As I have been looking at the civic responsibilities we the people are expected and encouraged to take part in, I remembered a green shirt sitting in my dresser under my college bed. I took it out, in all of its green, graphic designed glory and remembered how I got this t-shirt.
Upon recollection of my very first week at Penn State University, I remembered that an announcement was released, stating that all individuals willing to commit an afternoon doing community service around or off campus through the "My Backyard" service project would be greatly appreciated, and if you were one of the first 150 students to arrive at the sign-up tent, you would be the proud owner of a new, free t-shirt!
This picture was provided by the author of this blog.
Naturally, a bunch of people attended the event on their first Saturday on campus. Whether their reasonings were to actually help serve the community or simply get a new shirt to strut around in, they came, and they helped in one way or another.
After much thought, I have decided to promote this t-shirt sitting in my drawer to being a civic artifact for my first Rhetoric and Civic Life speech.
Personally, I love writing speeches. I find so much thrill in writing a piece, the entire time picturing so many great speeches already given and known by many. The famous I Have a Dream speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the climactic scene from the romantic comedy, The American President, always comes to mind when I ponder over powerful speech tactics.
This 1995 trailer for The American President shows only glimpses of speech and rhetoric; however, the actual film shows many different aspects of public speaking methods and techniques if you choose to watch the movie.
To give my speech a somewhat similar effect, I plan to use some rhetorical questions to my peers right off the bat, allowing the audience to marinate over these questions throughout the speech, only to be asked these questions again as a concluding "food for thought."
"Will tomorrow be too late?"
"How about the next day?"
"Where will we go from there?"
"Where do we go from here?"
These four questions will stand as the hook for my speech. My reasoning for choosing these rather cryptic questions are simply to keep my audience on their toes. I personally do not enjoy stating the topic of my speech right off the bat, losing any element of surprise or connections able to be achieved by the audience.
The two concepts that will be discussed in the body of the essay will be the two civic responsibilities this "My Backyard" t-shirt promotes: one, preserving the natural world around us, and two, contributing to our community and our community members. Each of these concepts will be followed by specific examples and experiences that will support their being referenced as civic.
If you are interested in watching the entire speech, I Have a Dream by Dr, Martin Luther King Jr., you may view this video above. This video is rather lengthy, but for those of you who choose to watch this important moment in American history, the actual speech starts one minute and five seconds into the clip.
There definitely should be more civic duty towards preserving our environment, and if you have to bribe people a little it might be worth it.
ReplyDeleteSide note: Your captions for your pictures/videos are pretty lengthy, so maybe shorten them a bit to just a title and one-sentence description so it doesn't look like its own paragraph.
Carly, I think this is a very unique artifact to analyze especially because it is very personal. I also helped out with the "My Backyard" project so I'd be very interested to learn how our experiences were similar and different. I definitely agree with the commonplaces you have highlighted and I believe they are what this project was all about. Your hook seems vague, but as you said, it may keep the audience on their toes. It may be helpful to focus on the everyday life aspects of the tshirt, especially because of the name of the project, "My Backyard." You may also want to highlight how effective the project was at bringing people together. For me, it was great in that first week of freshman year to make friends and work alongside other people. You seem like you're off to a good start. Good luck with your analysis!
ReplyDeleteCarly, I like the idea of your shirt as a civic artifact. I think your main ideas align well with its definition. For your speech will you focus on your experience serving in My Backyard, or will it be generally be about how service causes people to civic?
ReplyDeleteI think my goal, Isabella, is to do a little bit of both. I would like to add some personal experience to give the speech a little bit of character; however, I do want the audience to connect with the general idea of service and the methods of serving the community.
DeleteCarly, I love how you chose a topic that is relatable to so many college students. I know that personally, I have already received a variety of t-shirts from various activities. I think your hook is a good idea if perhaps a little too vague. Now you have me intrigued and I look forward to hearing your speech in class!
ReplyDeleteGreat framework for your speech, Carly. You're on the right track with your thinking!
ReplyDeleteAnything for a free tee-shirt, eh? ;)