Compose an analysis of a cultural artifact. A cultural artifact is a term used in the social sciences for anything created by humans which gives information about the culture of its creator and/or users. A common cultural artifact is a book. You can consider media images cultural artifacts; anything youd find in a time-capsule. Heres another example: the writers of the essays in the book, How We Go Home: Voices from Indigenous North America mention many things that influences our thinking: race issues, class, etc. A college diploma, for example, can be considered a cultural artifact. Although some artifacts are more culturally significant than others, meaning they are ripe with potential for analysis, these are proof that the personal represents the cultural. Thus, to see into the artifact is to see into humankind.
What Id like you to do is find a cultural artifact that represents or help to define the persona you wrote about in your literacy memoir or an artifact you’ve found in How We Go Home. Choose an artifact from your literacy narrative that you feel is most culturally significant and write a 5-7 page cultural analysis on it.
Tips
This rhetorical analysis of the cultural artifact is meant to shed new light on the meanings of that artifact. In other words, you are being asked to select a cultural artifact and consider the following:
What ideas are embedded in this artifact?
And, how are these messages conveyed?
Through what rhetorical means?
To put it more simply, you’ll have to do a rhetorical analysis of some thing–anything. Artifice is the right word for it: the made thing; something that was created for a purpose. It is your choice. It could be a website, a pair of binoculars, a YouTube video, a song, a commercial, a mechanical pencil, a USB cable, a website, a magazine cover, a rock…really–anything. After you choose your thing, your artifact, begin thinking about the cultural meaning of that thing. For instance, what ideas, beliefs, or stereotypes are being represented through the rhetoric of the artifact? Then think about how that meaning is being made by using what you learned about rhetoric and the rhetorical appeals to analyze that thing. In other words, ask yourself: Who is the rhetor? Who is the target audience? What is the text? What is the context? What is the purpose? Does the artifact succeed in fulfilling this purpose? Keep in mind that there can be more than one target audience, rhetor, or purpose. Are there appeals to ethos, pathos, and/or logos? If so, describe the different ways that you see these appeals working, using details, specifics, and examples. It may also help to think about some of the more self-evident aspects of the artifact: what do you clearly see or hear? And, perhaps more importantly, what (or who) is being left out? Note that you do not need to answer all of these questions. You may want to pick and choose the ones that work best to support your central purpose. Remember that this paper should also be focused on one central purpose that is specific. It should also include lots of details, examples, and specifics. Lastly, your paper should include some evaluation on your part: Is the rhetoric of the message effective? What is its impact? How, if at all, do you think the artifact affects its audience?
You will describe and analyze the rhetors use of ethos (appeal to credibility or authority), pathos (appeal to emotions), and logos (appeal to logic or reason), kairos (the timeliness of the object). As critical readers of these artifacts, it is imperative that you understand not only about what these things mean, but how it is they influence the audience. For example, the inventor of the Slinky may argue that people can have fun wherever they are if they have the right artifact. Or, perhaps the makers of the MacBook Pro have influenced a world of Geeky Professionals. Thus, it is import to be concerned with both what the artifact means to a culture, and how it means what it means. This is done successfully in two ways: by looking at the rhetorical appeals, and the rhetorical situation.
Format/Audience
The essay will be 5-7 pages long (not including the works cited) in the appropriate MLA format: word processed in Times New Roman, 12-pt font, and double-spaced. For this assignment, it is appropriate to use 3rdrd person. Be sure to consider levels of authority/formality. Your audience is academic. You should use no more than three outside sources.
Grading Criteria/Assessment
I will be looking for a clear purpose and thesis, appropriateness for audience (we talked about this in class), MLA in-text citations and works cited, incorporation of 2 sources in addition to the primary source (i.e. a photo of the artifact), an authentic voice and tone, development that engages the reader with details, organization: introduction, body, conclu
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