So far, I'm having a good time picking out my persuasive texts. Like Katie, I had a hard time initially conceiving what constitutes a persuasive text that is valuable to me. Then I started going over my bookshelves and it got easier.
I have a lot of cookbooks. A LOT of cookbooks. Many of them are vegetarian cookbooks leftover from my housing co-op days and from my years as a vegetarian cook. All of the vegetarian cookbooks contain prefaces or introductions that espouse the benefits (moral, health, spiritual, etc) of being vegetarian. These texts are incredibly persuasive; they work on many levels, and argue a specific point of view. I'll probably wind up using one of those.
Then, I get a lot of mail for previous tenents that once had my apartment. Almost every day I get fundraising letters from various Catholic charities, and these too contain many sophisticated persuasive tactics. I thought about using one of these letters but since they're not really of personal value or meaning to me (though very effective!) I probably won't.
After going over my folklore books I realized that many of them make various arguments about folklore, its importance, its role, its significance in our current culture and above all, the need to collect and preserve material. While I don't necessarily agree with everything in these texts, these books certainly persuaded me to make an enormous shift in my goals and plans and come to school here.
But, to return to what Katie brought up, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with using advertisments in this assignment. I especially like it, actually, because it really pushes our views of "text." I think that if we're going to use texts of relevance to our ownselves, then the texts we choose will be wide-ranging. And that seems good.
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2 comments:
I think your characterization of vegetarian cookbooks as persuasive is spot-on. I never purchased cookbooks or cared to cook at all until I became a vegetarian. I now, however, own at least 15 vegetarian cookbooks, all of which expound the benefits of tofu and veggies in general. Not only are these cookbooks appealing because they offer a path to better health and general well being, it doesn't hurt that the path to ideological enlightenment involves pretty and very appealing photographs of food. Each vegetarian cookbook I own is full of color. The bright palate and vibrant pictures appeals to my creative side as well as my appetite. Besides, there is definitely a kernel of truth contained in the cliché adage that the way to the heart is through the stomach. Vegetarian cookbooks combine activism/ideology with food, a tactic used by many organizations, departments, and clubs across campus. Be honest—how many functions have we all attended in part (or perhaps entirely) because we were promised food?
Claire,
I, too, think that advertisements should work for this idea as well. I think that many advertisements on TV, etc. can be very persuasive, especially under the right circumstances. I feel that the key to persuasion is knowing your audience and targeting your "product," even if it is a text. For instance, I never feel tempted to buy from an informercial; however, when I realized my wedding was less than a year away and I had gained 7 lbs after the holidays, the zone pilates commercial was extremely persuasive. Needless to say, I bought one. I think it all had to do with my emotional state--the timing of the program. That is the purpose of all advertisements, which is why they are so persuasive even if all don't agree at the same time.
Rebecca
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