexual undertones investigated in the British series Broadchurch allows for the show to explore the devastating impact of such violence--hardly condoning it.

Violence in real life is purported to cause harm. Violence in fiction, meanwhile, can be included for a variety of reasons, many of which include commenting on the devastating effects of violence in real life. This difference between fiction and reality makes the analogy weak.

Sign of the Times

I want you to interpret an indirect sign - a sign of the times.  The popular idiom "sign of the times" is a phrase that points to the fact that there are certain things that are accurate indicators of the cultural moment. (e.g., "Kim Kardashian is a sign of the decadence and superficiality of the times we live in.") Pick some symptom of present day culture that you've noticed, and describe what you think it indicates about general values, feelings, or concerns.  It could be, for instance, a statistical rise in suicides among a certain population, or a movie genre that has suddenly become very popular, or a change in social media technology, or a fashion. Describe the characteristics of the symptom with some specificity and vividness, and then speculate about what you think it indicates culturally.

One major defining and reflective cultural element right now is the Broadway rap musical Hamilton which, after running for over a year and losing most of its original cast, is still almost impossible to get tickets to. I admit I'm not as much of a die-hard fan of it as some of my friends (who have the soundtrack memorized); more so than its actual content, I appreciate its concept and cultural impact. It captures the current cultural mood of the need for minority representation in media, regardless of its subject matter.

Unlike traditional musicals, Hamilton's numbers consist mostly of rap, hip-hop, and R&B--musical styles created by and prominent in the black and Latino communities--and boasts a cast of entirely (well, except for King George) minority actors, even if they are playing the white, mostly slave-owning Founding Fathers. Hamilton and Jefferson's heated debates are captured in rap battles, for instance. Hamilton himself was an immigrant who ascended up society through his own hard work, emphasized through various parts of the musical, such as the song which dramatically reveals he wrote 51 of the Federalist Papers.While political rivals may no longer settle their differences with duels, plenty of topics--from immigration, sex scandals, and dirty political fights--are easily applicable to today's world.

But the political process isn't the only place Hamilton relates to today's culture. In recent years, the subject of race in media has generated a lot of interest. #OscarsSoWhite pointed out the lack of black and other minority-focused films to generate critical buzz or exist at all. We Need Diverse Books campaigns for the need of books reflecting today's children in terms of race as well as sexuality, mental and physical ability, religion, and more. Meanwhile, racial anxieties are fueling many debates in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and Donald Trump's many controversial comments. As such, Hamilton fits seamlessly into current sociocultural dialogue by displaying a world where minority culture is celebrated and minority actors have opportunities that less creative producers would deny them.