Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons^™

Exploring Border Rhetoric, Resistance, And The American Dream: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez' First House Address, Candice L. Ruh Phd, Cassandra Hightower

Feminist Pedagogy

Border rhetoric can be a “muddy” topic for undergraduates, as borders are often taught as fixed, factual lines that divide places and people. However, from a communication perspective, borders are fluid, symbolic, and socially constructed. This difference between viewing borders as physical dividers versus rhetorical constructs creates a valuable opportunity for students to think critically about how meaning is shaped by borders of land, language, and identity.             This original teaching activity uses Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ (D-NY) first House speech—the most-watched C-SPAN video within 12 hours of release (Gajanan, 2019)—as a central case. It invites students to analyze a key moment …

Persuasion And Critical Art Analysis: A New Approach To Student-Led Collaboration In A Communication Classroom, Melissa Cheng, Emma Mink

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Reenvisioning Identities That Precede Us: “Body Acknowledgement” As Social Justice Practice Within A Communication Ethics Course Redesign, Wendy Kz Anderson, Ollivia Webster, Nicole Yang, Cass Bryant, Taylor Herr

Feminist Pedagogy

We infuse this conversation of “body neutrality” through social justice responsiveness (compassion, equity, and accountability of body/presence privilege) by specifically attending to intersections of race, gender, and body mindset built into our identities. In reimagining the term “body-neutrality” through identity engagement, we introduce the term “body acknowledgment” as an active interpretative state. As a co-authored pedagogical “co-conspiring” for racial justice (Houdek and Ore, 2021, p. 92), we (instructor, teaching assistants, and previous students) offered a course redesign centering social justice strategies to address the following question: How can dialogue about intersectional communication work toward redesigning learning with difference and develop …

Unraveling Communication Failure: Room For Revision, Jill Fredenburg

Feminist Pedagogy

"Unraveling Communication Failure: Room for Revision" delves into the intricacies of communication breakdowns, both at macro and micro levels, within the context of a general education public speaking course. Rooted in feminist pedagogy, the assignment encourages students to critically reflect on their least successful speech performance of the semester, analyzing societal and hegemonic influences impacting their communication dynamics. Through reflective analysis, students explore power dynamics shaping academic standards and their own positions within these norms. The assignment fosters an inclusive learning environment, empowering students to challenge hegemonic knowledge production and engage in self-directed learning. This paper outlines the rationale behind …

How Political Parties Can Appeal To Voters, Brenden David Jacoby

Communication Studies

Young voters are not voting. According to the United States Census Bureau, young voters, aged 18-29, have not turned out to vote in Presidential Elections at a rate higher than 50% since 1968. Millions of ballots – with the potential to swing elections, policies, and political momentum – are left blank. It is in the interest of both parties to identify why young voters are not going to the polls. In order to understand what makes political messaging persuasive to younger voters, this study presented participants with actual campaign speeches made by Democrats and Republican candidates for office. The author …

Shadows Of Virtue: ‘The Abolition Of Man’ In Modern Context, Luke Thomas Soule

Communication Studies

C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man stands as a remarkable examination of the mid-19th century shift towards moral subjectivism. With a detailed study of this text, this essay will utilize ideological and Postmodern criticism to reveal how Lewis builds his defense of objective morality, or what he calls the "Tao," against the educational spread of relativism. The heart of the analysis is the examination of Lewis's use of ideographs. Terms such as "the Tao," "Men without Chests," and "the Abolition of Man'' not only criticize the philosophical trends of the time but also tap into a deep cultural current of …

‘Hot Girl Teaching’ In A Faith-Based Environment, Niya Pickett Miller

Feminist Pedagogy

There is much to learn from Megan Thee Stallion, the self-proclaimed “Hot Girl Coach.” However, her provocative lyrics and hyper-sexuality are challenging to interject into communication-themed classes at a predominantly white, faith-based university where many students come with an expectation for learning that resists mainstream trends and upholds conventional Christian values and conservative ideological ways of thinking about socio-political issues. This commentary offers a faith-based and feminist perspective about how including Black popular culture, and (more broadly) culturally diverse texts in predominately white, faith-based classrooms can work and why such centering does not contradict biblical principles.

Research Project Poster Presentation: Cultural Normalization Of Risk?: Exploring Brain Injury In The National Football League Using Sociocultural Analysis, Ali V. Willing, Jafra D. Thomas

Kinesiology and Public Health

Background. This presentation began as an undergraduate end-of-term course project focused on sport, media, and American popular culture (April to June 2023). The poster presentation was originally presented at the 2023 annual conference of the Southwest Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine (SWACSM), following peer-review acceptance of the project summary statement (i.e. abstract) for conference presentation.

Purpose. The presentation is published here to Cal Poly Digital Commons as a resource to future students and professionals studying topics covered in the presentation (e.g. sociological theories, cultural values and risks, sports ethic).

Resources. This webpage has several resources described below. …

“Civil Dialogue” As Feminist Pedagogy: Engendering Material And Symbolic Movement, Sarah E. Jones

Feminist Pedagogy

In the United States, we are socialized to think in Western dualisms, and these patterns of communication characterize discussion of social issues. Consequently, discussion becomes debate and dominant approaches to inquiry are privileged over experience with persuasion being the end goal. Fostering agency, cultivating empathetic understanding, and facilitating critical thought are made more difficult—outcomes that are neither productive nor edifying in the college classroom. This original teaching activity resists hierarchical forms of debate in favor of visibility and solidarity in discussions of gendered violence. Grounded in principles of invitational rhetoric and provocation, the activity uses a “Civil Dialogue” format to …

Reading Robot, Gillian Watts, Andrew Myers, Sabrinna Tan, Taylor Klein, Omeed Djassemi

General Engineering

Presently, there is an insufficient availability of human experts to assist students in reading competency and comprehension. Our team’s goal was to create an improved socially assistive robot for use by therapists, teachers, and parents to help children and adults develop reading skills while they do not have access to specialists. HAPI is a socially assistive robot that we created with the goal of helping students practice their reading comprehension skills. HAPI enables a student to improve their reading skills without an educator present, while enabling educators to review the student's performance remotely. Design constraints included: physical size, weight, duration …

The Effect Of Vocal Fillers On Credibility, Communication Competence, And Likeability, Lea E. Gikas, Zachary T. Sutcliffe

Communication Studies

This study examines the impact of vocal fillers on a person’s perceived likeability, communication competence, professional credibility, and personal credibility. Previous studies have suggested that using filler words or discourse markers may decrease professional credibility and discredit communication competence. However, it is unknown how audience members of different genders will respond to the usage of vocal fillers in comparison to each other. A 2 x 2 factorial experimental design was constructed (N = 145) in which four audio recordings contained four responses to an interview question; the amount of vocal fillers were manipulated (absent or many) and the gender of …

Agriculture Ambassador State Conference, James Andrew Broaddus, Quincie A. Gourley

Agricultural Education and Communication

The Agriculture Ambassador organization at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo focuses on promotion of higher education, agriculture, and professional development among its members and community contacts. In 2018, the organization hosted the Agriculture Ambassador State Conference to bring together Californian Agriculture Ambassadors and industry professionals for workshops and advocacy planning. “Exposure to the different forms of leadership through out-of-classroom involvement offers concrete experiences and background knowledge upon which students can draw as they integrate leadership theories and skills,” (Fritz, S., 1998, p.58). Industry professionals have cited the need to emphasize soft skill development through college level education (Robles, …

“Perspective By Incongruity” Applied To Depictions Of Race In The Media, Darren Nana Yaw Adjei

Communication Studies

The city of Atlanta has become new center-point of cultural convergence in America. The profile of the city has grown due to the influx of money, flowing from several different areas of commerce. These include increased business ventures in Atlanta’s metropolitan area, expanding film production, and the development of a billion-dollar sports stadium. Not only does the city thrive in its business ventures, but music and television production in Atlanta have a profound effect on its artistic community. Artists such as Andre 3000, Migos, and Childish Gambino enjoy commercial success with accolades such as Grammy wins and nominations.

To Be The Golden Girl: Disordered Eating Within Figure Skating, Giulia Christine Thomas

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Narratives In Eliciting Strong Audience Response To Emotional Commercials, Brooks Jessica

Communication Studies

Let’s face it; crying during movies will always be a bit embarrassing even if the movie is worthy of shedding tears. But crying during a commercial is almost humiliating. Surprisingly, it happens. Commercials from the last few years have caused that very reaction among some audience members. These commercials, built on emotional appeals, contain narratives that cause the audience—in one to three minutes—to feel like part of the world created by the advertiser or rhetor. In a day and age where it is easy to skip an ad, advertisers are turning to the use of narratives as a way to …

Sexy Robots: A Perpetuation Of Patriarchy, Ashlyn Des Roches

Communication Studies

This feminist critique looks into the way that gender, specifically females, are portrayed in some of Hollywood's top films involving Artificial Intelligence: Blade Runner, Her, and Ex Machina. These movies work as a perpetuation of patriarchal ideologies while maintaining the objectification and hypersexuality of women as normalized behaviors. Additionally, while some forms of empowerment are conveyed, the features illustrate women merely on a spectrum of extreme behavior; due to Heuristics and Cultivation Theory, these misrepresentations can be associated with women outside the surrealist realm of the depicted artificially intelligent worlds.

A Rhetorical Criticism Of Waiting For Superman, Jordan L. Baxter

Communication Studies

This project analyzes the documentary Waiting for Superman in order to better understand the rhetoric surrounding public education in America. I perform a close textual analysis of the documentary and explore the rhetorical strategies the film uses to persuade its audience. Through my analysis I argue that Waiting for Superman employs rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos to successfully characterize the public school system as a failing institution. This failure is largely blamed on teachers unions who are vilified throughout the film and shown to be preventing progressive reforms from passing. Lastly, through the use of identification Waiting for …

A Rhetorical Criticism Of Blackfish: Making Waves In Orca Activism, Lindsay Beisheim

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Texting Etiquette And Its Effects On Our Perceptions Of Intimate Relationships, Taylor Clarke

Communication Studies

Abstract

This study seeks to understand the association between texting habits and characteristics and partner perceptions of intimate relationships. This study investigates multiple aspects of texting such as: temporality, participants’ perceived satisfaction with their significant other, length of text messages, frequency of communication, among others. It is hypothesized that texting etiquette and its various sub-components will be influential in how participants will rate their level of satisfaction (closeness, intimacy, emotional support, and effort) with their significant other. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted with college-aged participants. They were asked questions regarding the texting etiquette of their significant other as well as …

Music And Language Development: Traits Of Nursery Rhymes And Their Impact On Children's Language Development, Ashley Lauren Gonzalez

Music

From birth--possibly even before birth--the amount and array of external stimuli profoundly affect a child’s cognitive and linguistic development. In addition to verbal communication from parent to child, singing proves to be an integral aid to a child’s development of speech and language, allegedly due to repetitions of words and rhythms. Nursery rhymes are, from infancy, among the most commonly presented forms of musical stimulus for children. The repetitive nature of the nursery rhymes undoubtedly supports language and speech development, but various characteristics of nursery rhymes, specifically pitch interval, meter, phrase length, contour, and harmony, also contribute substantially to the …

Edward Snowden, Hero Or Traitor? An Analysis Of News Media Framing, Cole N. Caster

Communication Studies

Mainstream news broadcasters such as Fox News, CNN and MSNBC are some of the most popular sources of news in the world. With such a significant responsibility, it is both important and interesting to analyze how news outlets present their stories. This project focuses on the roll of framing in news media. Specifically, how the news broadcasters Fox News, CNN and MSNBC employ the hero and traitor frame in the presentation of Edward Snowden, an ex National Security Administration contractor who leaked thousands of highly classified documents to news outlets.

Josè Mujica's Speech At The Un: A Post-Colonial Look At A Neo-Colonial Issue, Alberto Ganis

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Sublime Absence: An Analysis Of The California Drought Discourse, Mitchell Cooledge

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Ocbf Fundraising Handbook, Clare Devlin

Communication Studies

This project was created to help the Orange County Bar Foundation, a non-profit organization, enhance its communication with its stakeholders. Task messages in a handbook give instructions stipulating how the Foundation staff could be more persuasive at the Foundation's annual golf tournament, and get more golfers to enter their sweepstake. The handbook is informed by persuasion theories such as the door-in-the-face theory, reciprocity theory, and supply and demand theory.

Loose Connections, Strong Networks: Self-Enrollment And The Rhetoric Of 350.Org, Daisy Celine Lucile Brightman

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Analysis Of The First Inaugural Addresses Of Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt And Barack Obama, Siobhan Miller

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Military & Media: A Close Contexual Analysis Of Moveon.Org's Controversial Attack Ad Of General David Petraeus, Joseph Jordan Vignolo

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Elm In The Courtroom: Application To Trial Juries, Natalie Claire Hopkins

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Jackie Robinson: Impact The Game, Evan W. Busby

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

"Bridesmaids": A Modern Response To Patriarchy, Blair Buckley

Communication Studies

This senior project analyzes the rhetorical means by which the movie "Bridesmaids" rejects yet also heeds to patriarchal standards. In this paper I examine the film by performing a feminist critique, also employing elements of ideological criticism.