Rhetoric R1B Present and Future

It is hard to believe that we are coming to the end of this class; it feels as if we have only begun. Well, i guess this class is just the beginning for me. When I entered this class in January, I have to admit I was a little surprised by its loose format. I had expected this class to be very structured, controlled and quite honestly boring. I know that sounds weird, especially considering that my major is Rhetoric, but I only choose this class for its time i.e. not for the topic. I was actually dreading the first day with a passion because I worried that this class was going to be run by crazy hippies who wanted me to be a tree hugger. It's not that I didn't have respect for nature; it's just that I never really had any interest in the rhetoric of the environment; all I cared about was law and politics. Luckily for me however; I was wrong. This semester in Rhetoric R1B has been extremely interesting. I have learned more about the environment and how I interact with it than I ever could have thought imaginable. What I remember most about this class though is the readings. Besides the boring readings in R1A, this was my first academic class which required non textbook based analysis and I was happy to find that I actually enjoyed the readings we were assigned.

Here are my top five favorite readings:

5. Ch. 1 and 2 of Dumping in Dixie by Robert Bullard. THis reading was the most interesting of all of our readings, because it made me think of nature in a completely different way. Prior to this class, I would never have thought that a nuclear wasteland could be nature.

4."Domesticating Nature on the Television Set" by Greg Mittman. Anything written about television or technology instantly interests me and as such, this was a fun, quick and memorable reading.

3."Sharing Suffering" by Donna Haraway. Although I didn't appreciate this excerpt initially, over time I found that Haraway's way of thinking had begun to influence me and my choices.

2."In Camp on the North Fork of the Merced"by John Muir. John Muir has to be one of the most interesting people we learned about in this class.

1."To Build a Fire" by Jack London. I chose this reading as my favorite not because of what it taught me about nature, however rich it was; but rather because of the style of writing the author employed in it. I remember getting chills (no puns intended) when I first started to suspect that the guy might die, and when he did, I was absolutely shocked.

More surprising to me than the fact that I enjoyed the readings however, was that I actually learned some valuable skills and information from the readings and discussions in this class. At first, I didn't really think that this class was going to give me any new rhetorical skills, but as the class progressed, I found myself picking up multiple new tricks and catchphrases to deploy in my arguments. The WA sessions and readings also provided me with some amazing examples and information on how to write better.

Overall, however, my favorite part of this class was most definitely my classmates. Despite the fact that I talked way too much, my fellow classmates accepted me and, unlike many of my previous English/debate classes, they actually listened to my arguments.

I will truly miss everyone in this class and regardless of what I do or become, I will take the lessons I have learned in this class on with me into my future and use them as best as I can .