WEBSITE
The website assignment aims to help you deepen your understanding of the rhetorical concept and the culture you selected for your podcast by furthering your research about them and adding a new culture to your discussion. As with the podcast, the goal is to create a product that can be used in educational settings. Here are the project components:
WEBSITE (25 points)
In five-student groups, you will make a 2,100-2,400 word website where you:
1. Use the same audience from the podcast assignment. In your About page, you will explain who your audience is and what the purpose of the website is: to educate your particular audience about how two cultures address a rhetorical concept (the same you used for your podcast) through scholarly research and interviews, and by analyzing how both cultures utilize the concept in one example of their cultural artifact production.
2. Define the rhetorical concept using sources, both from class and your own research. This aspect of the website addresses the traditional definition of the concept. The website assignment requires you to use at least six sources. Some of them should be used to define your rhetorical concept. Even though you may use some of the ideas and sources you used for the podcast definition, this is an expanded version, so go deeper in your exploration of the traditional definition of the concept. You should add at least three new sources to the website.
3. Choose a culture to accompany the one you used for your podcast. As you select the second culture you will address, you should consider how it connects the culture you discussed in your podcast. It should be clear to your audience why you chose to compare them. So if you chose a nationality last time, you should choose another nationality and have a rationale as to why you picked those particular two, and so on.
4. Interview three people per culture (do not use the same interviewees from your podcast project). These interviews can be in person or over email. If over email, make sure interviewees are OK with you asking for clarification if needed. If in person, record and then transcribe the interviews carefully to avoid misquotes. You will use those interviews, along with sources in order to define how that culture interprets and utilizes your chosen rhetorical concept.
5. Embed your podcast on the page where you define how the culture you explored on the podcast deals with the rhetorical concept. Write a short introduction to the podcast where you explain what readers can expect from hearing it.
6. Select one cultural artifact per culture. It can be videos (films, TV shows, YouTube videos), advertising (in video, radio or print form), songs, music videos, writing (books, articles, poems, short stories, speeches), or artwork. I am open to other possibilities but please discuss them with me in advance. You should select the same kind of cultural artifact per culture, so two songs, two commercials, and so on. If the cultural artifact is short, please add it to your website in full. If it is long, select segments of it to quote in your analysis. As you analyze each cultural artifact, you will address how it supports the way in which you argue that culture interprets the rhetorical concept you’re working with. You should also address the aspects of the cultural artifact’s use of the concept that don’t fit your definition. Even though it is OK for there to be some discrepancies between the artifact and your definition of how the culture interprets that concept, make sure to choose an artifact that matches your definition well.
7. In a page titled Connections, examine the similarities and differences between the traditional definition of the rhetorical concept and how it is understood and used by the two cultures you selected.
7. Create at least six pages for your website. The first page will be the Home page, which will contain links to the other pages, as well as short descriptions of what each page contain. Next you will have the About page, where you will discuss the project, answering the following questions: Who is the target audience? What is the website’s aim? What concept and cultures is it addressing? Why did you make this website? (You can mention that you made it for class). After you answer those questions, introduce the authors in alphabetical order, providing short bios for each one. Photos of each author accompanying the bios are optional. However, it should be uniform. Either everyone uses photos or no one does. Do not add your phone number or address to the website. The rest of the pages will depend on the layout you choose. You will likely end up using categories in your main menu and adding subpages to the categories. Layouts should include the following pages/categories: Home, About, Rhetorical Concept, Culture 1, Culture 2, and Connections. You can add subpages to Culture 1 and Culture 2, where you discuss how they define the concept and analyze the cultural artifact. Depending on how many main pages you end up with, you can have your Works Cited as one of your main pages or you can add the Works Cited to your About page, placing it under your bios.
8. Assume that visitors will not necessarily visit the whole website. They may, in fact, only visit one page. Each page, while working with the other pages to form a whole, must also work individually. You can use links to other pages within the site in order to direct readers who haven’t read that particular page to read it so you can avoid having too much repetition. You can also add some links to outside websites that may be helpful to readers.
9. Modify website templates using Weebly (http://www.weebly.com). We will have an in-class Weebly workshop to help you learn to use it.
10. You previously read examples of how students in previous iterations of this course tackled this assignment. I suggest you go back to those websites as you work on your own for ideas of choices that you may want to imitate and choices that you may want to stay away from.
The aim of the website is educational. You will instruct your chosen audience about the traditional definition of the concept you choose, as well as how two cultures interpret and utilize the concept. You will target the website to meet the needs of your audience so they will be more likely to make use of it.
1. Use the same audience from the podcast assignment. In your About page, you will explain who your audience is and what the purpose of the website is: to educate your particular audience about how two cultures address a rhetorical concept (the same you used for your podcast) through scholarly research and interviews, and by analyzing how both cultures utilize the concept in one example of their cultural artifact production.
2. Define the rhetorical concept using sources, both from class and your own research. This aspect of the website addresses the traditional definition of the concept. The website assignment requires you to use at least six sources. Some of them should be used to define your rhetorical concept. Even though you may use some of the ideas and sources you used for the podcast definition, this is an expanded version, so go deeper in your exploration of the traditional definition of the concept. You should add at least three new sources to the website.
3. Choose a culture to accompany the one you used for your podcast. As you select the second culture you will address, you should consider how it connects the culture you discussed in your podcast. It should be clear to your audience why you chose to compare them. So if you chose a nationality last time, you should choose another nationality and have a rationale as to why you picked those particular two, and so on.
4. Interview three people per culture (do not use the same interviewees from your podcast project). These interviews can be in person or over email. If over email, make sure interviewees are OK with you asking for clarification if needed. If in person, record and then transcribe the interviews carefully to avoid misquotes. You will use those interviews, along with sources in order to define how that culture interprets and utilizes your chosen rhetorical concept.
5. Embed your podcast on the page where you define how the culture you explored on the podcast deals with the rhetorical concept. Write a short introduction to the podcast where you explain what readers can expect from hearing it.
6. Select one cultural artifact per culture. It can be videos (films, TV shows, YouTube videos), advertising (in video, radio or print form), songs, music videos, writing (books, articles, poems, short stories, speeches), or artwork. I am open to other possibilities but please discuss them with me in advance. You should select the same kind of cultural artifact per culture, so two songs, two commercials, and so on. If the cultural artifact is short, please add it to your website in full. If it is long, select segments of it to quote in your analysis. As you analyze each cultural artifact, you will address how it supports the way in which you argue that culture interprets the rhetorical concept you’re working with. You should also address the aspects of the cultural artifact’s use of the concept that don’t fit your definition. Even though it is OK for there to be some discrepancies between the artifact and your definition of how the culture interprets that concept, make sure to choose an artifact that matches your definition well.
7. In a page titled Connections, examine the similarities and differences between the traditional definition of the rhetorical concept and how it is understood and used by the two cultures you selected.
7. Create at least six pages for your website. The first page will be the Home page, which will contain links to the other pages, as well as short descriptions of what each page contain. Next you will have the About page, where you will discuss the project, answering the following questions: Who is the target audience? What is the website’s aim? What concept and cultures is it addressing? Why did you make this website? (You can mention that you made it for class). After you answer those questions, introduce the authors in alphabetical order, providing short bios for each one. Photos of each author accompanying the bios are optional. However, it should be uniform. Either everyone uses photos or no one does. Do not add your phone number or address to the website. The rest of the pages will depend on the layout you choose. You will likely end up using categories in your main menu and adding subpages to the categories. Layouts should include the following pages/categories: Home, About, Rhetorical Concept, Culture 1, Culture 2, and Connections. You can add subpages to Culture 1 and Culture 2, where you discuss how they define the concept and analyze the cultural artifact. Depending on how many main pages you end up with, you can have your Works Cited as one of your main pages or you can add the Works Cited to your About page, placing it under your bios.
8. Assume that visitors will not necessarily visit the whole website. They may, in fact, only visit one page. Each page, while working with the other pages to form a whole, must also work individually. You can use links to other pages within the site in order to direct readers who haven’t read that particular page to read it so you can avoid having too much repetition. You can also add some links to outside websites that may be helpful to readers.
9. Modify website templates using Weebly (http://www.weebly.com). We will have an in-class Weebly workshop to help you learn to use it.
10. You previously read examples of how students in previous iterations of this course tackled this assignment. I suggest you go back to those websites as you work on your own for ideas of choices that you may want to imitate and choices that you may want to stay away from.
The aim of the website is educational. You will instruct your chosen audience about the traditional definition of the concept you choose, as well as how two cultures interpret and utilize the concept. You will target the website to meet the needs of your audience so they will be more likely to make use of it.
FIRST PROPOSAL (2 points)
The assignment is divided in two stages, preproduction and production, and group members will play different roles in each stage. As you select who will play what role, make sure to go with each group member’s strengths so the group will benefit as a whole. In the first proposal, you will answer the following questions:
Website Content
1. Which two cultures will you engage with and how do they fit together?
Preproduction Roles
2. Who will play each of the following preproduction roles?
Culture 1 Interviewer and Culture 2 Interviewer: Two group members will be in charge of finding, contacting, interviewing, and staying in touch with the interviewees from the preproduction stage until you send them a link of the finished product, thanking them for their participation. Each interviewer will work with one culture.
Concept and Cultural Artifact Researcher, Culture 1 Researcher, and Culture 2 Researcher: Three group members will divide up the research in this fashion: the Concept and Cultural Artifact Researcher will research how the rhetorical concept is traditionally defined and will provide the group with various choices for cultural artifacts to choose from, the Culture 1 and Culture 2 researchers will each choose one of the cultures and research how they use the concept as well as other aspects that may be needed to provide context to your audiences as they read the website. You will use sources we have read in class, as well as outside sources. You should have six sources (the cultural artifacts, while listed on your MLA Works Cited, do not count as part of your six sources). The researchers will not only find the sources, but they will read them and find sections for direct quoting and paraphrasing, which they will highlight.
Production Roles
3. Who will play each of the following production roles?
Rhetorical Concept Writer: This group member will define the traditional rhetorical concept, write the Connections page, and the About page (minus the bios).
Culture 1 Writer: Drawing from your interviews and scholarly research, this group member will define how Culture 1 approaches and utilizes the rhetorical concept. S/he will also write the introduction for embedding the podcast and analyze the selected cultural artifact.
Culture 2 Writer: Drawing from your interviews and scholarly research, this group member will define how Culture 2 approaches and utilizes the rhetorical concept. S/he will also analyze the selected cultural artifact.
Web Designer: This group member will modify a Weebly template (selected by the group), creating the necessary pages and subpages, as well as writing the short summaries of links for the Home page. S/he will also arrange all images (sharing image research with the assistant web designer), providing captions for them when necessary. Every page should have images and you should come up with a consistent design for each page in order to provide continuity. Every page should have a banner. You can use the same banner for each page or a different banner per page. If the latter, make sure that the style of the images you choose is consistent.
Assistant Web Designer/Reflection Writer: This group member will help the web designer by providing advice on the website’s architecture, layout, and colors, and by helping find and place the images on every page. S/he will also put the sources in MLA format for the Works Cited page and coordinate getting bios from all members for the About page. S/he will write the reflection (see description below).
NOTE: Every member must read every page of the website and the reflection in order to make sure the final product meets everyone’s approval.
Proposal Delivery
In order for your proposal to receive full credit, you must do the following:
1. Send the proposal as an attachment to [email protected]. The proposal should be a Microsoft Word file. The subject of your email should be Website Proposal 1, followed by the last names of every group member separated by commas and in alphabetical order. The name of the document should be Website Proposal 1 followed by the reflection writer’s last name, i.e. Website Proposal 1 Hidalgo.
2. Every group member needs to be Cc-d in the email.
You will receive half credit if you do not follow the instructions above or if you submit your proposal a day late. If you submit it two or more days late, you will receive no credit.
Website Content
1. Which two cultures will you engage with and how do they fit together?
Preproduction Roles
2. Who will play each of the following preproduction roles?
Culture 1 Interviewer and Culture 2 Interviewer: Two group members will be in charge of finding, contacting, interviewing, and staying in touch with the interviewees from the preproduction stage until you send them a link of the finished product, thanking them for their participation. Each interviewer will work with one culture.
Concept and Cultural Artifact Researcher, Culture 1 Researcher, and Culture 2 Researcher: Three group members will divide up the research in this fashion: the Concept and Cultural Artifact Researcher will research how the rhetorical concept is traditionally defined and will provide the group with various choices for cultural artifacts to choose from, the Culture 1 and Culture 2 researchers will each choose one of the cultures and research how they use the concept as well as other aspects that may be needed to provide context to your audiences as they read the website. You will use sources we have read in class, as well as outside sources. You should have six sources (the cultural artifacts, while listed on your MLA Works Cited, do not count as part of your six sources). The researchers will not only find the sources, but they will read them and find sections for direct quoting and paraphrasing, which they will highlight.
Production Roles
3. Who will play each of the following production roles?
Rhetorical Concept Writer: This group member will define the traditional rhetorical concept, write the Connections page, and the About page (minus the bios).
Culture 1 Writer: Drawing from your interviews and scholarly research, this group member will define how Culture 1 approaches and utilizes the rhetorical concept. S/he will also write the introduction for embedding the podcast and analyze the selected cultural artifact.
Culture 2 Writer: Drawing from your interviews and scholarly research, this group member will define how Culture 2 approaches and utilizes the rhetorical concept. S/he will also analyze the selected cultural artifact.
Web Designer: This group member will modify a Weebly template (selected by the group), creating the necessary pages and subpages, as well as writing the short summaries of links for the Home page. S/he will also arrange all images (sharing image research with the assistant web designer), providing captions for them when necessary. Every page should have images and you should come up with a consistent design for each page in order to provide continuity. Every page should have a banner. You can use the same banner for each page or a different banner per page. If the latter, make sure that the style of the images you choose is consistent.
Assistant Web Designer/Reflection Writer: This group member will help the web designer by providing advice on the website’s architecture, layout, and colors, and by helping find and place the images on every page. S/he will also put the sources in MLA format for the Works Cited page and coordinate getting bios from all members for the About page. S/he will write the reflection (see description below).
NOTE: Every member must read every page of the website and the reflection in order to make sure the final product meets everyone’s approval.
Proposal Delivery
In order for your proposal to receive full credit, you must do the following:
1. Send the proposal as an attachment to [email protected]. The proposal should be a Microsoft Word file. The subject of your email should be Website Proposal 1, followed by the last names of every group member separated by commas and in alphabetical order. The name of the document should be Website Proposal 1 followed by the reflection writer’s last name, i.e. Website Proposal 1 Hidalgo.
2. Every group member needs to be Cc-d in the email.
You will receive half credit if you do not follow the instructions above or if you submit your proposal a day late. If you submit it two or more days late, you will receive no credit.
SECOND PROPOSAL (2 points)
In the second proposal you will:
1. Provide a list of your selected six or more sources in MLA Works Cited format.
2. Name the three people you will be interviewing per culture and briefly explain why you think they are a good fit for this project. You will also specify whether you are interviewing them over email or in person.
3. Submit a list of 8-10 questions you will ask all interviewees. Questions must be open ended. Don’t ask “Does your culture interpret emotion differently than Americans do?” but “In which ways does your culture interpret emotion differently than Americans do?” You should ask questions that cannot be answered with “yes” or “no,” but that require the interviewee to spend some time explaining their perspective.
4. Add links to the cultural artifacts you will be using. If they are not online, send them as an attachment.
5. Add the link to a draft of the website with all pages and subpages already in place, as well as the template and whatever color modifications you have selected to make. It’s OK to make changes later, but you should send me as complete a visual draft as possible at this point.
Proposal Delivery
In order for your proposal to receive full credit, you must do the following:
1. Send the proposal as an attachment to [email protected]. The proposal should be a Microsoft Word file. The subject of your email should be Website Proposal 2, followed by the last names of every group member separated by commas and in alphabetical order. The name of the document should be Website Proposal followed by the reflection writer’s last name, ie. Website Proposal 2 Hidalgo.
2. Every group member needs to be Cc-d in the email.
You will receive half credit if you do not follow the instructions above or if you submit your proposal a day late. If you submit it two or more days late, you will receive no credit.
1. Provide a list of your selected six or more sources in MLA Works Cited format.
2. Name the three people you will be interviewing per culture and briefly explain why you think they are a good fit for this project. You will also specify whether you are interviewing them over email or in person.
3. Submit a list of 8-10 questions you will ask all interviewees. Questions must be open ended. Don’t ask “Does your culture interpret emotion differently than Americans do?” but “In which ways does your culture interpret emotion differently than Americans do?” You should ask questions that cannot be answered with “yes” or “no,” but that require the interviewee to spend some time explaining their perspective.
4. Add links to the cultural artifacts you will be using. If they are not online, send them as an attachment.
5. Add the link to a draft of the website with all pages and subpages already in place, as well as the template and whatever color modifications you have selected to make. It’s OK to make changes later, but you should send me as complete a visual draft as possible at this point.
Proposal Delivery
In order for your proposal to receive full credit, you must do the following:
1. Send the proposal as an attachment to [email protected]. The proposal should be a Microsoft Word file. The subject of your email should be Website Proposal 2, followed by the last names of every group member separated by commas and in alphabetical order. The name of the document should be Website Proposal followed by the reflection writer’s last name, ie. Website Proposal 2 Hidalgo.
2. Every group member needs to be Cc-d in the email.
You will receive half credit if you do not follow the instructions above or if you submit your proposal a day late. If you submit it two or more days late, you will receive no credit.
REFLECTION (6 points)
The final draft of your website will be accompanied by a 3-4 page (900-1,200 words) reflection, which will address the following questions in essay form:
1. What rhetorical choices did you make in order to meet the needs of your particular audience? Make sure to refer to the rhetorical concepts we have discussed in class and how you have employed them in order to craft a text that is geared toward educating your target audience about your topic.
2. What aspects of your final product work particularly well and why do you think your group succeeded in making those parts of the website work?
3. What aspects of your final product are problematic and what caused the issues? What could have been done in order to avoid the problems you had with the project?
Make sure to add everyone’s names to the reflection document and to refer to all group decisions as “we.” If you want to mention something a particular group member did, refer to them by their first name.
Reflection and Website Delivery
In order for your reflection and website to receive full credit, you must do the following:
1. Send the link to the website in the body of an email and attach the reflection to [email protected]. The subject of your email should be Website and Reflection, followed by the last names of every group member separated by commas and in alphabetical order. The reflection should be a Microsoft Word file. The name of the document should be Website Reflection followed by the reflection writer’s last name, ie. Website Reflection Hidalgo.
2. Every group member needs to be Cc-d in the email.
I will deduct one point if you do not follow the delivery instructions above.
1. What rhetorical choices did you make in order to meet the needs of your particular audience? Make sure to refer to the rhetorical concepts we have discussed in class and how you have employed them in order to craft a text that is geared toward educating your target audience about your topic.
2. What aspects of your final product work particularly well and why do you think your group succeeded in making those parts of the website work?
3. What aspects of your final product are problematic and what caused the issues? What could have been done in order to avoid the problems you had with the project?
Make sure to add everyone’s names to the reflection document and to refer to all group decisions as “we.” If you want to mention something a particular group member did, refer to them by their first name.
Reflection and Website Delivery
In order for your reflection and website to receive full credit, you must do the following:
1. Send the link to the website in the body of an email and attach the reflection to [email protected]. The subject of your email should be Website and Reflection, followed by the last names of every group member separated by commas and in alphabetical order. The reflection should be a Microsoft Word file. The name of the document should be Website Reflection followed by the reflection writer’s last name, ie. Website Reflection Hidalgo.
2. Every group member needs to be Cc-d in the email.
I will deduct one point if you do not follow the delivery instructions above.
ASSIGNMENT CALENDAR
Website Proposal 1
Due date: 4/2 by class time
Website Proposal 2
Due date: 4/7 by class time
Website Draft 1
Due date: 4/28 by class time. Incomplete drafts will count as a missed quiz (1 point) for all group members.
Website Draft 2
Due date: 4/30 by class time. Incomplete drafts will count as a missed quiz (1 point) for all group members.
Website Final Version
Due date: 5/2 by midnight
Website Reflection
Due date: 5/2 by midnight
Due date: 4/2 by class time
Website Proposal 2
Due date: 4/7 by class time
Website Draft 1
Due date: 4/28 by class time. Incomplete drafts will count as a missed quiz (1 point) for all group members.
Website Draft 2
Due date: 4/30 by class time. Incomplete drafts will count as a missed quiz (1 point) for all group members.
Website Final Version
Due date: 5/2 by midnight
Website Reflection
Due date: 5/2 by midnight
QUESTIONS
If you have questions about this assignment, feel free to email me, stop by my office hours, or make an appointment.
