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You may choose from the following prompts for Paper 2. Prompt 1 Compare and contrast Castiglione’s courtier in The Book of the Courtier and the values proposed by Machiavelli in Art of War with the values, ideals, and conduct of professional military members in the United States Military. Focus on the concepts of honor, national identity, and selfhood Minimal evidence: Materials by and/or about the US Military substantiating your claims about the institution’s values, ideals, Read more…

A Process The best video essays, like the best traditional academic essays, develop iteratively: that is, they are made in a number of stages with each stage incorporating time to reflect, gather feedback, and improve. The following process is one that I have found to be successful for many students. Here is a basic outline, but each step can (and should) be repeated until you feel that you have achieved the result you are looking Read more…

Discussion Question: The introduction of Books for Captains says that the ultimate goal of war according to Renaissance military treatises was to return to a Golden Age and everlasting peace through the exercise of war. How does this compare to the ways in which we talk about the goals of war today? Hypotheses: The development of WMDs means that preemptive action features more in today’s rhetoric than in Renaissance rhetoric about war Human rights features as more Read more…

Rhetorical Analysis In-Class Exercise Resource Used: https://www.thoughtco.com/proof-rhetoric-1691689 Procedure: Students agree on a work of popular culture that they have all seen or read. Then, they are divided into groups of four. Each group of four takes one of six parts of the parts of a speech listed below. After working together for 5-10 minutes, each group articulates their portion of the argument. Then, all the groups come together and give their portions of the argument Read more…

What feedback can you offer your peer review partners on the following questions? Rhetorical Awareness Do they answer all the aspects of the prompt? Does their work fit the definition of a fairytale? Is the fairytale complete? Does the tone feel appropriate to the assignment’s rhetorical situation? Stance and Development of Ideas Can you tell what virtues the story is attempting to teach? Is the fairytale entertaining as well as educational? Does the critical introduction Read more…