Appendecies

APPENDICIES

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APPENDIX A: LITERATURE REVIEW

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My research contains information that has been very well researched because it happens to be the most talked about topic in the news today. Since Barack Obama was elected president on November 4, 2008 there have been many articles about his character and how his ideals fit with that of the nation he has just persuaded to vote him into office. By using articles, like Gorge Lakoff’s “What made a great Speech great,” I was able to better understand from a linguist and scholar understand the importance Obama has made in creating unity in our country. According to Lakoff, Obama bring the country together because he speaks about our collective ideals and values and the importance of helping each other, a kind of social responsibility. I used Lokoff because he is a scholar that has done research on government politics which I found useful as well. I would not, though, include an article that is bias and without information to back up their claim. The second piece of evidence that was crucial to my research was the speech, ‘A More Perfect Union’ by Barack Obama. The reason why I chose this speech was because as I watched it, the emotions stirred inside my soul, and I knew this was a very special moment. Later, with the news media, and the conversations in class it was confirmed. The speech helped mend the sadness and helped unify a country racially divided. More importantly it was a speech that reminded the people of America what we stood for, what we were founded on, and how we can help make the American dream a reality. With empathy, compassion, a new form of politics Obama has begun the journey for us, and he has given us the opportunity to follow.

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APPENDIX B: INTERDISCIPLINARY REFLECTION

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I was seventeen when I took my first Human Communication course, HCOM 211: Reading Writing and Critical Thinking. Fresh out of High School and with no real communication skills whatsoever, I thought I knew everything about communicating with others. I believed being bold, loud, condescending, and, of course, winning was the goal in any conversation, and I was wrong. I have come a long way from those adolescent years, and have continued to work on becoming a socially conscious, ethical thinker. This course, as young as I may have been, and as long ago as it was, gave me the power to create the solid foundation I am standing on today. This course gave me a glimpse of how communicating effectively can create a better world, and to believe that as a diverse society, we can become partners in changing culturally diverse world. And even as I finished my HCOM 309: Intercultural Communication Relating to Whiteness course this semester, I was reaffirmed that this is true. The culmination of courses I received have given me the opportunity to become aware of the injustices of the past and in societies today, but they have also given me the hope that by becoming better communicators we may be able to arrive sooner. The HCOM department has not only been a great place to start and finish my undergraduate work, it has also been a great place to study history, learn media skills, archive oral histories, and create lifelong friendships. I suppose the one thing I do regret is not making more time in the courses I have taken, in order to retrieve all the information I could. These courses have given me the strength to make my current relationships work and the tools needed to teach my daughter how to become an effective, compassionate, and empathic communicator.

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This capstone was definitely a journey. I started off strong in pre-capstone by allowing myself ample time to research sources and create the beginnings of a great interdisciplinary capstone. As the Capstone course began I saw there were challenges in my capstone topic I was unable to fix in a short period of time so I changed my topic and started researching as my peers began to write. I made several adjustments, two 10 page drafts that were rejected, and finally after a month or so of deliberating a topic I began writing the capstone you hold in your hand. I stayed up late, woke up early, borrowed books, accumulated about 100 pages of notes and then I started to write. It was stressful on my daughter, my partner, my professors, and ultimately on me. Yet I was not worried, I knew I had the tools and resources it took to make a great capstone, and ultimately, I had professors that believed in me. Once I garnered a topic, I pulled all the necessary books from my shelf that I had kept from other courses and reviewed the scribbled notes I left at the end of the chapters. I used the internet as a resource, articles and current newspapers for inspiration. Ultimately, what I learned throughout the process was to create and keep up to date appointments wit your professors, and to write as much before the course begins in order to work out the kinks. I also learned that keeping books from previous courses are extremely useful because they are somewhat summarized, and are highlighted. I also leaned that taking math and a capstone course at the same time is stressful, but with help from family and friends it is manageable.

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APPENDIX C: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPY

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Corbett, Edward P., and Robert J. Connors. Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. This book includes material that explains rhetoric in three different forms: argument arrangement, and style. In my research I only used Chapter 2, the Arrangement of Arguments, as a point of interest. This book concluded that the ability to persuade is not merely used to prove an argument; as it may be, we are human being that have are free to make good and bad choice, thus persuade on behalf of good will and/or self interest. This was a great resource because it helped me better grasp the concept of persuasion, and the different definitions that have been allocated to it by prominent philosophers over a period of time. This book is research based, and contains information from many different scholars that make this source extremely reliable, and it is currently on its fourth edition. This is a helpful tool in shaping my argument because it proves that the art of persuasion is nothing new. This helps shape my argument by allowing me to better understand the importance a speech makes in regards to someone’s character. Ideally, we assume that someone who has the ability to persuade, “exclusively on the level of reason,” but this is not very common. Therefore Barack Obama, who has chosen to take the path less taken to create social change, should be considered one of the most current agents of change on this reason especially.

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Lama, Dalai. Ethics for the New Millennium. New York: Riverhead Trade (Paperbacks), 2001. The Dalai Lama reflects on the power of empathy. He suggests that by becoming more understanding, compassionate, and caring we can achieve a deeper level of happiness. He discuses different ways we can become a universal society that dependent from on another, and lays out the groundwork to help us achieve this. Through different levels of commitment, like virtue, restraint, compassion that can lead to peace throughout the world. I use an excerpt from chapter eight, The Ethic of Compassion in order to provide how compassion does not only create well being to those you help, but it does so to the person being compassionate. I found this source extremely useful in trying to understand how ethics play a role in building a greater society, and how Obama identifies through his speech such thinking. I find this book reliable because it comes from a person who lives his beliefs in his daily life. He is educated in his religion and the world’s stance on religion. He hope to achieve, I believe, to be a good person above all else, and to help others achieve this as well. It brings a new perspective to my research because I am able to understand how important being ethical in the new millennium and beyond really is. That we must cherish one another’s core values at the human level in order to have peace and harmony. It gives me the compare his work to that of Obama’s and how they are similar, and where they are difference.

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Lakoff, George. "What Made Obama's Speech Great." Alter Net. 26 Mar. 2008. 29 Oct. 2008. .

Topic: Is the speech “A More Perfect Union” about race? Position: No. It is about Americans core values and ideals.

As individuals we have different ways of seeing and being in the world, yet we all want similar things and hold similar values. The most fundamental of them is democracy and our ability to hold the law of the land as a stepping stone to what we want to achieve. So when Barack Obama was under “severe political attack” he choose not solely to talk about race or policies, instead he described the country as he sees it. Lokoff did not, though, disregard the speech as a race speech, yet he concluded that it was much more “about inclusiveness not divisiveness; about responsibility for each other not just oneself; about seeing the country and world in terms of cooperation, not competition or isolation.” And he strongly agrees with what Obama by “exemplifying those themes” where personal responsibility is not about self-interest but about helping others. This is a great example of how I plan to lay out the foundation to my research paper. I will use this article as a tool to better understand how and why the speech was written. It creates a better understanding of how I may see and understand the “race speech” Obama gave, but better yet and example of the way people are seeing the world at this point in our history.

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Gutierrez, David G. Walls and Mirrors - Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants and the Politics of Ethnicity. New York: University of California P, 1995. Walls and Mirrors is meant to inform the reader of the past 100 years of history relating to Mexican Americans and Immigrants in the Southwest. He covers a range of history that starts from the early 1848 to 1980’s. He informs the reader of the tragedy’s, hope, and the importance behind the history, and of the ethical dilemmas occurring in politics throughout these times. This book also covered Cesar Chavez that pertains to my research to depict who and what he has done for the Farm workers in California. I find this book to be extraordinarily precise, on topic, and factual. This book is a great resource if trying to understand or learn the history of the Mexican people, and culture. Compared to another counterpart like, “Mexicanos” by Manuel G. Gonzales, Mr. Gutierrez relies on statistical data that includes personal quotes that make his arguments stronger, and more helpful. The goal of this book is merely to inform the reader of the historical value behind the Mexican people, and to understand their present by first understanding their past. This book was extremely helpful because it gave me the resources to fill in the blanks for Cesar Chavez, and the history behind and throughout his fight to create a Union for the farm workers in Delano, California and beyond.

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Hall Jamieson, Kathleen. Eloquence in an Electronic Age : The Transformation of Political Speechmaking. New York: Oxford UP, Incorporated, 1990. There are many arguments Jamieson tries to point out in her book, but the most relevant to my research was about how a great speech is able, and will to transcend through time. She is able to put together a compilation of speeches and cite their significance today, as well as one could have at the time they were made. She covers the different eras and how those eras are now marked by their famous speeches. This is an extremely useful book because it was bias, she agreed and wanted other to agree with her that there is significance behind speechmaking, and now with a new era of technical gadgets it will become more impressive. This book, however fairs rather well when it is compared to current articles about, for example, how Obama’s speech is a new force because of his eloquent style and will, like JFK and MLK depict to other generation the turmoil that was happening at the beginning of the 21st century. This book was useful because it laid the foundation to better understand how speech, or the eloquence of speech can and will transcend time. A theme I will use in my paper. This book correlates with what I want my research paper to resonate, the importance of speech, and how Obama, with his ‘A More Perfect’ Union resonates. The book, though, is a bit outdated, and lacks current information that includes social networking as a tool.

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Mandela, Nelson. Mandela: An Illustrated Autobiography. Boston: Little Brown & Company, 1996. The point of this book was to describe Mandela’s process from being a young boy to becoming a hopeful, compassionate, understanding, man who only wanted to help his country move towards a more equal society. He points out the many atrocities that have occurred in South Africa, and how the government has aided in those efforts to keep the African people away from the minority ‘white” Afrikaan’s. It ends when he leaves prison, after being in jail for 27 years, to become part of the first democratic election in South Africa. He won that election, and became the first Black President. This source is reliable because it was an autobiographical book that was written by Mandela himself. Mandela stays objective. He does not denote anyone, rather he lays the facts down so others can make their mind over what they think should be considered illminded. The information corresponds to what was happening in the country at the time, and it comes with pictures to really bring life to his words, as sad as some may be. This book was helpful in understanding Mandela for whom he was and who he has became, as well as giving me the history of South Africa. I was able to pick out the similarities and the differences between Obama and Mandela, and the significance this holds.

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Obama, Barack. "'A More Perfect Union'" Press Speech. Constitutional Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 18 Mar. 2008. The foundation of this country was completed with the understanding that we are not a country of individuals; we are a country that believes "we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together.” Obama clearly marks how important it is and has been for change to happen to a country that has yet been able to understand its potential. And although the nation is not perfect, "This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected." Our strengths then is our democracy and our ability to unite in order to make sure things become better for the people of America, and beyond. Obama's speech depicts not only love for this country, his family, or religious values he is also able to stretch the understanding of how and why we should care and be a more empathic society. "The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy." That we can achieve greatness and our kids can be great, united we can make thing happen. I plan on using Obama's speech as a main point in my essay because it clearly states where the majority of the nations way of being and seeing is in the 2008 presidential election. His ability to use rhetoric not only persuade but to place the importance of empathy as a core value is one main reason the nation is becoming more aware of its individual role in the policies of today, and tomorrow.

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Obama, Barack. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. New York: Crown, 2006. Obama argues about the important of shared values, and the inconsistencies the government has avoided in acknowledging them. He points out that we must be able to able to understand how our country was formed to truly understand its magnificence. He covers his own personal life story as well as his stance on the war in Iraq, values, and government. This was a great source because I was able to learn more about what Obama stood for, and what his thoughts were on many pressing issues that have also been dealt with in the past by others. This is a reliable source because it was written by Obama himself, which makes it just as reliable as the speech he gave in Philadelphia. The goal was to inform. To inform the audience about who he was, where he has been and how this has shaped his thoughts for a better future. I thought this was a great resource because it gave me a chance to read what was important for him, and how he felt about the situation he was writing about. This book helps shape my argument that Obama is currently our agent of change. He has been able to effectively communicate his values and beliefs for the future of this country and beyond by helping others see them and taking action because they want to see that vision come true too. That is the power Obama has the ability to mobilize people, to think beyond themselves, and feel a sense of common responsibility.

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APPENDIX D: ELECTRONIC POSTER

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HCOM SENIOR CAPSTON DIGITAL POSTER FALL 2008 Beatriz Mendoza Agents of Change History, Oral History and New Media and Writing and Rhetoric Project Abstract: President elect-Barack Obama has become synonymous for hope in the eyes of the American people, and abroad. I address the following question: How do Barack Obama’s characteristics mirror other agents of social change in his fight for social equality? This is important because we are living in an age of selfinterest and individual responsibility that creates divisiveness, inequalities, and harbors resentments that ultimately undermine our quality of life. By understanding agents of change throughout history we are able to see how Obama mirrors them, and why we should follow in his footsteps to create a better tomorrow, for all our children.

Project Context & Contributions: I hope to contribute a better understanding of our new presidents ability to create a new America that is aware and socially responsible in creating a better future.

Selected Research Questions: -

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How do Barack Obama’s characteristics mirror other agents of social change in his fight for social equality? Why is this important? Who does he mirror? What are the characteristics mirrored by Obama?

Key Findings:

Barack Obama’s educational background has proven successful in gathering the masses by giving them the opportunity to understand the history that plagues the black , white, Latino, Asian, and Native America people of the United States. He has crossed cultural boundaries to create a more unified society. Obama, like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez, the Dalai Lama, and Mahatma Gandhi all share the following characteristics: Optimism, Passion, Courage, Fair-Mindedness, and Moral Courage.

Evidence: My research contained primary sources that I used throughout my paper as evidence in my comparisons. This made my evidence of comparison stronger because I was comparing Obama to other agents of change directly.

Select Bibliography: Lakoff, George. "What Made Obama's Speech Great." Alter Net. 26 Mar. 2008. 29 Oct. 2008 Obama, Barack H. "'A More Perfect Union'" National Constitution Center, Philidalphia, Pensylvania. 18 Mar. 2008. Nichols, John. "Mandela's Message." The Nation. 05 Nov. 2008. 15 Dec. 2008. Mandela, Nelson. "Text of Nelson Mandela’s Letter to Senator Obama." 5 Nov. 2008. New York Times. 15 Dec. 2008 Corbett, Edward P., and Robert J. Connors. Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. New York: Oxford UP, 1998 Gutierrez, David G. Walls and Mirrors Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants and the Politics of Ethnicity. New York: University of California P, 1995 "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." The King Center. 2004. 15 Dec. 2008 . “Biographical Outline of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” The King Center. 2004. 15 Dec. 2008. Mandela, Nelson. Mandela: An Illustrated Autobiography. Boston: Little Brown & Company, 1996.

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