Looking Back on the Blog

Looking back on this blog it really seems the best tool I had this year.  First I think it was really helpful to be able to write something real down for most of the readings we did.  This facilitated for me a much clearer understanding of the readings.  It also helped me remember them.  I think the interactive nature of the blog helped a lot as well because I learned a ton from my peers.  After doing many of these readings I often felt a bit hazy about my comprehension.  The summaries and dialogues in the blog were a great resource for guiding and understanding the readings.

            From a rhetorical standpoint the blog represents the revolution in rhetorical forms.  The relationship to the audience is an interesting one.  In this case the real world ethos established in class plays out in my online usage.  For instance, if one of my classmates I making a lot good points in class one day, I will probably check there blog to see what I can learn.  The blog also facilitated pathetical appeals.  The memes and images and videos served well to put interesting thoughts in my head.  That functioned well for making me more inclined to agree with the often more logical appeals that accompanied them.  Logos of course played a big part in the simple analytical style of much of the blog.

            The dialogue contained in the blog felt somewhat classical.  Perhaps lacking the majesty of some of Plato’s rhetorical dialogues, there was still good back and forth discussion on a serious topic that truly made for effective knowledge building and discovery.  The forum is certainly different, but I would like to think you can still detect the classical influence in such a modern medium.

            We’ve been doing a lot of rhetoric about rhetoric this year, but this post goes even further.  It’s rhetoric about rhetoric about rhetoric. I begin with an ethical appeal, extolling the virtues of the blog, putting you all on my side.  Then we get in to some more logical and analytical discourse before entering this strange reflective bit.  And, so I shall proceed to my final appeal, one of a pathetic nature.

As we careen toward the end of a semester, the end of an era really, I can’t help but feel privileged to have had the profound honor of exposing the beauty of rhetoric with a truly talented group of young individuals.  Best of luck to you all, perhaps our paths shall cross again one day.  Happy holidays and Happy rhetoricking!