Blog Post #2

There are various characteristics that exist to be considered a "social movement" according to the text. One of the most distinct characteristics of a social movement is the fact that the specific movement has a common "goal" that they are trying to achieve which defines the entire movement as a whole. Furthermore, once there is a common goal that is established, there must be a gathering of individuals with that same common goal and a specified leader to help organize the group. Organization is key in every social movement in order to organize the party or organization to further get their point across to society.

One example of a social movement that occurred in history is the Women's Rights Movement. The movement was originally very small, and not heard of. In order for the movement to be a success, organization and leadership was a necessity which created the National Organization for Women (NOW). This organization represents the organization needed to carry through successfully with a social movement. Although it was a group of women, there was one leader who had control over the group which ultimately led to success just like the author states in the reading.

post 2

There are many characteristics to form a social movement according to the first chapter in the book. The first is that it must be an organized community with some sort of leader, but there is rarely just one. It is a group of individuals who help lead and organize the movement. Also, the group needs to not be apart of anything else so it can set its own rules and such, which is unistitionallized collectivity. The organization must also be large in scope which means it is spread out in a large way over lots of places, has a large following, and more. The movement must also be having morals and persuasion. That’s the main part. It needs to effect people in a way that will actually make them do something for the cause and it needs to be easily convincing. No one is going to fight for a cause that doesn’t seem right to them or that cant easily convince them to fight for it.

I think a group that can compare to social movements is the west borough Baptist church. This church is known around the US as a radical group, made mainly of the same family, and led by the father of this large family. The “church” goes around the country and protests many events, like soldier’s funerals, government events, and more.  The leader is only one man, their morals are very wrong (wall to them, they are correct), and they are not easily persuaded. I think they are the complete opposite of t=what the book describes; yet there are a radical group for a social movement. 

Blog #2

Social movements have been an integral part of shaping the beliefs and mechanics of society. In chapter one of Persuasion and Social Movements a social movement is defined by a few key features. They are an “organized collectivity, which means they have organization to some degree, usually in the form of a common goal. Social movements are an “uninstitutionalized collectivity”, meaning they are not part of the organizations that they call change to.  They are “large in scope”, meaning the larger they are the more they can usually accomplish. They “promote or oppose changes in societal norms and values”. They seek to change the opinion or belief of individuals and affect the norm in society. Social movements also “encounter opposition in a moral struggle.”

An example of a social movement is the Ku Klux Klan. Their morals and motives may be universally understood as obscene and unjust they fit all the criteria of a social movement. They are organized through rallies, they are disconnected from the anti white supremacist society they live in, they are “large in scope” by having the numbers to organize different gatherings and have survived for over a century. They also definitely oppose the change of equality as well as encounter heavy opposition from society for their moral beliefs.

Blog Post 2

To actually be considered a social movement, there are three qualifications that are discussed in Chapter One. Firstly, the group can't be too small. Without a sufficient amount of people, the movement won't have any traction and therefore won't complete any goals on their agenda. Secondly, The group has to be organized and we have to identify a "leader" some kind of speaker or sponsor for the group. Third, the movement has to keep up an effort for a long period of time, it can't be short-lived. Lastly, there has to be some kind of moral that the movement is fighting for/against. 

A group of people that would be considered part of a social movement would be the African American protestors for Civil Rights. The group was huge- lots of people were affected, obviously. There was organization with the bus boycotts, and the sit-ins, and the protests across the nation. There were spokespeople for the movement, such as Martin Luther King Jr., or Malcolm X, and many others. The Civil Rights movement lasted for over a decade, from 1955 to 1968. Lastly, there were obvious morals that the African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement were fighting for- their rights. 

Blog #2

Social movements have been around since the mid 20^th century in an attempt to initiate wide spread change through persuading others.  In chapter 1, Stewart, Smith and Denton, define social movements through a list of characteristics. As explained, Social movements are non institutionalized groups (not already tied to any previous socially structured groups) that do not necessarily have just one individual leader.  Over time and due to change, social movements can be defined by multiple leaders. Also, in order for something to be a social movement, it must be large in scope. This means that it not only has to have a wide spread collective of members (numerically and geographically), it also has to have sustenance and the ability to maintain a somewhat long lasting prevalence. Social movements must be evolutionary.This means that the movement must have the ability to maintain a following through changes during the attempt to a specific goal. This prevalence is sustained by the movement’s ability to stay relevant during its run. Social movements also promote or oppose change. This means that one goal is to evoke some sort of change in the views of people; views that are along the lines of the movement itself. But ultimately, the social movement is concerned with “becoming” and “remaining” a source for change (whether it is positive or other). This is obtained by uses of persuasion, bargaining and/or coercion.

I believe one social movement that follows the characteristics that Stewart, Smith and Denton draw out is the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Over the course of three decades, they have  a strong following and continue to strive to change the “societal norms” about rights regarding LGBTQ people in America and around the world. They are loosely organized while maintaining layers of leadership, group movement, and large wide spread continual followings. HRC may not have one clear cut leader, but have been represented by many relevant supporters and activists such as Lady Gaga, Bill Clinton and many more. They have successfully been able to change their campaign movements (Marriage Equality, hate crimes, religion) while still keeping their formative ideals centered on equal rights for LGBTQ people at helm.

Blog Post 2

Social movements must have minimal organization, or a leader. someone must be the voice for the group and define what they stand for. They must also have goals, both short-term and long-term. Goals provide structur and allow the movement to figure out how it is going to move forward to accomplish their goals. Social movements have a large vision. The more people that are apart of their movement, the more attention they will be paid. Every movement believes they ar helping society ad is oin what is best for society.

One example is civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong voice in the civil igts movement. They had the goal of racial equality in mind and wold do all that they could in order to achieve that. The civil rights movement aimed for short term goals such as seats now bus, but ultimately just wanted to be treated as equals with the whites.theirvision was absolutely revolutionary for th time being, but they were willing to do whatever it took to accomplish their goal.

Blog 2

An organized collectivity means that although often it is easy for people to come together for a common cause in a moment it is hard to join together for future events and establish many key aspects that comes with being a collective whole. It is even hard to name a leader or “face” of a organization these days.  An uninstitutionalized collectivity refers to the fact that movements are often seen as irrelevant simply because they’re illegitimate and because of this they turn to people in the Court system to help make them seem “legitimate” to the public. Social movements are large in scope because of aspects like size, time and events. For a movement to be successful they must have a large amount of members, be relevant long enough to be successful, and have events that draw a positive crowd that wants to help implement some sort of change. Each group believes that what they are doing is right for society. Some might devote or even sacrifice their lives for their cause, to prove their legitimacy. Another aspect for a movement to become successful is the methods of coercion and persuasion/bargaining. Tools like these, when used properly, can advance a cause effectively.  

The groups that challenged the temperance movement  that occurred in US history are groups that meet the textbooks criteria. When it was declared by law that producing, transportation and sale of alcohol was prohibited in America in the 1920s many people were outraged.  Antiprohibitionist groups were all over America at the time. A group called The Association against the Prohibition Amendment, created in 1918 by a Naval Captain known as William Stayton, was a, unsuccessful effort, to prevent the 18th Amendment from being passed. The movement gained more strength when it first failed, and the amendment was indeed passed, and was open to anyone who was not involved in the business of alcohol. Leadership roles were taken on by usually those who had a lot of wealth. Like most groups, there were many topics the members could not agree upon.  It did though launch a major successful campaign at one point, and got word out to many Americans.

Blog Post 2

In Chapter 1 of Persuasion and Social Movement, a few characteristics of social movements are described. One of the characteristics of a social movement is organization. This would include spoken leaders, followers, members, and some time of organization or coalition. These, according to Tarrow, are what forms the "human communication that transforms individuals into groups." Secondly, social movements must be an uninstitutionalized collectivity. This means that social movements are not part of other groups or orders that influence economic values or norms in any way. Thirdly, a social movement must be large in scope, in terms of the number of people involved, geographical area, and the amount of time that it lasts. These things will separate them from other groups such as pressure groups, protests acts, and campaigns. Another characteristic includes promoting or opposing changes in societal norms and values. With this, they will often receive opposition from those against the changes they are trying to make in terms of norms and values. The fifth characteristic is encountering opposition in a moral struggle. Since every social movement believes that their purpose is to stand up for their beliefs for the good of the people, in order for them to be successful, they must raise the consciousness of the people by showing them the wrong that is being done of their targeted institutions. The sixth and final characteristic is the ability to be persuasive by either using bargaining or coercion in order to maintain their stance and become successful.

One group that fits the characteristics listed above and that can be classified as a social movement would be the civil rights movement in America. This social movement was organized due to the fact that it had many active members that participated in protests, leaders that spoke about the cause like Martin Luther King Jr. Since this movement was trying to change the laws that persecuted them, they were not apart of an already existing group and can be considered an uninstitutionalized collectivity. It was a movement that primarily took place in the South, but was then moved across the country, not to mention the fact that it lasted from the 1950's to the 1980's. Their main purpose was to change the laws, as well as the social norms, that persecuted African American's and segregated them from the rest of America. Because of this, many of their tactics included showcasing the horrible treatment that they were put through in the hopes of changing the minds of those that could make a difference. Through non-violent protests and marches, the civil rights movement effectively desegregated the country and won back the rights that African American's deserved all along.

blog post 2

Summary

In chapter one of Persuasion and Social Movements characteristics to describe a social movement are explained. A social movement must be a large in population reaching people in several places so that the group’s ideas can be heard and have a spokesperson/leader. The group must also be organized collectively and cannot be institutionalized collectivity meaning that the social movement is not already part of a pre set social structure . The group has to also has to stand for something by promoting or opposing social norms that stems from what the population of the group deems to be morally correct. They must try to persuade the rest of the public to overcome obstacles. 

Anti-war organizations

A group that I think meets this criteria is the Southern Student Organizing Committee (SSOC), a student run organization in the 60’s that formed to protest against the Vietnam war and the draft. The SSOC expanded to several universities in the south so it was pretty large. It’s spokesperson was Thomas N. Gardner but had several leaders at different universities such as Lynne Wells and Gene Guerrero because of it’s size. It also  defied the social norm of the “ideal american” who was supposed to willingly fight for his country therefore being an obstacle to overcome and making it an not institutionalized. They were trying to persuade others their age to resist the draft and to promote the notion that fighting in Vietnam was immoral. So according to chapter one this could be classified as a social movement. 

Blog Post #2

A) Social movements have been around in the public eye for many decades now, with an overall goal in attempts to persuade and socially move groups of people in their favor. With that being said, most all social movements follow a certain framework of functioning to be considered a social movements.. Along with that, the authors of the text describe a social movement in the following ways:

1. Social movements are an “organized collectivity”. What this means is that every social movement has to have some level of organization within the group. A social movement must have an overall set goal or mission statement, identifiable leaders, and  something that they are overall working towards, with smaller goals and achievements to be set along the way to complete the larger goal. Social movements are an “uninstiutionalized collectivity”. 
2. Social Movements are an “uninstitutionalized collectivity”. Social movements usually are a group of outsiders that work is to persuade people within an in group to change the ways in favor of their goal. 
3. Social Movements are “large in scope”. Social movements gain credibility and relevance when they are large in all aspects: Group members, span of time it will take to accomplish a goal, and events to be put in order to agitate the public. The larger the group is, the more attention they will get, which - in most cases - causes people to act upon it in their favor.
4. Social movements “promote or oppose changes in societal norms and values”.  This means a social movement works to reform or support a certain mindset, way of life or even a law. Through things such as protests, strikes, and petitions, social movements work for larger scale things to happen such as - in vague terms- passing of laws in their favors or banning of a specific act, etc. 
5. Social movements “Encounter opposition in a moral struggle”.  No social movement will ever encounter peace from opposing groups. There will always be someone/some people challenging the validity and morality of the goal of the group. Social stifle is expected in the public eye.

B) The group I chose is the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). They fit most of the criteria of a social group as described in the textbook. PETA formed in Norfolk, Virginia in 1980 with the goal of reaching total equality for animals. The leaders are identifiable -Its founders are Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco and some current leaders are Tracy Reiman and Dan Mathews. They are large in scope, with consistent protests, ad campaigns and occasional commercials. There are 3 million members including supporters. They promote change in the sense that they want animal equality and to stop animal cruelty. They also have opposers, for example, another social group named Hunters against PETA. So in my opinion, framing after what the textbook says, they do fit the description of a “social group”. 

Blog Post #2

In Chapter 1 of ‘Persuasion and Social Movements’ the characteristics that define social movements are, firstly organization. Within social movements organization is key. They must have more than a single member, and never work alone as it may cause conflict. They must have an ultimate leader but few exist. They must be organized when it comes to having sit-ins or demonstrations, and so on. Social movements must have long and short term goals. Campaigns for the members of the group need goals in order to provide structure. Secondly, social movements are all outsiders. They have no power over accomplishments etc. These outsiders mainly focus on those who are seen as the weakest within society e.g. females. The third characteristic is large scopes. The more members there are in a group, the more the people of higher institutions will listen, and citizens too. The groups must be able to adapt and adjust to institutions attempts to break them down. Forth; Ideologies change over time and it is up to the organizations to be flexible when this occurs. Fifth; moral struggle is important as people may feel the need to devote their lives to further the cause between good and evil. Lastly, persuasion is pervasive. It is the primary action for overcoming obstacles placed down by institutions. The use of symbols plays a big role in influencing the people outside of institutions.

A social movement which I feel relates back to all of these characteristics is the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The Irish Civil War between the IRA and the Anglo-Irish Treaty caused devastation to much of Ireland killing thousands. Michael Collins was the main leader of the IRA, but there were many other leaders within the group. The main goal that they wanted to achieve was to regain control of the whole of Ireland from the British. During his time as a leader, Collins, and the rest of the group managed to persuade a lot of people to fight for their country against those who stole from them. As the group gained momentum, and more and more people joined, the people of Ireland believed in Collins and his group to regain the rightful ownership of the land. Having less equipment than the British they needed to adapt and come up with plans to isolate the British and Northern Irish soldiers. This was a very large scope movement as it ranged from young school boys of 15 to men who had seen their country be taken away from them throughout their lives. It was time they fought back. During this time a lot of persuasion was carried out to the institutions. Coercion also occurred. Many killings happened as a result. In the end Michael Collins along with thousands more Irish gave their lives for the land which unfortunately was never regained.

Blog Post 2

One of the requirements to qualify as a social movement is to have some sort of structure and at least be “minimally organized”. This is why protests are not a social movement because they lack structure and organization they may have a common cause but they have no leader so it is not considered a social movement. Social movement is also uninstitutionalized because if it is institutionalized is becomes a social movement organization. A movement often has multiple leaders due to people’s different ideas on how to attack the situation they are combating. Social movements are often opposing what is considered a norm in society. For example in society being homosexual is not the norm because a majority of people are not homosexuals. So the gay rights movement is trying to change that and make it so that being homosexual is okay and normal in society. Usually gains for the social movement will lead to a loss for another group as the several examples in the text show. Social movement is also large in scope because if it is not large enough for people to notice it will die out fast and have no impact. The main course of action taken to achieve the change desired is usually persuasion. If you can persuade someone to believe the same thing you believe it will be more successful as social movement to achieve your goal because a social movement is not trying to force everyone to believe the same things they do just trying to persuade them.

Students for a Democratic Society are an example or a social movement group who were part of a much larger anti-war movement during the 1960’s. The anti-war movement hoping to end the war in Vietnam had several groups such as the Students for a Democratic Society, The Weather Underground, Peace and Freedom Party, and many more. Students for Democratic Society had organization as Aryeh Neier founded it and it had leaders who lead the cause. It opposed the norm that you should go to war and support your country and the government. The group had protests and anti-war march’s to persuade people to believe that going to war was not the right thing to do.  I think this group is a social movement because it opposed a major a war that was important to the government to contain communism. This group had an issue they wanted to change and they made efforts to persuade the people and the government to do what they thought was best which was to end the war in Vietnam.

POST 2

In Persuasion and Social Movements Stewart, Smith, and Denton identify 7 different characteristics a social movement must have in order to make it legitimate. These are: it must be organized collectively, uninstitutionalized, large in scope, promotes or opposes change, moral struggle, and finally must be persuasive. Organized collectively means that there has to be leaders within the movement; however never just one. Sometimes these leaders can be individuals, but often they are groups such as PETA. These movements can not be institutionalized, this means in order for it to be a social movement it can not be government run. In order for it to be a social movement it must be large in scope, meaning not only must it be largely prevalent within a society it must also last a significant amount of time. It must promote or oppose change, for example the gay rights movement is promoting change in laws to all homosexuals more rights such as marriage. The movement must encounter moral struggle, meaning there must be a struggle over what is morally right from wrong. Lastly the movement must be persuasive, they must persuade to change a view point in a matter to achieve their goal.

Occupy Wall street is debatably a social movement. Kalle Lasn and Micah White were two of the leaders making it organized collectively. Thousands of people participated in the protests making it large in scale. It promoted change in order to achieve economic equality. They argued the majority of nation's wealth belonging to about 1 percent of the population was wrong, presenting the situation with moral struggle. The persuasive area; however is questionable. It was persuasive enough to grow substantially as the protests continued; however no real changes were acquired. I would consider this to a social movement just by the magnitude of press and attention it received, and although their goal was not necessarily earned that does not mean it wasn't legitimate, in my opinion not every social movement has to be successful.

Blog Post # 2

The first of many characteristics of social movements stated by Stewart, Smith, and Denton in Ch.1 is organized community. This means that a social movement must be at least “minimally organized”, meaning we can identify a leader or spokesperson, adherents to the movement or followers, as well as organizations that are involved in the particular movement. The second characteristic is an uninstitutionalized collectivity. This is referring to the need of the movement to not be a part of already established rules, orders, or social structure. The third characteristic is that the social movement must be large in scope. In other words, the movement must be present over a large geographic area, must last for a significant amount of time, and needs to incorporate a variety of events and organizations. The fourth characteristic states that social movements must promote or oppose changes in societal norms and values. The social movement needs to be pushing for a change in belief or value of a certain subject in society, but also experience opposition to such change at the same time. The fifth characteristic is an encounter of opposition in a moral struggle. With this characteristic the authors are trying to say that all social movements believe that they are working for a cause for the good of the people, but this in turn will raise people’s awareness of the “moral bankruptcy” of certain actions, or thoughts. Lastly, persuasion is pervasive. This means that a social movement must use a combination of bargaining, coercion, and persuasion to satisfy all of the requirements listed above, and be an overall successful movement. 

A group that might be considered a social movement would be the occupy wall street movement. Although sometimes this can be considered a “leaderless movement” there are three people who make up the board of directors for the movement, and people who participated in protests can be identified as adherents of followers of the movement. The occupy wall street movement, is not part of already established, laws, or governmental structure. Although this movement began in Manhattan’s Financial District, it has spread to over 100 cities in the US, and over 1,500 cities around the world. This movement also lasted much longer than just a few days, establishing it as more than just sporadic protests. The occupy wall street movement was trying to promote change in societal values by protesting the richest 1% of people who are controlling and making the rules for the other 99% of people. This movement sets forth a moral struggle because it is pointing out how the richest of people are controlling everything for the majority of the country, pointing out the immoral and unfair practices that were going on. Lastly, through the use of protests, and sometimes coercion this movement pushed for equality and increased balance of wealth and control.

http://occupywallst.org/about/  (where I got most of the info in paragraph #2)

Blog post #2

       The characteristics that define a social movement are it is organized, uninstitutionalized, large in scope, promotes or opposes change(s) in social norms or values, encounters opposition in a moral struggle and lastly relies primarily on persuasion to bring about or resist change. The organization characteristic means that the social movement has to have an identifiable leader, members of the group and has to have an actual organized actions from protests to rallies. Secondly an uninstitutionalized collectivity means that the movement is not part of established rules or organizations. Thirdly, large in scope, this means the movement has to be significant and reach out to more than just a small neighborhood it has to touch geographical areas to gather more attentions. Also large in scope means that it takes time to reach the movements actual goal. The fourth characteristic is it promotes or opposes change in social norms and values, this means that the the movements must push towards change within social ways or values that are viewed as normal and ultimately change those views whether it be for equality, fairness or justice. Fifth; encounters opposition in a moral struggle, this means that the movement, whatever it may be for, is in good intentions, that they believe that what they are fighting for is morally right and will be good for others. Lastly persuasion is pervasive, stating that to reach the movements goal(s) they use bargaining, persuasion with others or coercion.

       A group that might be considered a a social movement could be the anti-war protestors against the Vietnam war. This group was a collection of people ranging from the age 18 to people in their mid 50s, this group didn't have a identifiable leader although did have many well known people at the time speak on their behalf such as Martin Luther King. This group also was not part of established rules or organizations on the contrary they were against the government and their rules/laws towards the war. Also this anti-war movement was very large in scope ranging from college kids resisting the draft to war veterans removing their medals to show their hatred towards the Vietnam war. This movement also promoted change in society, that being to end the war and take out all U.S. troops in Vietnam. Also this movement did have good intentions as it wanted to save the young lives of children in Vietnam and Cambodia (during the Northern bombings) and the U.S. troops. Lastly this movement did use persuasion as in many of their rallies and protests, they would persuade many American citizens to join their cause and to obtain government and public support.

       

Blog Post Number Tizzuu (Two)

• Defining what constitutes as a social movement has proven to be quite difficult because of the variance between causes. A revolution or cult can easily be mistaken or misrepresented as a social movement, so Stewart, Smith, and Denton give a list of characteristics that define socials movements. They first characterize a social movement as minimally organized, which means that the movement must have some level of structure, leadership, and management. A social movement can also be described as an evolutionary process, where important aspects of the movement like leaders and strategies change over time as they are required. All social movements are out-groups that are trying to bring about change in a nontraditional way. A social movement either promotes or opposes changes in societal norms and values in which they attempt to distinguish moral from immoral. At their core, social movements are all about persuasion. 
• The American Indian Movement (AIM) matches all of the author's characteristics of a social movement. They are loosely organized, but still structured. They have adapted over the years to keep up with current events and an increased appeal to the general public. AIM lobbies hard to bring about legislative change for their people and their following. AIM is exactly what the author's would characterize as a social movement and nothing else.

Blog #2

In Ch.1 of Persuasion and Social Movements Stewart, Denton, and Smith give us a list of characteristics that define a social movement. These characteristics are an organized collectivity, an uninstitutionalized collectivity, large in scope, promotes or opposes changes in societal norms and values, encounters opposition in a moral struggle, and persuasion is pervasive. An organized collectivity means that the social movement has a clear cut leader, spokesperson, member or followers. It also means that the social movement is organized well enough to have campaigns and to be broken down into specific organizations. What is meant by that a social movement has an uninstitutionalized collectivity is that the social movement itself is not part of an established set of orders. The next characteristic says that a social movement must be large in scope. This basically states that the social movement needs to be widespread in the degree of its life span, organizations, leaders, goals, etc. The characteristic where it states that a social movement promotes or opposes changes in societal norms and values is pretty much self-explanatory. The authors are saying that social movements either try to change society or keep society the same. As we continue we come across the characteristic that a social movement encounters opposition in a moral struggle. What the authors are trying to say is that all social movements believe they are doing something that is necessary and that would benefit society, but it is up to society to decide if it’s something that is worthwhile. Finally, the last characteristic is that persuasion is pervasive. The authors are saying that social movements use bargaining, coercion, and persuasion to overcome obstacles.

            I think the NFL Play 60 Social movement is a perfect example of a legitimate social movement. For example it fits the organized collectivity characteristic due to the fact that it has a clear cut spokesperson in Michelle Obama. It also fits uninstitutionalized collectivity characteristic in my opinion, because it is not part of an established set of orders. Play 60 is also large in scope due to the fact that it is widespread and can be found in almost every major U.S. city. Play 60 also promotes changes in society with the emphasis on kids being active. I think it hits the characteristic where it states social movements encounter opposition in a moral struggle due to the fact that some people see exercise as beneficial while others do not. Finally, I believe play 60 is a prime example of how persuasion is pervasive due to the fact that Play 60 is constantly persuading parents to get their children to live a healthy lifestyle.    

Blog Post 2

Summary of social movement characteristics:
An Organized Collectivity- Basically you have to be able to distinguish who is actually participating in the movement. There can't be one leader or one organization. There is a difference between a social movement organization and a social movement because a social movement is not as put together and unified as an organization. An Uninstitutionalized collectivity- They can't be part of a already conceived law with ruled by social structures. Large in scope- they cover a large audience by geographical standpoints as well as the people involved.  It may take much time for change to come about. Promotes or Opposes Changes in Societal Norms and Values- It must call for some kind of new change that sets itself apart. Encounters Opposition in a Moral Struggle- The social movement must be making people aware of something from a good morally correct vision. It has to come from what the supporters believe is right. Persuasion is Pervasive- The social movement must convey a new view of a subject which is usually achieved by persuasion or rhetoric. Like how we discussed the persuasion MLK Jr. attempted in his Letter from Birmingham Jail.

The Hippie Social Movement:
It was quite easy to different who was apart of the movement making it an organized collectivity. Their clothing, hair styles, and way of life was very abnormal for the time. What the "hippies" were doing was not apart of any institution and did not follow social structures previously put in place. It can be considered large in scope because while it started on college campuses, it spread across the United States and other countries. The Hippie Movement was the epitome of the opposite of everything society revered at the time. All norms were being broken and all the values of materialism and the rules put worth by society in the 1950's. Their views were coming from good morals. They wanted to "make love, not war." They were supporters of tolerance, love, openness, and peace. They used peace and love as a way to persuade people to join the movement. Instead of violence or propaganda they used music to evoke emotion and logic. Although they did not help pass any laws they sparked a new thought of free will.

While the Hippie Social Movement may have not produced as much positive results as other movements, by the standards given in the chapter one it is characterized a social movement just not as serious.

Blog Post 2 - Due Thursday, January 30th

In Chapter 1, Stewart, Smith, and Denton give us a list of characteristics that define social movements. Your first task for this blog post is to summarize what those characteristics are in a paragraph.



Once you have your first paragraph written, choose a group that might be considered a social movement and apply each of the textbook's criteria to this group. Do they match the descriptions put forth by the authors? In your opinion, can this group be considered a social movement?

Phil Ochs - Draft Dodger Rag

Lyrics:
Oh, I'm just a typical American boy from a typical American town
I believe in God and Senator Dodd and a-keepin' old Castro down
And when it came my time to serve I knew "better dead than red"
But when I got to my old draft board, buddy, this is what I said:

CHORUS
Sarge, I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen
And I always carry a purse
I got eyes like a bat, and my feet are flat, and my asthma's getting worse
Yes, think of my career, my sweetheart dear, and my poor old invalid aunt
Besides, I ain't no fool, I'm a-goin' to school

And I'm working in a DEE-fense plant

I've got a dislocated disc and a wracked up back
I'm allergic to flowers and bugs
And when the bombshell hits, I get epileptic fits
And I'm addicted to a thousand drugs
I got the weakness woes, I can't touch my toes
I can hardly reach my knees
And if the enemy came close to me
I'd probably start to sneeze

I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen
And I always carry a purse
I got eyes like a bat, and my feet are flat, and my asthma's getting worse
Yes, think of my career, my sweetheart dear, and my poor old invalid aunt
Besides, I ain't no fool, I'm a-goin' to school
And I'm working in a DEE-fense plant

Ooh, I hate Chou En Lai, and I hope he dies,
Onething you gotta see
That someone's gotta go over there
And that someone isn't me
So I wish you well, Sarge, give 'em Hell!
Kill me a thousand or so
And if you ever get a war without blood and gore
I'll be the first to go

Yes, I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen
And I always carry a purse
I got eyes like a bat, and my feet are flat, and my asthma's getting worse
Yes, think of my career, my sweetheart dear, and my poor old invalid aunt
Besides, I ain't no fool, I'm a-goin' to school
And I'm working in a DEE-fense plant

Prep For Thursday, 01-16-14

Class-


I've got a couple of notes I want to give y'all that I think will help the flow of our classroom. First, from now on, I'd like you to have our readings in front of you; that means either print something out or bring a computer to class. If possible, I'd like you to bring a computer so you can refer back to the reading and your blog posts so that you can speak from them.


We got off to a great start last week, but yesterday's class seemed lackluster due to lack of discussion. Bitzer is a hard reading to get through, I understand, but it is a great avenue for understanding the basics of rhetoric. If you had trouble understanding some parts of Bitzer, or just had broad questions and were afraid to ask in front of the class, please email them to me; you will remain anonymous, but it will give me an idea of what I need to go back to tomorrow. In the meantime, here are three passages from Bitzer I want you to re-visit with my own discussion questions; I want you to have responses to tomorrow.

"In contrast, imagine a person spending his time writing eulogies

of men and women who never existed: his speeches meet

no rhetorical situations; they are summoned into existence not

by real events, but by his own Imagination. They may exhibit

formal features which we consider rhetorical — such as ethical

and emotional appeals, and stylistic patterns; conceivably one of

these fictive eulogies is even persuasive to someone; yet all remain

unrhetorical unless, through the oddest of circumstances,

one of them by chance should fit a situation."


Could we conceive of this series of being rhetorical in some way or another? It seems that Bitzer is arguing that in order to be rhetorical, a situation must be non-fictional. Do you agree with this? Why or why not?


"What is evidenced on this occasion

is the power of situation to constrain a fitting response.

One might say metaphorically that every situation prescribes its

fitting response;"


Here, Bitzer is saying that there is only one correct way to respond to a rhetorical situation, and rhetors have a chance of missing the mark completely. Does this seem correct?


"On the other hand, consider a complex but loosely structured situation,

'William Lloyd Garrison preaching abolition from town to town.

He is actually looking for an audience and for constraints; even

when he finds an audience, he does not know that it is a genuinely

rhetorical audience — one able to be mediator of change.

Or consider the plight of many contemporary civil rights advocates

who, failing to locate compelling constraints and rhetorical

audiences, abandon rhetorical discourse in favor of physical

action."

So, physical action isn't rhetorical? Is that what Bitzer is saying? Do you agree or disagree?

Please look over these and come to class prepared to talk tomorrow; I'm going to try something new to get y'all talking. Have a good one.

Blog # 1

1. Ethos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ULR68LTmbw

The entire objective of this Colgate commercial is to persuade more people to buy Colgate White. The Colgate commercial convinces the audience that this is the "best" toothpaste on the market by using interviews of users claiming it is the great in removing plaque. An additional source is the dentist himself, whom also advocates that Colgate does its job well in removing plaque. The audience will tend not to question the credibility of the doctor and be more inclined to buy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBxC0KQm7LM

Pathos/Logos 

This video entitled Back to Innocence deals with sex trafficking in the United States. It would appeal to both Logos and Pathos because while it gives some statistics and important information on sex trafficking it also deals with emotional aspect of this situation. People see young girls in distress in vulnerable situations and feel inclined to help end sex trafficking. Statistics just aid in reassuring the audience that what they are viewing is factual.

2. An example of the Rhetorical situation in the public sphere would be the ongoing debate about health care in the United States and the implementation of Obama Care. This issue is situational becomes it is now more then ever a greater concern for Americans (exigence). Since many people go uninsured the President must come up with a solution. In his speeches he targets those uninsured (audience) and convince them his solution is a good one but must also accommodate those that already have insurance (constraints). 

3.  I think that Rhetoric is the way a person can persuade others through the art of speech or writing/photography. Someone that analyze a situation, comprehend it, and can intelligently reciprocate a response uses rhetoric well. Rhetoric deals with the meanings and perceptions of reality and appeals to the logic and emotion to interpret it.