one last time

hey so i know blogging is done but im watching clueless and i got excited… i couldnt find the exact clip i could only find it through this corny montage…

check out the 40 second mark

it might be blurry but hes reading Nietsche!

Assignment 8

I believe that this course has given me the means to define communication in both a broader and more specific sense.  At the start of the semester, I knew that communication was more than the standard view, but I didn’t have the vocabulary to define it.  Now, with the backing of the various authors we have read, I’m capable of explaining the different facets and effects of communication as it pertains to the world.  With this new vocabulary, I would definitely change my initial definition. 

I feel that this knowledge has indeed equipped me to deal with certain situations more effectively.  Specifically, being conscious of my performances as well as the deliberate performances of others will greatly aid me and my decision making in almost every daily situation.  Knowledge of rhetoric has also significantly expanded my critical thinking.

Final Blog Assignment

This past semester has really changed my view of communication.  I used to think that communication was just a sender sending a message and someone or something receiving it.  Now, with the help of the rhetorical view, I believe that communication is everything.  It is how we look, how we speak, and how we present ourselves overall.  Our movements and actions create who we are and that is how we communicate ourselves.  The rhetorical view will help in creating the person I want to be.  I will look to something and see it one way, but then I will be able to look at it in a different light too.  This way of thinking and acting will help me in tough situations.  The rhetorical view helps us define who we are and who we want to be.  It helps us get the point across that we are aiming for.

Assignment #8

1).  I didn’t realize how much I learned this semester until I took a look at my first assignment again.  I hadn’t done any of the readings yet when I created these definitions, but I candefinately see that my definitions then had more in common with the transmission model of communication.

My definition of communication had much in common with the transmission model.  It basically stated that communication is the exchanging of thoughts.  I didn’t reduce the definition to one person exerting their thoughts on others, so it doesn’t really resemble the banking method.  However, the sheer simplicity of my definition does suggest that I reduced communication down to something like that of a mathematical equation just like the transmission model.  It is really kind of silly to try and reduce something as complex as communication down to an equation.

I really botched the definition of culture the first time around.  I covered culture with everything in terms of  the impact of history, social, and economic reasons of culture.  However, I neglected to right how communication has impacted culture.  Much like whatIsocrates said, none of those things would have existed without communication in the first place.  Thus without communication there is no government, society, etc., and therefore there is no culture.  Also like what Peters mentioned, our culture is formed from our inability of perfect communication.  We cannot perfectly communicate and thus we try to communicate in other ways to express our feelings (paintings, music) and we create culture that way.

Knowledge, my definition of knowledge was one of my better ones.  I did briefly go over things that were similar to problem-posing and banking views of education.  However, I didn’t really know how to classify those things until now, where I really understand what they mean.  The thing that I failed to mention, that I understand now, is that we create knowledge through metaphors.  Like whatNietzsche mentioned, everything is a metaphor.  Words do not naturally occur, we create them and then assign them a meaning from the physical world.  without humans there would be not words, metaphors, and thus no knowledge.  Knowledge is not something that was always floating around.  We created it.

One of the first things we learned is that a rhetorician believes that there is no physical referent reality, but that reality is constantly being constructed.  Obviously, this not how I defined reality at all.  In a matter fact my definitions of truth and reality depended on there being a referent reality to base what could be considered real and true off of.  I have decided to include both truth and reality in the same section because I misinterpreted them in the same way.   A person with a rhetorical view does not ask what is real, but asks what is accepted as real in a given place or time.  They don’t ask what is true because what is considered true is constantly changing.

My definition for identity was very naive, and probably very similar to most of the class.  It basically said that our identity is developed by our interests and choices which are influenced by external forces.  I still do agree with this to an extent.  However there are many things that we have learned that help shape our identity that are specific instances of these external forces.  Identification and division helps form identity.  We look for people like us and choose too assosciate with that group, that of course labels us who we are.  Identity is also formed by performance.  Our diferent performances in different situations help establish our identity.  If our performances are bad, and don’t work accordingly our identity will be different.  For example if my performance is to woo a girl, and I do a terrible job, a ladies man will not be part of my identity.  One of the main points that I did not touch on is that our identity is constantly changing, or it is a progression.  We are constantly taking on new roles, and thus building onto or tweaking our identity.

2).   I feel like I am more equipped to take on the world in a few ways.  First of all, I see some things in a new light now.  I see that I don’t need to dislike something if I don’t agree with it.  Sometimes you should try to understand something, an attitude, and then try to figure out its style or its performance before you make judgment.   You don;t necessarily have to agree with it, but you should try to understand it.  Disliking something for the sake of disliking would fall closer to that of the serious premises of communication.

I also feel like I am more aware of social trends and ideas that are influenced on myths.  Some of these myths are bad, and some are not bad.  The fact is that society is held up with these notions and ideas that we should save the rain forest or we should vote, or etc.  I am not saying these things are bad, but if we do these things without understand or thinking about them, that is bad.  Then we are losing our freedoms, and just following these politically based myths that have been floating around for years because society has adopted them.  It is not necessarily bad to follow them, but  it is bad to not realize them, or understand them before we jump aboard with everybody else.  For example, before we vote we should acknowledge that it is a myth and consider the implications.

One last thing, is that my concentration in CMCL is film and media studies.  I have always been good at analyzing the textual elements of film.  This class has helped me analyze other things such as performances and themes of films, television shows, and other media.  I now feel like I am able to find meaning is mad Tv sketches, silly commercials, Looney tons, etc.  I am able to see more clearly how rhetoric is used in the media, and that will be very beneficial in the future for me.

Final Assignment: Reflection

Over the course of the semester i learned how to view communications more open-mindedly. i used to consider it as a simple process that took place in society to build relationships with one another. for example, i had a brief definition of communication as being a “verbal and nonverbal way of reaching out to others and conveying thoughts, ideas, or emotions.” Now, after having read and learned about the ideas and concepts of all of the authors from the semester, i know that communications goes much deeper than that.

Communication is not just a one way process and it is not as simple as just conveying what you are “really” trying to say. everything is interpreted differently among people depending on manyyyy different factors. Culture, knowledge, reality, and identity all happen to be factors that influence the way we decode messages. in a way, i was almost on target with my definition of culture. i said that it is passed down to us and that we learn it from our family and ancestors, which is true. the thing i did not consider, however, is where values and beliefs (culture) all begins/ comes from. we tend to believe that a culture just exists and that we fall under particular cultures. now i realize that there is no “real” culture that was preexisting. everything has been made up by humans

The same goes for knowledge. facts and information that we acquire and take in as reality have merely been passed down to us and instilled in us as reality. These facts are all created by humans and we mistake it as a set reality. this is how we get stuck in the standard view of communication- by assuming that there are preexisting realities.

In the beginning of the semester i defined reality as the world that we live in, which was not completely off in a sense. everyone has different realities which affect the way they live/are affected by the way they live. this goes along with how there is not one specific, definite reality. instead there is an ever-changing reality that is molded by everyone is society.

It is crazy how in the beginning of the semester i looked at these terms as simple and almost looked them over. it was so confusing to me that we were asked to define such obvious words. now, all of that simplicity has become enormously complicated (in a good way!)… there are so many more ways to view communication and reality and, as confusing as it may get, i honestly think it helps us become more well-rounded and aware of our surroundings.

The rhetorical view could help you see things from many perspectives. it may become easier to understand thought processes of other people or you can even come up with ways to alter your own thinking. for example, many of my classes are lectures in which i sit and learn, but rarely speak. with the help of learning about the banking education, i know that speaking in class, asking questions, and giving my input can help myself and maybe even others to acquire new knowledge.

Final ideas about the course, Communication, and Rhetoric

How sad it is that this may be my last blog post…

Part 1

In the beginning of the semester I defined communication in a very standard view type of way. I knew that there was something that went beyond that, but I didn’t really know what it was. Through this class I was learned how communication does so much more then just convey ideas from one person to each other. I would add that communication creates identities and in dong so also creates divisions. In the process of communication we are always performing and playing different roles, which I think is another important aspect that I would add to the definition. Communication can also create truth and knowledge because through dialogue and invention and re-invention of ideas things change. What once was considered to be a truth might change and not be considered to be true over time. I will leave this class knowing that communication does more and goes way beyond what I initially thought.

Part 2

I think the importance of seeing the rhetorical view of communication and not be just bogged down in the standard view is very significant. I think that a lot of aspects in the rhetorical view are things that people already do naturally without even thinking about them, such as how they perform during job interviews. I think the biggest advantage to the rhetorical view is seeing that many of the ideas and beliefs we have about the world are shaped and constructed by humans. Knowing that these ideas were shaped by humans, means that people also have the capability to change them and try to influence the adoption of new ideas. Being aware of the way in which rhetoric is used in our everyday lives will be very advantageous even if we don’t always notice it. There have been instances already during this semester in which I have had a new understanding about something and been able to think about it in a different way just because of studying the rhetorical view. Dramatic realization seems to come up a lot. The idea of having to perform something before it becomes reality is an idea that I think will help me in my future.

Overall I think this class was very well taught and will provide all of us with lessons we will carry on for the rest of our lives, even if we don’t always remember where they have come from.

Citizen Eco Drive

Well for my last post i saw a commercial come on the other day about Citizen Eco Drive watches. It is a commercial with Eli Manning who is the quarterback for the New York Giants. Take a look.

Now, I don’t really know if Eli Manning is unstoppable or if people who wear a “Eco Drive” watch are. Quite frankly i own one and i would like to be unstoppable, but i am not. I think this commercial came out around a year and a half ago once Eli won the supper bowl with the Giants. I love how we like to cling onto things as people if our favorite player associates with the object. Overall citizen watches are very good, but now that Eil Manning is not doing to well, it would be interesting to see what the marketing team at citizen is thinking now. I also like the background with the black and white clouds almost as if he is some “tough guy”. what do you think? does his performance and identity of a football quarterback fit the “watch guy commercial man”?

Reading Assignment #8

1. I feel slightly ashamed of myself looking back at my first assignment… I basically defined truth as “stuff that is true”. I had a very rudimentary concept of what these words meant, and I struggled severely to define them. I know the ‘Standard View’ definitions, I just couldn’t put them into words. Over the course of the semester, however, I added words, themes, and ideas to my arsenal of what we now call a “Rhetorical View of Communication”. I’ve learned the difference between the two views of communication… For instance: I learned that communication for some consists of “flattery” instead of “transmit[ting] truth”. For others, a delicate binary exists between “solipsism and telepathy”. (Peters) Some consider communicatio a “mask [of our] truer self – the self we would like to be”. (Goffman) Another author we have looked at considers communication to be a “sincere [or] cynical performance” that involves “identification/division” (Burke). Complicating its definition, we’ve learned that “the banking process of eduction inhibits creativity” and does not promote innovation. (Freire) We also considered that “truth does not exist outside of knowledge” and that truth is “humanly centered and socially constructed”. (Nietzche) We identified myths as being “rhetorical discourses” that “purify things; [that] make them innocent”. (Barthes/DeLuca) We looked at the C.B.S. Theory to address communication (Lanham) and rhetoric can be used to create pathos, which “shows its affect – when the spectator is compelled to jump from his seat”. (Eisenstein) We also examined the theory that performances “function as a vital act of transfer, transmitting social knowledge, memory, and a sense of identity through a reiterated ‘twice-behaved’ behavior”. (Taylor) Phew! What a busy semester! Considering all of these things, I would definitely change my definitions to include all of the above!

2. As I hope a lot of you who have read my blog posts have noticed, I tend to talk about things that I have encountered in my life and relating it to the author we are currently talking about. Because of C205, I am better prepared to examine the interactions that I am involved in (and those which I am not) and use the ‘toolbelt’ of rhetoric to prepare myself for rhetoric used towards me. Like we talked about in class a couple days ago, the business world is full of rhetoric that I can use to determine where I want to work, what is going on around me, and how I can successfully use rhetoric to my advantage.

Final Reading Assignment

At the beginning of the semester I wrote for the first assignment that my description of communication resembles Chandler’s transmission model. I mentioned that I agreed with this model in the sense that that models concentrates on the meaning of what is communicated where there are different levels of ‘intended meaning’ as he calls it. However, I stated that I believed that typically the receiver has the ability to create meaning of the communication, meaning of which generally is different for each individual which is somewhat more “rhetorical view” than standard view. The following definition directly following the words below where my originally responses and below that is how and why I would change the response now after taking this course.

Communication:

1) Communication allows someone to get a point across in verbal and non-verbal forms from sender to receiver where both parties can have a common agreement of the meaning of what is being communicated.

2) Basically the main part of my originally definition for communication I would change is that it is not something that can be commonly agreed about instead it is playful, complex and never completely perfect or clear. Communication consists of style, metaphors, myths, fronts, performances and so much more.

Culture:

1) Culture is a concept that comes from a group or community’s perceived styles. We can know what counts as a culture by its mass acceptance or general knowledge. We know where we belong in culture by the way we were raised, our communities, mass media, and general perceived perceptions of you.

2) This definition of culture that I previously wrote still holds true to me now however, I would add that another aspect of culture is how a person identifies within a group and how that person performs.

Knowledge:

1) Really, we don’t know what actually truth is. However, we tend to think we know what we know through beliefs that what we our taught from scholars and what the majority of people believe is true to be knowledge. Through our experiences and continuum of hearing these beliefs or ‘knowledge’ they become our reality. Knowledge and communication go hand in hand because one without the other would not exist.

2) I would add to this definition of knowledge that we create it through our communication. Knowledge is human-centered and without our creation of myths and metaphors through communication, accepted “truths” or facts that are commonly accepted would not even exist.

Truth:

1) Like knowledge it is almost impossible to know what is actually true. Similar to knowledge we believe something to be true by what we continue to hear is correct and what the majority of people also believe or scholars who have study the area of question. What counts as truth depends on the individual’s perspective that they cultivate through their culture and beliefs. The relationship between truth and communication are without communication there would be no perceived truth or common beliefs.

2) The only aspect I would add to this is the “dull daily reinforcement” of performances and knowledge creates our truths.

Reality:

1) An individual’s personal perceived beliefs or truths make up that person’s reality. This existence is complex and oftentimes formulated by what a person’s taught.

2) I would elaborate on this short explanation of reality by mentioning how humans create their reality through communication because we create arbitrary words for things and then we create concepts for those words.

Identity:

1) You know who you through perceptions of others and your view of yourself. Your culture, mass media and people you meet throughout your life shape these thoughts or personal identity of yourself. Communication is a key factor in a person’s identity because without communication one would not define themselves the same.

2) I would slightly add more to this definition of identity by saying that it is created by our fronts and performances by persuasion from our internal and external audiences as well as the effectiveness of those performances to others.

I see the “rhetorical view” of communication helping me in my future roles and endeavors in several ways. This way of thinking about communication and reality in general will help me be “better equipped” in my future career due to the nature of the tourism industry I intend on working within. This industry relies heavily on performances and customer services that will better accepted at truthful by customers since I better understand the importance of my style of communication and the effects of my fronts.

Assignment #8

I originally only took this class for a random 3 credit course and to tell you the truth i was thinking about dropping it after the first couple of days. But i decided to stay in it and i am glad i did. Looking back on our first assignment were i stated that “communication is interaction between people or things when a message needs to be sent either verbal or nonverbal.” I pretty much had the _standard_ view of communication pounded into my head along with many other people but there is much more behind it. We were also asked to define culture, knowledge, truth, reality, and identity. It was hard to get a grasp on these topics before this class but now that _communication_ has a part in evolving everything that is around us, it is much easier to grasp some of these concepts. There is so much more to add now that we have spent all semester digging deeper and around communication. I think i would change my definition now that i have taken this class, but i don’t really know if you can pin a _firm_ definition on communication. After looking back at notes and just trying to recall the many conversations we had in class, it is very difficult to say communication is “this” specific thing, rather its everything. We are always communicating in everything we do from our fronts to our performances. To the cars we drive to the clothes we wear, how we talk, how we walk. It is interesting now to look back and everything we have learned and apply it to everything that i do. From my fraternity, to my friends, to my home life and beyond.

It was very interesting digging into the meaning of communication and what “we think communication is” compared to people who have studied it for many years. Communication will always be evolving and we will always have new ways of thinking of things, fresh ideas, and ways to communicate. 

The rhetorical view of communication will help me in the future with my job or jobs. I will be easier to look around and look deeper into things that i have learned from this class and apply them to simple situations. It is much easier now to look past certain things such as fronts and the many performances that people put on.I am very grateful that i have taken this class and i can now look a things a little differently rather than just taking things for what they are.