final reading assignment 8

Looking back to the beginning of the semester I defined communication as: it relays information to someone or a group of people. You can relay this information through words, gestures, body language, or electronically. Basically, I viewed communication through the standard view and all it did was transmit information. I believed you had to communicate perfectly for us to get along. But now, maybe when we understand someone is when we don’t get along! After taking this class, I realized that communication does so much more than tranmist info. It creates who we are. We are constantly performing, there will never be clear perfect communication, and through communication we have created the world around us.

Through the rhetorical view, I feel that I think more out of the box. I see that I can perform in ways to get people to think of me in certain ways, that words are just words and only bare the meaning that we have given them, and that its a good thing that we can’t communicate perfectly clear. 

The rhetorical view allows me to see the world differently, in a more open way. The biggest thing I have taken away from this class is that people put on fronts and perform in certain ways to get you to believe thats who they are, and they are always searching for acceptance. I think the rheotorical view will help me more in life than the standard view. If I become a coach, I will have to be more open to constantly changing and accepting how different everyone is. This class has opened my eyes and mind and I am greatful that i took this class.

Final RA

Looking back to the start of the semester to where we are now, I think I would make just a couple changes to the ways I view communication. My first definiton from day one was that communication allows individuals to understand others beliefs, ideas, and ways of thinking. It enables us to understand one another. Without it, the world would be a confusing place. With that being said, I change my view of communication, we have learned that there is no such thing as perfect, clear cut communication. Instead, communication is too complicated to be perfect. The new technologies such as text messaging, email, and AIM allow for communication to be fuzzy. You can’t get a clear message or image by using those things. The expressions aren’t there and someone might say one thing and mean another.

Another isue with communication that I didn’t really notice until this class was the different fronts, myths, and performances that we use to make us look better. Everyone is performing at every moment one way or another. We use fronts to create an image that we like for ourselves. We use myths to build up something to be bigger than what it really is. Overall these three things have made me realize what everyone is really doing when they are acting. Communication is clearly more than talking or interacting with someone.

The rhetorical view of communication has made me open my eyes and see more things than I would have before takeing this class. The rhetorical view helps someone notice the fronts and images people put on. The standard view is basically the more conservative view and doesn’t let you see the opposite view very well. It’s pretty much just straight forward. I am going to have to use the rhetorical view in my job. I want to be involved with advertising and or public relations and that allows me to use my skills to write and persuade people in different ways, kind of like a speech. I will most likely have to use the rhetorical view. Overall, this class has opened up my views in a different way than before.

Final Assignment

In the first assignment I defined communication as the way that human beings transmit thoughts and ideas to one and other.. man has that changed. I also defined communication as allowing people to connect in many various ways without wich we would have no interaction. I think that I was much more on with this part of the definition after the semester was over. I know think of communication as something much further and can include so many different aspects, all of which are important and that communication is always changing and evolving which is a good thing.  Througout the semester we have seen how communication can affect the world and how we perceive everything around us. We have explored a different way to look at communication that asks us to look deeper into what we think we know and why this is so. When looking at my definitions of culture, knowledge, truth, reality, and identity I would change some parts of these descriptions and keep others. When talking about culture I would keep the fact that it is passed down by generations and how it is many individuals “way of life”. I would add to this description with how communication plays a role in creating an individuals culture, this is very important because culture isn’t something that is an absolute truth it has evolved rhetorically for centuries into what it is today. When looking at knowledge i said that we receive knowlege through communication and it is bulit by experiences and information learned. I would still agree with the experiences part and how know knowledge comes from communication, now I would just elaborate on the different ways we can learn (banking, problem posing ect.) and how those ways can shape what we learn, basically how education can be rhetorical because learning something that is fed to you could be someone elses perceptions of that topic. With truth I would change and add what all we know about creating truths around us and how one persons truth is not necessarily another persons. I would also add that someone can be truthful but also deceptive at the same time.. ex) only sharing certain details so something looks one way, still deception (in my definition I said that anything that isn’t truthful is deceptive). I would probably completely change reality because I said that the truth is the reality, but many peoples realitys are what they want them to be and how they create this through their own rhetorical communication. When speaking about identity I would add alot about fronts and belonging and how these aspects affect identity… I did say that the way we communicate is how others know us, so this does touch on these points but I would say that we have an identity that we beleive from the beginning but our actions shape our identity as time moves on.

I think that seeing the world in a more rhetorical view will help me in the future as a student, employee, family member ect. I will remember that communication has played a role in many aspects of all of our lives and this is why we are who we are today. If I can think rhetorically in the future, I beleive that I will have a more open mind that will allow me to look at challenges and problems differently and allow myself to constantly evolve through learning about the world in a rhetorical sense. I feel that I will be able to look at diverse situations in an more understanding way and understand why certain people and things are the way they are. I also think that by looking through the rhetorical lense I will be able to see how situations can be shaped rhetorically and question some ways of thinking because of the way a situation could be shaped rhetorically. All of these aspects will help me become a more rounded and open thinking person which is as important as ever now.

Finis

Ho boi, I have to go back in time to recall what I stated in the first assignment. Certainly, I can state that my original idea of communication (sender-reciever) is compeltely changed…yet at the same time, there’s a familiarity with rhetoric. Not going to say I’ve always known it, but I’ve become more aware of communication styles now. For example, in conversations I’m dissecting more into the conversation and the body language, instead of just the message. With regards to culture, I see communication evolving my idea of culture and seeing it as something that we are all part of, we invent and change.  Truth/knowledge hasn’t changed that much – I picked up as a kid that you can make up things and if you can connect it to something people understand it it becomes truth/knowledge. I would definitely change my definitions as they are outmoded and limiting in understanding how we as a species interact, learn, grow and live together.

As far as my future endevaors, rhetoric is going to end up being important in my future – depending on my career. I’ve flirted with the idea of being a history professor, so in order to succeed I’m going to need to effectivey prove my ideas are “true” but also argue that this idea is valid. OR, I want to open my own business (mircrobrewery or consultation) and either one is going to require my ability to effectively understand my consumer’s wants, desires and beliefs. That being stated, a successful businessman communicates better than others. One can learn accounting or business practices, but it takes a totally different individual to motivate their workers or to persuade a customer to buy a product they don’t need (at least that s what you think, but you have to make it something that they must have).

disney

Throughout the presentations, I found it very unique and interesting on how many groups used Disney films and comedy clips to present the rhetorical view of communication. It’s interesting to see how kid movies can illustrate such a direct idea to the rhetorical view. Every song has a purpose to what meaning is trying to be presented. As far as comedy clips, the groups used those to demonstrate style, identities, and performance. I just found it amusing that so many groups came up with things that are interesting for so many people.

Final Reading Assignment!!

My overall thoughts of communication have not changed that much because i have always felt that there has not been one of viewing communication. Rhetoric has always been in my mind and i have noticed that people are not always saying exactly what they mean and there is noise that is going to happen from the sender and receiver of communication. But i have learned the more in depth understanding that we are students of rhetoric in that we as a society know how to use it and practice it on a daily basis because we as a society have agreed that everything said is not the exact meaning that is meant to be portrayed. We think we are all searching for truth but we already in a way posses it because we own it and created it.
The main thing that i have learned is that we have had to agree on meanings for such things as a chair or how a student is supposed to act in a classroom setting. I guess i haven’t ever really been asked to look at how we as a society have agreed on such to be true but i have always just assumed that they are true. Its very interesting that our culture has had to assign these meanings for them to become true because without us nothing would really exist. We make up our world and agree upon everything without even thinking twice about it because that is how we were raised and that is within a rhetorical world.
So i guess i would not necessarily change any of my definitions but i have learned how to take into consideration what people are actually attempting to say when they speak. Knowing that they might not be saying what they actually mean needs to be taken into consideration because of the reaction that they might be trying achieve through their rhetorical communication. Also knowing that interacting with others may just be a front and might not actually be their true identity but a “mask” they put on for the current situation they both the sender and receiver are a part of.
I see the rhetorical view of communication helping me from here on out by making me realize that we as a culture act in a certain manner. Knowing this can help me to act the way i need to in certain situations. For example in a job setting, a relationship or any other situation that presents itself through out the rest of my life. I may not realize how i am acting at the time but afterwards i may realize what was actually meant of why i acted the way i did when certain situations arise. I will also know why i cry, laugh and have fun whenever i have these emotions.

Final Assignment

Communication at first to me was interacting between two people through voice, sign lanuage, email, text. It was also communicationg through televsion via news. From what we have learned I would defniatly change my definition. I have learned that it is hard to have perfect communication and that there can be a metamessage behind the message. Someone can mean something other than what was email, typed or said. Also communication is more than just words it is our performances. We communicate to people about who we are and who we want people to precieve us as through our actions. I kind of new this to start with because it is common sense but I didn’t realize how in depth it could go. Like fronts, myths, the fact that we say whats real because we created it that way. It is definatly hard to realize that what we know and learned as a child is not necessarily the right way. Meaning our banking education only lets us see straight in front of us and not out side the box/lines. It is crazy to think that a pencil is a pencil because we said thats what it is going to be when in fact it could be called something else and provide the same job as would have being called a pencil. Communication to me know is more than just an interaction between two things.

I think I am better off now that I have learned about Rhetoric. I have always questioned where we have came from and I am not supposed to do this since I am catholic. The church does not like this but this class as helped me understand that it is ok to question. I also see now the difference between rhetoric and the standard view because I see the standard view within my mother. She is unable to see outside the box and this class will help me in my future even if it is just the next day when i talk with my mother because I try to help her see that there is another way to think and see things. So yes this class has better equipped me and I see it now with my everyday life and I know it will help me in my future life/job. I know when the time comes I will know when I will be able to use the rhetorical view of communication to better the situation. I do not have a specific example other than my mom but I know it will be benefical. The reason it will be benefical is because I feel that people that use rhetoric has a more open mind then people who view the world in a serious premsis way. I will be a step ahead of those who can use this form of communication.

Final Assignment

I read through what I wrote for my first assignment and I was actually kind of impressed with what I wrote. I hit on many of the ideas we’ve discussed in this class, although I obviously couldn’t name them as specific concepts or really know why it is the way it is. For example, in my definition of communication I discussed not only how communication transmit ideas but also “how the meaning of those things are translated and affect the people involved” which touches upon the idea that rhetoric says communication is more than just transmitting ideas. I continue to talk about how communication is important in understanding people’s cultures, concepts, places, etc. With culture, besides the typical definitions I mentioned that culture can be redifned and reshaped during the years which touches upon the idea that most things are socially constructed and are created by people. I also mention that culture represents things that set us apart from someone else, which relates to the idea that identification automatically implies division. I also mention that our culture may be inherent and we might not even be aware of it, which relates to how we learned about certain characteristics of our identity that are reinforced in us based on how we’ve grown up or been taught, etc. When defining knowledge, I discuss how “we know what we know from experience but also from being taught that a tree is a tree, for example, and we don’t argue it because that’s what is commonly accepted.” This is what we learned about metaphors and myths, and how the definitions of these words are arbitrary. I also mention how what we know is arbitrary in defining truth.
I found it interesting that I mentioned these concepts when I really didnt know much about the idea of rhetoric but I definitely now have a better idea of rhetoric and how to go about recognizing it.

I think I’m definitely more prepared for my future because of my learning of rhetoric. I think that rhetoric will help me when I go abroad next year to understand the difference between myself and the culture and will make me more aware of the communication between myself and other countries. I think that rhetoric will also help me as I plan to work in PR, or the entertainment industry at least and rhetoric really relates to the techniques that PR people use in terms of shaping your idea to perform an idea you want an audience to buy. A knowledge of rhetoric is also really helpful just in everyday life, with relationships, for example because it gives a better understanding of communication issues or identity/performing. It’s easier to analyze or understanding situations between other people when you can try and figure out why they are acting the way they are or perhaps why you are acting the way you are. I definitely think that the techniques I’ve learned in the rhetoric view of life give me a much larger and better understanding of communication and people in general.

Rhetorical View

On our first assignment I defined communication as: “The way people express ideas and words to one another through writing, reading, and oral speech. Communication relays messages from one person or group to an outside source. I think it’s safe to say, I basically thought of communication through the serious premises view point. I wouldn’t say I didn’t recognize other type of communication or rhetoric, but I never would have used the topics we discussed in class to define communication. I would still agree that communication is a way to express ideas or information; however, I would add on that communication creates myths, metaphors, style, educations, deception, identity, fronts, performances, comedy, and gender and racial biases. I would not change my definition perhaps, but I would definitely add on to it.

After, I had a better understanding of what rhetoric meant and how it changes or challenges education, I started noticing all types of situations around me that dealt with rhetoric. I would notice little things on T.V. or movies about gender roles. Even in commercials women are seen as a sexual object or the mother. It’s not that I never noticed it before, but I just never really stopped to think about all the different messages it was sending. It was telling me, that as a female, it’s ok for my body to be objectified, or I should be a stay at home mom who only eats yogurt. I should depend on my husband to be the business man and drive a manly Ford truck. This relays messages to younger children about the role they are suppose to perform in society.

I started noticing the ways my teacher taught. I noticed if they accepted late papers, if they took attendance, if we did activities, and in general the way they passed down education. What they thought was important to teach. I noticed that I had all white teachers, and all but one was male.
I went to a wedding, and remembered talking about myths- and why I was there I thought of all the little things we do at weddings to signify celebration, for a metaphor of love. Like why do we spend thousands of dollars on a gathering, buy a dress you will only wear one day, walk down the aisle. And what really aggravates me is the meaning behind who walks you down the aisle: your father walks you down because he is giving you away as his property to another man.
I cannot pin point one specific thing I have learned all year that will make me better equipped, other than the fact that I notice all the little things now, and relate them all back to this class or experiences I have had, etc…

Assignment 8- Having a rhetorical view

To say the least, my original definitions of the words from the first assignment were very similar to the serious premise. My idea of communication was basically the transmission model. I talked about how communication was only about transferring information and not meaning, and basically only about getting your ideas across to someone else.  This is night and day with how I look at communication now, wherein I would definitely say I have a more rhetorical view of things. I think that we construct our worlds and livelihoods through communication, and create different perspectives and outcomes in the process. Communication is not simply about transferring information, but about creating how we live in connect with the environment around us. I think my views have changed so much, because the things that we have read have made me look at how I view things in a much more critical way. For instance, analyzing my thoughts of why I feel a certain way about something or someone, and not just accepting it as a given. I would most definitely change my definitions and explanations, and broaden them to make room for the meaning and constructions that communication makes. I would also include how communication is not something set in stone idea, but rather something to be processed and looked at. My old definitions don’t hold any room for different forms of communication, and boundaries of communication, they are simply transparent. I would add more to them about how many things we believe to be “real” and “true” because we have lived in a world that has told us that they are, but in fact the meanings of “real” and “true” are just completely manufactured by us. There is much more construction and relativity involved with communication that my old definitions don’t take into account, and my new ones do.

            I think that having a rhetorical view of communication will help me be more conscious of various aspects of my life that I was blind to before. I’m now more aware of the social rules that are the core of what frustrates me with many of my relationships with people, and I think that in a way I now will be able to look beyond them. In terms of how I present myself online, I will now look at how I perform my identity to others, which will hopefully help me eventually get a job. Not only online though, but I will be more aware of the good and bad performances of others which I think will help in creating strong relationships with people. What a rhetorical view gives me is the knowledge of analysis. I don’t think I will accept things as easily as I did before; not that I will be critical of everything rather that I will attempt to view things from more than one angle. Having a rhetorical view will remind me to not to jump to conclusions with people, for I’m now much more aware and accepting of the problems with communication. Finally, if everything were to really work out in my life, and I were to be a filmmaker, I think that having a rhetorical view will help me reach a wider audience of people, because I will have a better grasp on the very many perspectives that are out there.