In taking this class, I have connected to the topics of travel, and really enjoyed learning about something that relates to my everyday life. Seeing the different ways that travel interacts with topics of social media, gender, race, sexuality, etc. has been a very enlightening experience.
Before this class, I did not enjoy writing a very structural essay, based off books I didn’t understand or enjoy. In this class, I was able to get more comfortable writing about topics that I had an actual interest in. I think that the week of travel and social media was one of my favorites, as social media is something that has become so influential in our everyday lives. In watching videos like “Incredible India”, I realized that how you showcase a place, play a large role in stereotypes, and how misconceptions of a place continue to grow. I haven’t been able to travel very much outside of the US, and although I have experienced different cultures and lifestyles, I have
only gotten to see a small piece of what traveling really exposes us to, and the many controversies that it has created. My knowledge of travel has grown greatly, through this class, and has showed me how to be a conscious traveler and respect other cultures and the environment. It have seen the influence of social media, and how it has skewed our view of travel. It opened my eyes to see how race and sexuality has created many issues within the travel industry; many of these problems were things that I had no idea existed. For example, the article we read on the many troubles that transgender people have to endure while traveling. Travel has been a very mystified aspect for me, and I have created all of these expectations of what it should be like, but this class has helped me understand that what I have seen is someone else’s terministic screens. I need to go, make my own experiences, and observations to determine what travel, and all the different aspects of it, mean to me.
I have always considered rhetoric to simply be the art of persuasion using the written word, but it is more complex than that. It is actually a concept that is used daily. Multimodality was a very impactful concept for me, as I was then able to notice it in all my normal activities; reading articles, watching a commercial, reading a science text book and so much more. There are things like ethos, pathos, and logos, which appeal to the emotions, logic and ethics of the audience for an even deeper connection; you need to know your audience to fully resonate with them. Not only is rhetoric centered around language, but visual rhetoric is also a large aspect in how people can perceive a message. My definition of rhetoric has evolved to be the tools used to effectively communicate a message, and make your audience believe and connect with what you are representing. Another large concept that I have learned in this class is that there is always no clear cut definition or instruction; we all interpret and perceive things different and we need to embrace that idea.
The most challenging part of this class had to be transitioning onto an online setting when this class is designed to be face-to-face. For me, conversation seemed to be more awkward, as we didn’t get the chance to fully connect before we had to leave school. Having that human connection, seeing how a person reacts, their facial expression, body language, all play a role in how we deliver and understand what someone is saying, and that aspect wasn’t present in this video chat setting. A challenge that I was able to overcome was speaking in public about a topic that isn’t my focused major. I have always had a hard time critically thinking in my English classes, but after a few weeks, I was able to gain the confidence and the knowledge to actually want to speak and say my opinion.
I think it is important to read, write and think rhetorically to get your audience’s attention and captivate them. You want to involve all of the senses in order for those people to be
motivated and inspired based on how you can manipulate semantics. It allows for greater understanding and interpretation, and for multiple layers to be seen.
I think its important
Travel with Chloe 