Eulogy

This class has been something of an odd experience for me. Being a Journalism major has taught me to approach writing with a certain structure in mind. Composing clear and concise sentences. Using simple, yet expressive, prose. I have been taught how to manage my words on the sentence level. This class was more about the feel of writing. While this has been something that I have always been aware of and toyed with in my other writing pursuits it has been something outside the focus of my academic study. Approaching the feel and logic behind discourse was entirely refreshing for me. It reminded me why I decided to pursue a writing intensive major.

If I could make one suggestion to improve the course it would be this: reduce the assigned number of blog posts and increase presence of peer reviewed papers. While blog posts reduce the physical paper load of the class it does not foster the same level of writing analysis that the in class group sessions provided. Reading my words aloud to a group really helped me understand the flow of my argument and I could hear where my paper needed work.

All in all this class was an enjoyable writing class. While I did not always see the connection between lecture and lab, and often doubted any true synergy existed between the two I feel that I learned a great deal. Both teachers were enthusiastic and always had more to say than each day than the allotted time slot allowed.

A Beautiful Failure

Mankind has always sought to capture an idea in time. From petroglyphs on to hieroglyphs and into the modern age of writing man has tried to store and convey experience through the written word. However, even thousands of years of evolution in human discourse have come up short. There is still no way to transcribe the true essence of thought. I think that one of the reasons for this is that as a species we lack the capabilities to truly comprehend any experience entirely. When I attempt to describe a city I am limited by how I perceive the world. My concept of Madison and someone else's can be entirely different. This does not mean that either are less truthful. Both of us are simply limited by our schema of understanding.

Another way in which the written word fails to encapsulate human experience is its inability to truly capture an emotional appeal. Do not misunderstand me, I have been moved by the words of many authors. But, the true heart wrenching agony of a personal loss or the love felt for one's family can never be conveyed with simple language. As a species we have always understood that text has its limits. This is one of the reasons why emoticons, as lackluster as they are, became so popular. It is simply another attempt to embed text with meaning.

I wish that I could visit Earth several hundred years from now to see evolution of human discourse. Just as I am sure man will still be trying to supplement their ability to capture an idea, I am equally sure we shall still fall agonizingly short.

closing statements

In terms of aggregate good done by a class, this class checked out. I very much enjoyed ILS 200; it required me to excel in writing through fun and creative assignments. I enjoyed the assignments a lot actually, and I went beyond the class and stepped up my reading just so I could properly portray my rhetoric; this class helped me see how important portraying what you want to say is, and how to do it. Capturing the philosophy of why we do something is not only important for following through with action; it’s a virtue for the learning process. This was facilitated through this class: Success!

Pathos is an interesting beast. It requires a person who is delivering a message to tailor their presentation towards an appropriate audience in order to disclose their information in the way that they see fit: to lock their message in their viewers mind, just the way they want. Celebrities around the world fall victim towards this in a strange way: how they present them self. They need to be concerned with their actions on a 24/7 basis. Though this might seem unfair to an alien, it makes complete sense to a cognitive human. Google search any of these athletes salaries; with the unique accepting of A-Rod-whom only get's 6 million from his endorsements-the major athletes in the world, and especially tiger woods, derive the majority of their salaries from endorsements, or at least a substantial chunk (40 percent or more). What does this mean? These athletes are the best sales people in the world. Big name companies pay these guys copious amounts of green because they are, for one excellent at their sport, and secondly becuase they have a solid image that they can associate with their company--which in turn leads to sales. When someone like tiger-who over 80% of his salary is based off of his image-get's him self in trouble by doing something that everyone see's as extremely unethical, you better believe everyone is going to here about it. It's only right for the integrity of these companies: the companies essentially responsible for these athletes wealth. Am I saying that anyone who chooses such a profession-one in which requires public light-deserves to have everyone know each intricate detail concerning their life? No, absolutely not, but what I am saying is many athletes accept sponsorships-sponsors which choose them based off of their public image-and it is only fair to these sponsors to maintain their image.