Cushman rhetorician article

Cushman’s article on rhetoricians was both enlightening and interesting to me. Two things that I honestly did not think it would be. In reading the first few paragraphs I thought it would be another long winded, boring scholarly article just emphasizing and illustrating academic prowess. It showed me that education can be used as a tool and that research can be used to bridge the gap between those educated and not. Through out her research Cushman constantly tried to better those in the community she was researching.

Cushman – The Rhetorician as an Agent of Social Change

This reading was lengthy! The wordiness and all of it to simply reiterate the fact that service learning benefits both ways. I have always been a proponent and advocate that the hands-on take in anything is often the most effective. Although this was a lengthy and wordy read, every single word in it had validity and truth behind it. So it was a definite worthy lengthy and wordy read to have read.

The basic fundamental idea that I took away from this reading was the fact that in order to become a more influential and effective agent of social change, activism needs to be a quality that you possess. I remember once going on a missions trip with a church I was with for a summer. I remember having to do some social work there in less than privileged neighborhoods. There were various activities that our group did to help out around the community. The activity that I was assigned was to teach these young girls from Asia how to speak English better. They had recently came over to America to live and did not know how to speak English too well. After a week of teaching these girls I saw an immediate improvement in their speaking of English. The joy that would come across their faces when they got something right made it all worth it.

That experience is connected with this reading in the sense that one of the most effective ways to promote social change is through activism and acting upon something. I also connected with the part of the reading referring to a researcher and volunteer being two completely different roles when dealing with a community and social change. As a researcher you have to keep objective distance between your subject and yourself. But as a volunteer you connect with the community and this personal basis allows for more prominent changes to occur throughout that community.

This reading ignited my thoughts and flames on the subject of volunteering and activism. I will never forget that famous saying, if you stand for nothing you’ll for for anything. I believe standing for something is incredibly courageous and important. I believe that saying is at the core of activism. You have to have a stance that you are willing to act up on. This reading reinforced my idea that volunteering is of crucial importance to the development of many places in this world. It also showed me how incredibly important students can be when they actively involve themselves in a sort of service-learning or volunteering program. So many people can benefit from the knowledge we have as students. Only way to spread that knowledge to those that need it is to be active in the community. This reading helped me to see that once more.

The Rhetorician as an Agent of Social Change

In terms of civic participation and social responsibilities, it’s not uncommon to see frustration among academic scholars due to a sociological distance between the universities and communities, according to the paper. I particularly agree with this specific statement due to personal experiences. It remains to be seen that there is a little or none to create a “social change” for a “minority group” whose issues bear no impact on the community particularly due to insignificant number of people being affected, and many factors.

I am generally speaking for the group as a representative and as a civic participant of the community. It’s usual for a predominately group to place their priority on the outnumbered group, or the majority, and it has been an ongoing battle to make a connection with the minority group. Instead of upholding a social responsibility of building a relationship with the minority groups, the members of predominately groups overlooked the significance of such issues.

Cushman

This article had a lot of good points however, it was very one sided. You only read the perspective of one teacher and on top of that it was kind of confusing at first.

The Rhetorician as an Agent of Social Change

What I’m taking away from this passage is that social change 1) can be small and 2) collaborative.

The Rhetorician as an Agent of Social Change

While reading this article, a typical notion of college came to mind. For many students enrolled in a large university, such as UCF, the campus and college social life immediately surrounding the campus creates a “bubble” for college students.

Ellen Cushman

The Rhetorician as an Agent of Social Change

In an effort to educate the reader in the do’s and don’ts of engaging in a service-learning endeavor, Cushman provides many valuable lessons that don’t apply solely to social change. The crux of her work plays to audience awareness. When one’s aim is to elicit a change or inspire a specific group to take action, one must be cognizant of how that group operates, both physically and mentally.

Rhetorician as an Agent of Change and its ties to Service Learning

“But I believe that in doing our scholarly work, we should take social responsibility for the people from and with whom we come to understand a topic. I’m echoing Freire who shows that when we theorize about the oppressed, we must do ‘authentic thinking, thinking that is concerned about the reality, does not take place in ivory tower isolation, but only in communication’ (64).”

I really liked how Cushman’s article tied right in to vice learning. In her article, she writes about the importance of getting out of the classroom, and breaking out into the community. Getting to know a small part of the community is really one of my favorite things about service-learning work. It’s a great feeling to get out of the classroom, travel somewhere new, and discover the work of people trying to change our local community for the better. Through my own personal experiences with service learning, I have gotten to meet many new and interesting people who are so passionate their cause. It’s always exciting to meet these types of people, because in turn, I get inspired by their passion and motivation, and it helps to give myself the push I need in order to get through my own trials and tribulations in life.

The Rhetorician As An Agent Of Social Change

The Cushman article The Rhetorician as an Agent of Social Change, made very clear the difference between volunteering and social research. She cited her own experiences to prove that volunteers have to follow a strict set of rules put forth by the organization that they work for, while a social researcher has to become a part of the community and a strict set of rules might hinder that.

Word of the Day: Gigolo