we just can't get away from this stuff can we?

Over the last four years, the only citation style I have used (or at least have used so much that I actually know how to use it) is MLA, and apparently, rhetoric has been creeping into the crevices of my papers all along. Used mostly in the papers I have written analyzing literature, this style seems most fit for, as Bazerman states, furthering “a project of incremental encylopedism” (139). Though we are instructed to create an intelligent and unique argument, our argument can only be validated if surrounded by the appropriate support—the work of an acknowledge scholar who, preferably, has already come to the same conclusion we are seeking to prove. The necessity of first stating an author’s name and then his or her research serves to reinforce and perpetuate already codified knowledge.

        In comparison with the APA style Bazerman discusses, the general format of an essay written in MLA style raises some interesting points. Unlike the APA format, in which section divisions minimize or even eliminate the need for transition (127), the MLA style does not demand any divisions in an essay. Does the need then for smooth transitions serve to reinforce the coherence of the subject matter being written about? For example, in a literary analysis essay, the continuity throughout the essay would mirror the progressive narrative development of the work being discussed.

        On the topic of in-text citation, Bazerman states that the APA style makes “the close consideration of competing ideas and subtle formulations” an awkard and difficult task. Though MLA format does offer some leniency when close reading a text, the author must be careful to repeatedly mention the text name or the author, reminding readers that he or she is not creating, but rather restating.  

The argument being argued is not an argument, which allows it to become the argument being argued in the argument that is not directly being argued….

     That’s about how I felt reading ROHS’s chapter on the Rhetoric of Theology in an attempt to help me understand the rhetoric of my own writing. I am revising a paper written for a sociology class that deals with the concepts of grace and law in the Christian faith and how these principles function on an individual and corporate level within Christianity. As in any work, rhetoric definitely comes into play. I have depended heavily on scripture as well as other religious scholar’s opinions in shaping my argument. My wording also makes the argument clear. The chapter in ROHS, however, did not help me further understand the rhetoric I am using, nor what type of rhetoric I should use. I think this is because the type of theology addressed in the chapter is different from the type of theology I wish to address in my paper. Klemm is examining academic theology, focusing on the argument about the existence of God, claiming that current theology deals with the metaphor of “God as the breaking-in of ‘otherness’ to human existence” (278).  This breaking in is argued to be achieved through “word-events” (292).      My paper, on the other hand, in no way deals with this topic, but rather is meant to be addressed to Christians (meaning, obviously, that this audience accepts the existence of God). Therefore, from what I have deduced from Klemm’s initial disclaimer, my paper is in the realms of what his essay is not—confessional theology. Klemm states that confessional theology “operates as citation and elaboration of religious principle.”  He goes on to say that this type of theology alienates those who do not find the “truth of the confession self-evident” (276). However, if the intended audience is those who do agree with these truths, than isn’t a certain level of alienation to expected and perhaps even desired?
     After looking further into the topic of confessional theology, I understand it to be theology that has to do with the confessions and creeds that have been generally accepted as agreeing with scripture—in short, the arguments and beliefs that are considered to build up the Church and are held to be aligned with scripture. In another place, however, a “confession” was described to be something that is intimate and private to the author (reference is made to Augustine’s Confessions). Again, in another article dealing with the issue of apartheid in South Africa, confessional theology is shown to be intertwined with, both shaping and being shaped by, politics. This article states that the confessions are not meant to be taken as final words, but rather are to be held as potentially “fallible,” more like an “until further notice” statement. (Confessional Theology).
     Though I still have a very limited understanding of what confessional theology actually is, I think my paper falls more so under this category rather than the type of theology discussed in ROHS’s chapter on theology. My paper deals with the institutional church’s departure from what I believe to be God’s intended purpose (as I will support with Scripture and other scholar’s arguments). The audience of my paper is meant to be the average American institutional church, meaning that my “confession” is directly tied to our culture in particular as well as the politics of the American church. I think that this focus could be presented more clearly in my paper.
     As far as a “private” confession (if this is indeed an important aspect of confessional theology), my paper contains none of these type confessions. The paper was originally written in a research paper type format. I could potentially add more personal examples to attempt strengthen my argument, though I am not sure that this would be effective.

     And so continues the quest to discover how to effectively argue what it is that I’m actually arguing.

Circle of Life

In essence, codified academic knowledge only has one purpose: to train students to think a certain way. Though schools strive to educate people so they can become the movers and shakers of tomorrow, the academic knowledge taught hasn’t truly done its job well unless the students move and shake the way the textbook tells them to. Individual thought, though not obsolete, takes on a whole new meaning when viewed through all the layers of “individual” thoughts that have gone before. For example, as discussed at length in Spurious Coin by Bernadette Longo, though Comenius was the first to implement the use of textbooks in a methodical educational fashion, he drew upon the traditions of those who had come before him. Most importantly, he was greatly influenced by Francis Bacon. Therefore, his books were largely designed to be tools used to further Bacon’s ideas. He took from the styles of the popular handbooks and books of secrets, as well as that of encyclopedias, and used these styles to organize Bacon’s previous work. Longo states that Bacon had “brought together trends from the printing industry, popular handbook literature, religion, and statecraft to devise a plan for elevating the place of mechanical arts within his culture” (34). Thus, though Comenius used this previous knowledge for his own purposes (or perhaps Bacon’s), he used it nevertheless. Knowledge then becomes something that is molded and shaped by already existing truths, which rise to the surface or sink beneath depending on the legitimacy given them.  Continuing to look at Comenius, we see the ever repeating process of how codified knowledge directs knowing. Comenius, himself having received codified knowledge, recodes that knowledge into textbooks (a more concentrated form), and then this “new” knowledge, many times sifted through the sieve of codification, is laid open on students’ desks as pure and plain truth.  And thus the cycle repeats itself. Cue zebra and giraffe chorus.

Blog Post 2

For the technical/professional writer, audience analysis and an understanding of the workplace concerned are both necessary for effective communication. As Clifford Geertz discusses in his article “Thick Description,” all humans, including the writer himself, view the world through an individual cultural lens. He claims that “anthropological writings are themselves interpretations [….] its source is not social reality but scholarly artifice” (8).  It therefore becomes the technical writer’s job to identify the lens through which his audience will read his writing, as well as to identify the lens through which he himself writes.  In his writings on ethnography, Geertz asserts that in order to achieve a true understanding of a subject (be it audience, workplace, or sheep), the writer must form a “thick description.”  He explains: “The claim to attention of an ethnographic account […rests] on the degree to which he is able to clarify what goes on in such places, to reduce the puzzlement—what manner of men are these—to which unfamiliar acts emerging out of unknown backgrounds naturally give rise” (8).  As we have discussed in class, the extent to which we are able to unpuzzle the environment into which we are writing directly determines how far our message will carry. Therefore, thick description helps the technical writer not merely to observe the audience, but to identify the cultural lens through which they view society, and in turn to appeal to that view, making him a successful communicator.

One paper that I would love to revisit and improve is a Sociology paper I wrote about the institutional church. In the paper I identify and analyze discrepancies between church practices (both current and historical) and Biblical truths.  Being passionate about this subject, I would love to do some sort of audience/workplace analysis so that I might better communicate.  Perhaps one way of doing so would be to conduct a workplace ethnography in a church in order to confirm the way in which they actually perform (most likely also revealing some of my own false assumptions in the process) and in order to hopefully identify the motives behind these actions. This knowledge would help me to handle the subject more efficiently and to explain the subject more “thickly.” As far as my actual reading audience is concerned, though, I am less certain as how to analyze them. Perhaps it would be worth while to identify people’s (both Christians’ and non-Christians’) opinions of the institutional church.  I would then be able to more clearly argue the effect of certain church practices.

Blog Post 1

The role of the technical/professional writer, in essence, is to communicate. Whether he or she is trying to inform readers of scientific facts, explain operating instructions, or convince readers of the quality of a product, it is the writer’s job to effectively communicate this information so that it is useful and effective. As a result, the role of the technical writer becomes much more complex. Heather and Roger Graves explore this role in detail in A Strategic Guide to Technical Communication. They write that the technical writer’s job often is to take a very specialized body of information and translate it into a form that a non-specialist user can understand. Therefore, in order to communicate effectively the writer must identify the user audience and must understand their needs and expectations. The writer must take many different user qualities into account. Graves and Graves explain that the writer must be familiar with things such as the context in which the document will be read and used.  In addition, the writer must be aware of the users’ level of familiarity with the information, and must be careful to cater to all types of users—at once giving sufficient information to users who are unfamiliar, while also being careful not to offend or alienate experienced users who already have a basic understanding of the information concerned. Graves and Graves offer several strategies for acquiring such information, including interviewing both users and experts, observing users using the product as well as using the product oneself. In addition, they continue to stress the importance of creating user profiles, classifying users according to things such as interests, demographics, age, sex, race. Once the writer understands the users, he or she then must transcribe the information accordingly, creating a well written document that is purposeful, useful, and interesting.

            Of all my classes, my Chinese language classes have probably best prepared me for technical communication. In these classes, I was in what would be called the user’s position. I was dependent on my teachers to effectively communicate information with which I was totally unfamiliar. I experienced the excitement of understanding difficult concepts as a result of effective communication, the frustration caused by poorly presented information, as well as the annoyance of being given overly simplified information. Furthermore, having a limited vocabulary, I was forced to find a simpler way to communicate in Chinese, making it necessary for me fully understand the message I was trying to communicate. As a result, especially in situations with secondary English speakers, I have found that I better understand how to explain complicated subjects in a clear and concise manner, while also respecting the listener’s intelligence.  

Ok so for those of you that signed up to follow my blog while I was in China, which turned into emails thanks to good ol' censorship, you should know that now this blog is going to contain lots of info on technical/professional writing. I'm in a class and we had to make a blog and I already had this one and so I thought why not just keep using this one? So now you know. Feel free to not follow this anymore, OR get ready for a whole bunch of technical goodness!

And so begins the task of recording my experience…

I am in China. Let me repeat that: I. Am. In. China! Whoa. For those of you who know me at all, you know how huge this is and how long I have been longing to come here. I haven’t even been here 48 hours yet, but I already feel like too much has happened to write it all down.

I arrived in Beijing on a hazy, coolish night. From my first class seat (that cost me absolutely nothing) I caught my first glimpse of the place I am to call my home for the next eleven months. The reality that I had actually made it to China hit me for the first time when I saw the sky scrapers in the distance—each one with neon red characters spelling out what I assume to be the company’s name. Hopefully I will be able to read a few of them when I take off from the airport next August.

Attempting to hide my giddy excitement, I gathered my things and followed the herd of other priority flyers, trying my best to look like a seasoned traveler used to such pampering. The Beijing airport is new and beautiful (in that weird not-so-many-people-like-it modern way). It is now one of the largest airports in the world, thanks to the new addition built to support the masses of spectators that poured into the country during the 2008 olympics, and apparently was voted by someone somewhere to be one of the most beautiful modern structures.

Customs in China is incredibly simple, though slightly nerve racking due to the temperature monitor and voice recording device hovering in front of your face while the customs agent stares at you trying to make sure you aren’t Jason Bourne or someone like that come to destroy the country…

From there I hurried to the train lest I get separated from the group of fellow AA 187 passengers and be lost in a world of metal and moving sidewalks forever. I thankfully found my bags quickly and exited the terminal to find a small man, whose American name is Allen, holding a sign with my name on it. Hiring a car through Expedia was well worth $40 because trying to find a taxi on my own at eleven at night within the first half hour of arriving in a foreign country does not sound like fun.

From what I could see past the red tassel with a holographic Buddha on it hanging from the rearview mirror, Beijing’s interstate system is surprisingly similar to America’s. The exit system is about the same, and at midnight, the cars are rather orderly. One difference: if some one slow is riding in the left lane, the person who wishes to pass them flashes their brights at them and gets them to move over. I vote we bring this custom to the U.S.

Halfway to the university, we dropped Allen off on the interstate. Literally in the median. From what little conversation we had in broken English, I gathered that his home was nearby. Fortunately I can report that he made it home safely that night because the next evening I found him waiting outside my dorm room, where he had been for over an hour, waiting to collect my voucher that he had forgotten to get the night before. No voucher no pay. Hence the waiting.

Allen disappeared into the Beijing fog, and moments later our van passed through the south gate onto Being Language and Culture University’s campus. The looks of things drastically changed. No Olympics here obviously. Typical metal walls littered with posters and advertisements. Dimly lit streets that need paving. Ah the communists. None of this bothers me, but I did get a little worried when the driver took a wrong turn which led us to a dead end that had the word “Blababar” (bad English for conversation café?) spelled out in red rope light with a blue arrow pointing to the left made out of, worse still, blinking blue rope light. Anytime you stumble upon something like that just walk away, my friend. Walk away.

One turn down from the mysterious Blababar and we arrived at Dorm 9. Ah, dorm 9. I’ll just say that all of the scholarship students live there and the government takes the “We have to pay for this” approach rather than the “We get to pay for you” approach. Thankfully, I was placed on the second floor in this five story building with no elevator. A Bangladeshi boy helped me carry my overweight bags, and I stumbled over my roommate’s suitcase into my room. A single florescent bulb lit the small room to show two small mattresses, two desks, two small closets, and a mini fridge. The walls resemble a whitish color, darkened by years’ worth of residents’ foot prints and tape residue. The only decoration—a large map of China complete with the national anthem. In order to power the room you have to place your key inside a box, and the door automatically locks everytime you leave, so when you leave, all of the room’s power cuts off—including the AC (which is irrelevant since ours is broken anyway) and the mini fridge.

Enter Kenya Rahming. A farily aloof Bahamian girl who attended Nottingham University in the U.K. My roommate—well, at least she will be my roommate until she moves to an apartment, which she seems quite desperate to do. My first question: “Do you speak English?” After confirming that she indeed does speak my language, I promptly misunderstood her response of “Bahamas” to my question about her nationality for “Paris.” I blame the Chinese MTV that was blaring into my one good ear.

Now for the subject I know everyone is wondering about: the bathroom. Squatty potties? Most definitely. Community squatty potties? Oh yes. Toilet paper and soap? Oh no. Do they smell? Do you really need to ask? It’s a squatty… all I’m saying.

Thursday September 2, 2010 will be forever lost in my lifetime, and I woke up to a rainy Friday September 3—my first full day in China. Though the beginning was a little rough with the realization of being in a foreign country and knowing absolutely no one, the day shaped up to be pretty amazing! The Lord so kindly provided guidance for me every step of the way. I took a taxi with three other girls—Dara (19 from Georgia), Kenya (the afore mentioned 22 year old from the Bahamas), and Yueni (20 from the U.K…of Chinese ethnicity)—to some Chinese restaurant somewhere in the city. Complete with “mu er” (black fungus which is amazing…and good for blood pressure so I hear), it was a wonderful first meal for me. Apparently that was the first real food any of them had had since they arrived three days earlier.

After the awkward ten minutes where I made them tell me some substantial facts about themselves (you would think it was weird to want to get to know someone) we hailed another taxi and headed back toward campus. During the ride I caught my first glimpse of the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube! Dara and Kenya decided they wanted to go to the mall, so they asked the taxi to stop halfway, Yueni and I were left to find our way back to campus. We took every possible wrong turn before taking the right one and stumbled upon an elementary school along the way (you can imagine my excitement to see a bunch of Chinese children wearing oversized backpacks).

Back in Yueni’s room, we sat and talked for about an hour, and I got to share my story with her. We had a great time getting to know each other. Around seven we met up with a girl named Caitlyn Yu, an American Chinese girl from UGA, and found a small hole-in-the-wall dumpling restaurant—the best kind. Then we purchased cell phones in the small “take pity on the foreigners” store on campus, and I let Caitlyn figure out how to work them.

With nothing else to do, I braved the showers, armed with a t-shirt for a towel (obviously something I forgot to pack).

Today, Saturday the 4th, I completed my registration, guided by Caitlyn through the insanely unorganized and confusing process. I thankfully already had copies of everything and came prepared with ten passport photos (who knew you wouldn’t automatically know you would need that many).

For lunch I headed out into the city (as in walked off campus and down the street) and ate lunch with another American—a friend of a friend— who is here doing sports stuff for a couple of years. I was so thankful to meet someone who knows about the people and the city! He told me where the good DVD shops and the best ice cream was—priceless information I must say.

So now I am sitting in Lavita, a small internet coffee shop, drinking iced coffee. Definitely should have gotten the small because I am starting to feel the caffeine which is making it hard to type. And yet I am still drinking it. So for future reference, xiao de (small) not da de (large) when it comes to Chinese coffee goodness.



Other tidbits:

No one seems to know when classes start here. My motto for the trip has become “We’ll just wait and see.”

I got invited to go clubbing for the first time ever yesterday. Haha thank goodness for the easy excuse of messed up ears that don’t like loud noises…

I will receive an allowance each month, and they “just so happened” to mess something up so that I am receiving the masters students’ allowance—1700 yuan— instead of the undergrad allowance—1400 yuan. Ha.

I am truly grateful for the peace that passes all understanding. I could not do this on my own! But I am loving it and am staying hydrated—body and soul! :)