Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Diaspora!

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Saturday, September 13, 2008

translation, transliteration, imitation, interpretation, audience, performance

I'm not sure what to do with this clip, but I find it interesting in many ways. At the center is a rap battle, framed in what appears to be a traditional setting for the event-audience, participants, chorus. The battle progresses in a normative fashion through the first rhetor's presentation. His address, while drawing on audience connection (syllogism), is directed toward his challenger. The second rhetor violates the norms of the event in several ways. First, the respondent prefaces his reply with an address to the crowd not his "opponent," in what can be interpreted as his making a preemptive apology for his awaited reply. Second, as he constructs his response, he addresses the audience more often as interlocutor than the first rhetor, effectively re-situating the first rhetor out of the normative role in the battle. Note the second rhetor's use of the third person pronoun "he" in most of his reply. Further, his establishment of rhyme scheme is spotty and his flow is nonexistent. The first rhetor decreases the physical distance between himself and the speaker, which is completely within the accepted norms of the freestyle battle. So long as the participants do not touch, there is no viable grounds to perceive that the rules of engagement have been violated. However, it is clear by now to the seasoned observer that the second rhetor is not familiar with the norms of the performance. In other words, "He don't know the rules." While is claim to having his space invaded is elsewhere and at other times an acceptable response, in this context his request to have the first rhetor increase the physical distance is an invalid request. It is his responsibility to increase the social distance either by retreating himself or propelling the first rhetor away with a verbal reply. Instead he chooses "fist to cuffs."

In and of itself, the performance is interesting, if not disheartening. Granted, there have been more and more severe physical altercations, let alone wars, started as result of someone getting their feelings hurt. Still, if you don't want to get burned, stay out of the kitchen. I should insert some commentary here referencing Aristotle and rhetorical truth and physical violence, but I can't recall what he said.

And I still need to address the "meta" commentary in this clip, which, while humorous, is a mis-representation of the original text that it purports to translate. More later.
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Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Urbana

Endings and beginnings have been coming in quick succession lately.

The Summer BRIDGE institute at the U of I ended last week. I had the opportunity to work with 12 incoming first year students as a tutor for their composition class. It was a great experience, and hopefully I can cross paths with them as they progress through school. Many are first-gens and still on the path to developing academic literacy, but still they all have the ability to be successful at this game. Godspeed BRIDGE class of 2008!

I finished the independent study paper. It was a chore mentally, and I had to crank up the intrinsic pressure to get it done. While the writing is lacking, the research is there for days (hopefully!). And I look forward to continuing on this path of inquiry of the historical and current import of the Douglass Center as a space for self-determination within the black community here.

The move to Urbana is complete. We got by with a heap of help from starmaster and phyllis. Thank you so much!

There is still some cleaning to do and some boxes to unpack, but I must confess to a feeling of drastic yet positive separation from the old space. Just to put it out to the universe, I think this space will better our lives as a family here. And I'm moving from that "time on the rock" feeling back to the original orientation of engaging in process.

Now to get Noah's enrollment in place (my boy's starting kindergarten!), plan for the Odyssey course in the fall, and get my schedule straight for the term. As Dan Higgs says, "Which way to the work to d0?"
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Tuesday, July 8, 2008

The Signified Anthem

Rene Marie combines the lyrics of "Lift Every Voice" with the melody of "The Star Spangled Banner." While much of the rhetoric around what she did with her time on stage has been perceived as negative and unpatriotic, I for one view it as a most beautiful form of dissent. Hers is a true artist's example of the frustration and love that is fundamental to the black experience in America. I have long been an advocate of changing the National Anthem anyway-to the Ray Charles version of "America the Beautiful."
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Saturday, March 29, 2008

Damn You Barack Obama

Darian Dauchan performs his Spoken Word Poem "Damn You Barack Obama, You Pretty Motha fu-ker" during the Urbana Team Slam Finals at the Bowery Poetry Club. May 2007

Here's to the power of rhetoric. Compare the use of repetition here by Dauchan with that of Rev. Wright's which has been in circulation of late. While their objects of "damnation" differ, each rhetor evokes possibility through the utterance. In each instance, the expression is used out of an evocation of love and toward an issuance of expectant hope and accountability on the part of the interlocutor. That's bad.
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Sunday, March 16, 2008

can it be?

Tracy gives me a bit of hope. How's that for black rhetoric?
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Friday, February 22, 2008

inspiriation

Jake Shimabukuro
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Monday, January 21, 2008

Welcome James!

You were born nine days ago. Gradually, the prospect of your arrival has shifted to the realization of your being here. Here's to the hope that anything done can be undone, or in the case of homo sapiens, that we are willing to put in the work to make this place more livable. Already in your lifetime, someone other than a white male is a serious candidate for president. Discussions related to the state of the natural environment are held in the popular media. You have a big brother.

Yet, there is still work to do. I'll do my best to do my part. Welcome!
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