Category: English

The Assignment You will analyze your own rhetorical self, examining how you present yourself in various contexts and what forces have shaped those presentations. Drawing on course readings by Goffman, Foucault, Nguyen, and others, you will develop a theoretical argument about how your identity has been constructed through rhetorical practices, and you will articulate a vision for your future rhetorical self. This is not simply a personal narrative or reflection. Instead, you will use theory as a lens to analyze your own experiences, making an argument about how external forces, social performances, and rhetorical choices have shaped who you areand who you might become. Key Questions to Address Your paper should wrestle with these central questions: 1. Who is my rhetorical self now? o How do you present yourself in different contexts (academic, professional, online)? o What performances (in Goffman’s sense) do you regularly give? o What rhetorical strategies do you use to establish your ethos, connect with audiences, or persuade others? 2. What forces have shaped this rhetorical self? o What social expectations, cultural values, or institutional pressures influence how you present yourself? o How have games (Nguyen), technologies of the self (Foucault), social fronts (Goffman), or expectations for optimal performance (Tolentino) shaped your identity? o What have you idealized? What have you concealed? 3. Who do I want to be, and how can I present that self to the world? o Given your analysis, what do you want to change (or keep) about how you present yourself? o How might you resist, revise, or reimagine your rhetorical performances? o What theoretical insights from our readings will guide your future rhetorical choices?

Required Elements Your paper must: Make a clear, arguable claim about your rhetorical self and the forces that have shaped it Engage substantively with at least 3 readings (from among Nguyen, Goffman, Foucault, Odell, and Tolentino) and use theory as a lens to analyze your own experiences, Analyze specific, concrete examples from your own life (performances, interactions, moments of self-presentation) Use theoretical concepts accurately (define and apply terms like performance, front, idealization, technologies of the self, optimization, etc.) Move beyond description to analysis: Don’t just tell us what you doexplain why it matters and what it reveals Look forward: Articulate a vision for your future rhetorical self based on your analysis What This Paper Is NOT: A personal narrative without analysis: Don’t just tell your story. Use theory to interpret it. A summary of course readings: We’ve all read them; show us how YOU apply them. A confession or therapy session: Be reflective but analytical; maintain critical distance. A generic thesis statement: Avoid claims like “social media has shaped my identity”be specific about HOW and WHY. Purely descriptive: Move beyond I do X in context Y to I do X in context Y, which reveals Z about power/performance/rhetoric. Readings you might draw on: Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life: performance, front, setting, appearance, manner, idealization, working consensus, sincere vs. cynical Foucault, “Technologies of the Self”: practices of self-transformation, power, surveillance, subjectivity Nguyen, The Score: value capture, games, autonomy, agency Odell, “The Case for Nothing”: attention economy, resistance, refusal Tolentino, “Always Be Optimizing”: self-optimization, performance of self-improvement Rhetorical concepts: ethos, pathos, logos, audience awareness, rhetorical situation A Final Note: This assignment asks you to turn the analytical tools we’ve been using on texts back onto yourself. This can feel uncomfortable, even vulnerable. That’s normal. Remember: You’re not being graded on your life choices or your identityyoure being graded on the quality of your analysis. You control what you share; choose examples you’re comfortable analyzing in an academic context. The goal isn’t to confess or expose yourself, but to think critically about rhetoric and identity. Strong papers balance personal insight with analytical distance. The most successful papers are those that take intellectual risksthat use theory to see familiar experiences in new ways, that question assumptions about identity and authenticity, that grapple honestly with uncomfortable contradictions. We’re all performing our rhetorical selves, all the time. This paper is your chance to become more aware of how, why, and for whomand to imagine who else you might become. AI-Powered Tools As our course policies make clearand as we have discussed in classusing generative technology to write your papers for you is a violation of Lehighs policies on academic integrity and, thus, is not allowed. You may, however, use such technologies for brainstorming ideas and proofreading (but not editing). If you use ChatGPT or similar tools in any way, you must include the following at the end of your assignment: 1) a brief statement explaining which AI program you used and why and how you used it; 2) a list of the prompts you used to generate responses from the AI program; 3) and a brief explanation of how you think the AI program improved your work.

You will read two articles – “Al, Your Brain, and Reliable information in The Bahamas: Garbage In, Garbage Out!” by Raymond Oenbring, pg. 45 (Writer’s Guide) and “The Country that Stopped Reading” by David Toscana (See this article attached).

Please copy and paste, and answer all questions accordingly.

1. Compare the author’s purpose. (2)
2. Compare the authors’ tone in the two articles. (2)
3. Compare the authors’ audiences? (2)
4. Compare their view on education. (2)
5. Identify which article was more engaging and discuss three rhetorical strategies that enhanced that engagement. Be sure to maintain a comparative stance and use support from text. (6)

6.

(6)

Discuss the article that was less effective and identify the elements (or even fallacies) that made it less impactful. Be sure to show support.

Please write the Journal requested. I have provided the poems chosen for each part. I also have attached the instructions from the professor. Thank you.

In my class we have been reading a book called Whatever By Hollubecq and we read the Tao and Bhagavad Gita. I am answering a prompt What are the critiques of modern individualism in the book Whatever and how does the Gita and Tao propose alternative ways of thinking about responsibility and human purpose and I have to close read and find specific examples of going into the text and finding form and such that can help me. I gave a solid outline and thesis to write the paper and should not be that hard but I can not do it.

All info via chat

All instructions are provided in the PDF.

I have attached the paper I had made and the instructions given by the professor. Can I please have this re-write.

Just make sure the words look good and NO AI

J4 – Modernism and the Responsibility of Literature Journal Topic In Zora Neale Hurston’s time, she was often criticized for writing stories that were essentially non-political. This was during a time where other black authors like Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison were publishing work that dealt directly with themes of racism and social injustice. In contrast, Hurston’s stories examined and often celebrated African American heritage and culture, focusing instead on the characters and their own self-discoveries. With this in mind, respond to the following: Do you believe it is the responsibility of great literature to address social injustices as a vehicle for change, or is there equal value in literature that instead focuses on the characters and their lives within the world of the story, making no overt socio-political statements? Write a well-developed paragraph of at least 250 words in response to this prompt. Please note: I am interested only in your insights and ideas here. There is no wrong answer, as long as your response is thorough and thoughtful. For this reason, the use of any AI generator is absolutely prohibited. You are more interesting than a bot

You will demonstrate your understanding of Dark Romanticism and “The Fall of the House of Usher” by completing one of the following creative projects. Project Option 4: Newspaper Article

Description: Write a newspaper article on the collapse of the House of Usher, describing the events leading up to it and its impact on the community.

Submission Requirements:

• Include 1,500 words
• Follow standard newspaper article format with a headline, byline, and dateline
• Include at least three quoted sources (these may be fictional characters or community members)
• Write from a journalistic perspective that treats the events as factual.
• Include a brief sidebar or secondary article addressing community reaction

Follow each rubric:

Advanced

Understanding of Dark Romanticism

(6 points)

Demonstrates sophisticated understanding of psychological horror, decay, isolation, and the supernatural with clear explanations of how these themes connect to the story.

Incorporation of Three Themes

(3 points)

Seamlessly weaves three or more distinct Dark Romantic themes throughout the project with clear examples and analysis.

Connection to Source Material

(8 points)

Creatively interprets “The Fall of the House of Usher” while maintaining strong fidelity to the story’s plot, characters, and atmosphere.

Creativity and Originality

(9 points)

Shows exceptional original thinking with innovative adaptation to chosen format; ideas are fresh and engaging.

Engagement and Impact

(6 points)

Creates a compelling atmosphere with strong emotional resonance; reader/listener is fully engaged throughout.

Format and Technical Execution

(4 points)

Submission is properly formatted (PDF or PDF + audio); writing is clear, grammatically correct, and well-organized; audio (if applicable) is professional quality. Meets or exceeds specified word count with all content being purposeful and relevant.

Length: Your submission meets the specified word count requirements.

Content: Your project demonstrates understanding of Dark Romanticism and “The Fall of the House of Usher”.

Themes: Your work incorporates at least three Dark Romantic themes from the story.

Quality: Your writing is clear, grammatically correct, and well-organized.

Creativity: Your project shows original thinking and creative interpretation.