What Say You, Gen Y?

I came across this piece this morning as I browsed the news over my morning coffee, and thought--especially considering the context of this course and the topics you've all chosen for your research projects--that you might find it interesting. What power do you wield in participating in the public forum, in advancing public arguments? Here's what Assistant Professor Jim Burkee has to say about you:

[ . . .] the political loyalties of that coveted demographic are not yet decided. While they seem to lean to the left, they're actually more libertarian than liberal, a fact that will reshape the way we think about liberalism and conservatism in decades to come.

[. . .]

In short, they love their freedom.

[. . .]

The truth is, [America's Generation Y (born between 1980 and 1995)], which seems not to fit in any neat political category, is more ideologically consistent than either Democrats or Republicans. The conservatism that dominates the Republican Party today is a combination of limited government in some places (taxation and regulation), but bigger and more intrusive government elsewhere (homeland security, military and on social issues). The Democratic Party is just as inconsistent, preferring government to be hands-off on social and civil liberty issues, but large elsewhere in areas like health care and other entitlements. [more]

So what say you, Gen Y?

Schedule for Weeks 13 & 14

To ensure that you have adequate time to complete your projects for April 23, class will convene as follows:

Tuesday, April 14--Cohort Work Day

You may use class time to work together on your projects at a location of your choice. Progress reports are required by the end of the day via Learn@UW.

Thursday, April 16--Full Class

Class will meet as usual in 6110.

Tuesday, April 21--Cohort Work Day

You may use this day to work with your cohort to ready your project for Thursday's presentations. Progress reports are required by the end of the day via Learn@UW.

Thursday, April 23--Collaborative Research Project Presentations

Our usual meeting time, place TBA.

Please keep in mind that on the Tuesdays designated as Cohort Work Days you are responsible for honoring the 75-minute class meeting, so come prepared. I will be available via e-mail, phone, or facebook chat--or you may come by my office. I will provide a form for your progress reports before you are required to submit them.

Consider This: Week 13

So far this semester, we have looked at the problem of Engaging the Polis from two angles: as analysts (is this appeal effective? what makes it so?) and as a claimant or rhetorical agent, one who advances an argument. We have not taken the time to reflect on ourselves as members of the polis, members of the public audience . . . until now.

For this week's blog, please take some time to think about the following question:

What engages you?

As you prepare for your cohort's oral presentation, it is helpful to think about what it takes to engage an audience; your own experience as an audience can be a valuable resource. So what engages you? What techniques, approaches, etc. grasp your attention, hold your focus, get you interested, inspire you to think, to act, to question? Can you think of a specific, memorable time when you were fully 'engaged?' What lessons might you take from that experience as you approach your own oral presentation?

Having trouble? One alternative you might also wish to explore is what, for you, fails in public delivery? What is off-putting? What undermines engagement from your perspective as an audience member? What would be your personal list of don'ts?

Hopefully, this exercise will help you think about ways to approach your oral presentations . . . and offer others valuable advice, as well.

Bloggers, please post by Tuesday (April 14), midnight.
Respondents, you have until Saturday (April 18), midnight.

Collaborative Research Project Presentation Guidelines

Below you will find a version of the handout from today's class. ~CrS

An oral presentation, like everything we have done or studied in class this semester, is a rhetorical act; therefore, your presentation must evidence the same rhetorical awareness we have come to expect in any effective rhetorical act. Though less formal than a traditional oral presentation, the purpose of this assignment is multifaceted: to introduce your subject to an audience beyond your cohort; to gain experience articulating a complex project cogently and practice organizing in-process content; to introduce your subject to, and invite feedback from, an audience of your peers. The following guidelines, adapted for our purposes from Jan D'Arcy’s Technically Speaking: A Guide for Communicating Complex Information (1998), should help you as your prepare your presentation.

A. Organization and Development of Content

Opening statement gained immediate attention (estb. presence, ethos)
Purpose of presentation made clear (to inform, persuade, explore . . . )
Cohort made good use of the time allotted (no more than 10 minutes)
Main ideas stated clearly, logically, and with distinctive, appropriate style
Organizational pattern easy to follow/well organized
Main points explained or proved by supporting points
Variety of pistis (testimony, statistics, etc.) presented (depth, specificity, substance)
Conclusion adequately summed up main points, purpose

B. Delivery

Presenters “owned the space” and were in control
Held rapport with audience throughout speech
Eye contact to everyone in audience
Strong posture and meaningful gestures
Involved, in some meaningful way, all members of the cohort

C. Visuals

Visuals clear and visible to entire audience
Creative and emphasized main points
Presenter handled unobtrusively and focused on audience
Visuals did not compete with or usurp the presenters

D. Voice

Volume
Rate (pacing)
Pitch
Quality
Energetic and included everyone in dialogue

E. Comments

Invited discussion
Actively engaged the audience