Pedagogy Oct 2010

Using Facebook to Teach Rhetorical Analysis

Jane Mathison Fife Western Kentucky University

Abstract

This article describes an assignment that involves students in an exploration of the rhetorical practices common in Facebook, making use of rhetorical savvy that they have—but generally are not aware of—to teach the often-challenging skill of rhetorical analysis. The class discusses articles about Facebook use and redefines traditional Aristotelian rhetorical concepts in the context of the visually rich and collage-like texts that are Facebook profiles. Students take their cues from an anthropologist's analysis of identity representation on dorm doors to explore rhetorical practices of exaggeration also discernable in Facebook profiles. Students and teacher note features from Facebook pages that suggest tendencies to be popular versus being an individual or signs of addiction to the networking tool. This assignment that brings academic analysis to bear on non-academic literacy practices like the construction of Facebook profiles encourages students to reflect critically on daily activities that involve more complex rhetorical skills than they might otherwise notice. In addition to making students' often-tacit rhetorical knowledge explicit, breaking down the usual division between school and non-school rhetorics in this exploration of Facebook helps to educate teachers about their students' digital literacy practices.

Journal
Pedagogy
Published
2010-10-01
DOI
10.1215/15314200-2010-007
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism teacher development digital rhetoric social media literacy studies community literacy
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (8)

  1. Whitney (2024)
    Instructional Note: Working the Whirlwind: SmartArt and Reflection as Introduct…
    Teaching English in the Two-Year College
  2. Amicucci (2020)
    Experimenting with Writing Identities on Facebook through Intertextuality and I…
    Computers and Composition
  3. Ehrenfeld et al. (2019)
    Online Public Spheres in the Era of Fake News: Implications for the Composition…
    Computers and Composition
  4. Cohn (2016)
    “Devilish Smartphones” and the “Stone-Cold” Internet: Implications of the Techn…
    Computers and Composition
  5. Head (2016)
    Teaching grounded audiences: Burke's identification in Facebook and composition
    Computers and Composition
Show all 8 →
  1. Shepherd (2016)
    Men, women, and Web 2.0 writing: Gender difference in Facebook composing
    Computers and Composition
  2. Shepherd (2015)
    FB in FYC: Facebook Use Among First-Year Composition Students
    Computers and Composition
  3. Brockman (2010)
    Taking Stock
    Pedagogy

References (11)

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CrossRef global citation count: 13 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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