Final Project Proposal

Final Project Proposal

Overview: I will develop an 8-10 page researched paper addressed to my blog audience that is designed to inform our understanding of rhetoric.  My paper will focus on a specific crisis, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  I will analyze how emotions functioned (and continue to function) to unify and divide individuals in the wake of this crisis.  I will distill this paper into a brief, 5-minute presentation that I’ll give to the class. Finally, I’ll post my essay on my blog, link my presentation to the essay, and link my webfolio to my blog entry.

Specifics:

1) Purpose: To inform our understanding of rhetoric by analyzing how emotions function (to unify and divide individuals) in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.  In analyzing this phenomenon, the theories of various authors we’ve studied this semester (such as Massumi, Damasio, Brennan, Ahmed etc) will be brought to bear.

2) I’ll develop a claim, which will most likely be that “By looking at our response to this attack through the “lenses” of various theorists of emotions, we can expose the ways emotions function to unify and divide individuals.”

3) I’ll use at least 6 outside sources to ensure that I draw conclusions from an adequate pool of data. I’ll look at the ways that the terrorist attacks created unity among some Americans, while they simultaneously eroded the unity among other Americans.  I’ll look to a variety of sources to glean this information, such as political speeches, immigration reform advocates’ materials, Muslim-American advocacy group statements, arguments from white supremacists, etc.

4) I’ll analyze the information from these outside sources using at least two (and hopefully 3) of the authors we’ve studied this semester.  I won’t attempt to represent one author as more “right” or “better” than another. Instead, I’ll try and use the multiple approaches or “lenses” to create a more complete and thorough understanding of the situation.

5) I’ll distill this essay into a 5-minute Prezi presentation, which makes use of diagrams/images to convey information more efficiently. I’ll give this presentation to the class on May 3^rd/5^th.

6) I’ll orally workshop this project on Tuesday, April 26^th, and do a more formal peer review on Thursday, April 28^th.

7) I’ll link the URL for my blog post to my webfolio by May 5^th.