PWR 1OS: The Rhetoric of Freedom and Unfreedom
How, and when, do people feel free or unfree? Does the French law prohibiting burkas unequivocally liberate women? Do all LGBTQ people experience coming out of the closet as freedom? To what extent does culture define whether infidelity is seen as an indication of promiscuity or one’s ability to be free from societal limitations? The term freedom is strongly connoted with the Western liberal discourse and is rarely associated with the collectivist societies such as China, Soviet Russia or some Muslim countries. Does this indicate that there is no space for freedom outside of the US and other Western liberal countries? On the contrary, we will learn from the course that political, economic, and cultural contexts determine what people experience as freedom and lack thereof.
Reading the articles on freedom, we will pay attention to their structure, components, and rhetorical devices to enhance our own writing. We will learn to recognize competing discourses. For example, we will see how Bedouin women, wearing bikinis, claim to achieve freedom from the power of Bedouin tradition but, in doing so, use the discourse and become subjects of another power, namely that of capitalism and consumption. Reading about journalists in modern China, we will learn to identify Western liberal, Chinese governmental, and scholarly discourses.
While reading the course material we will pay attention to the structure, components, and rhetorical devices to enhance our own writing. We will learn to recognize competing discourses. For example, we will see how Bedouin women, wearing bikinis, claim to achieve freedom from the power of the Bedouin tradition but, in doing so, use the discourse and become subjects of another power, namely that of capitalism and consumption. Reading about journalists in modern China, we will learn to identify Western liberal, Chinese governmental, and scholarly discourses.
Examples of Research Topics
You will have a variety of options for your projects. You could delve into the Patriot Act and reflect on the conflict between national security and freedom. You could consider the extent of parents’ right to impose their religious views on children, from indoctrination to the physical change of children’s bodies, e.g., circumcision. You could examine and compare different rhetorics on “agency” of the AI.
Major Assignments
Rhetorical Analysis
(1500-1800 words; 5-6 pages) This assignment asks you to analyze the rhetorical strategies of a text of your choice that makes an argument about freedom and unfreedom.
Texts in Conversation
(1800-2400 words; 6-8 pages) This assignment marks the beginning of your research project. Here, you will research and investigate the larger research question you’d like to explore relating to the topic. You’ll analyze how different sources, voices, and perspectives inform the larger conversation about your topic.
Research-Based Argument
(3600-4500 words; 12-15 pages) Your RBA is the final product of this course where your voice enters into the conversation. Here is where you’ll build on and expand the work you began with the Texts in Conversation assignment by integrating a variety of sources to produce your own complex, provocative argument as it relates to your topic.