PART I:
What was it about President Obama that makes his or her communication memorable? Using Aristotle's classification scheme, decide whether you believe President Obama's power to persuade comes from ethos, pathos, logos, or from a combination of these methods and explain what led you to this conclusion. What qualifications do you believe a communicator needs to be considered effective today?
PART II:
- Consider the psychological perspective. In what ways do you believe that what goes on inside people's heads (beliefs, values, attitudes, etc.) affects their communication?
- Consider the social constructionist perspective. How do we "build worlds" through communication? Think of some ideas we talk about in our culture that may not exist in other cultures. How do these concepts contribute to our happiness or success (or lack of them) in our culture?
- Consider the pragmatic perspective. How is communication like a game? How is it different from a game?
- Consider the cultural studies perspective. What is the goal of a researcher who takes a cultural studies approach?
- Which of these perspectives is closest to your own view of communication?