Posted this on my blog ( http://wawsnakemountain.blogspot.com/) and got no bites. So here we go.
Revised Topic for Assignment #1
My original aim was to look at the role Confidence (in the sense of
con-man and charlatans, not simply believing one can do something) takes
in establishing voice and credibility in writing. This was too
ambitious, as are most of my preliminary attempts. I framed my argument
largely on Edgar Allan Poe's "Diddling Considered as One of the Exact
Sciences," a piece I was familiarized with by Dr. Thomas Fick in a
course about the Confidence Game in American Literature and which I
implemented in my paper about Brer Rabbit and Bugs Bunny "The Confidence
Rabbit," and I sought to out many writers as "diddlers." Having
reasoned the argument out and added Peter Elbow and a few other sources,
I realized there was no argument here to be had: writers are "diddlers."
So instead, I will examine the use of narratives to establish trust and
whether or not this is a fair trick for an academic paper. At what
point does the writer risk exposing their game to the reader? What makes
some papers worthy of the price of admission and others a rock or two
to chase them out of town? And do "you" and "one" really mean the same
thing? Watch the cups.
Brandon,
ReplyDeleteIntriguing as far as it goes so far and full of potential Your actual proposal is the last few sentences. It might be a too narrow view of the uses of narrative in academic writing. You refer to it as a trick from your confidence game trope but I think that reduces it to a rhetorical ploy. When is it a ploy and when a sincere entry? Is the sense of trust only located in the narrative element or does it depend on other factors as well? How else does it function?
Look at narrative, narrative introductions, academic writing, ethos, credibility, etc. Take this further asap.
--AR
I'll most likely delve into narrative introductions. I'll look at the role of ethos and pathos at a few specific examples. It'll be a day or so before I can generate a more focused view, bogged down with the blog. The assignment is very Meta and I often get in over my head in those situations —but I always surface. I'll try to post a revised revision as soon as I can. Thanks
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