Unit 1: Reading America

  • Rhetorical Analysis of “The World is Yours”

    Materials: Official music video of Nas’s “The World is Yours,” slideshow “The World is Yours.”  The slideshow will give students essential backstory on this video, including the fact that “the world is yours,” is a recurring refrain of Tony Montana, the violent protagonist of the movie Scarface, who was willing to attain power and privilege by…

  • Everything Is an Argument

    Optional materials: slideshow “Everything is an Argument,” Understanding Analysis handout. I use the actual textbook, Everything is an Argument, but it’s not necessary to do so as you can discuss the book’s essential argument without reference to the book itself.  The first slide in “Everything is an Argument” lists artifacts and asks students to explain what…

  • Introducing Yourself to Different Audiences

    Encourage rhetorical awareness by asking students to introduce themselves twice, adjusting their introductions for different audiences. For the first introduction, they’ll follow standard protocol, introducing themselves to their actual peers. They’ll give their pronouns, say where they’re from, what their interests are, what they’re interested in studying, etc. For the second introduction, they’ll pretend they’re…

  • Rhetorical Context: National Values

    Materials: Slideshow of contemporary U.S. advertisements for analysis. YouTube video of Japanese advertisements. You may also want to provide students with the handout “Questions to Ask When Conducting a Rhetorical Analysis.” Objective: Students make connections between what an audience values and the rhetorical strategies rhetors use to appeal to them.   Whole class discussion: Think of the national…

  • Key Concepts from Module 1

  • Questions to Ask When Conducting a Rhetorical Analysis

  • Ethos-Building Mini Assignments

  • Culture Jamming

      Culture jamming (also called “subtervising”) is a form of protest that uses rhetorical savvy to draw attention to the faults of social institutions or to their manipulation of consumers. Culture jammers are inspired by the critical theory of the Frankfurt School, which described the power of mass media and advertising to shape society’s norms,…