C1: “Persuasion in Action.” Bring in some example of an attempt at persuasion, i.e., an example of rhetoric in everyday life. It could be an advertisement, a speech, something a friend said, a newspaper article, part of a lecture, an image, etc. What distinguishes this attempt to persuade from other objects that share the same medium? (For example, what makes this image/text persuasive while some other images/texts serve a non-persuasive end?) How does it go about its attempt at persuasion? To what extent does it succeed? What difference does its medium make? Does it exert some influence or have some effect that is not a matter of persuasion? The idea is not to answer each of these questions, but to approach your example critically, to have thought about what it means that this thing is (trying to be) a persuasive thing. Be prepared to present your example and analysis of it to the class, given about two minutes. C2: The Phaedrus. You have been divided into groups of (at least) three. Each group is responsible for answering all of the following questions. Your answers will form the basis for discussion in Tuesday’s class. Though you can certainly divide the questions among the individuals in your group, you should discuss these answers as a group before class, so that any of you is prepared to answer any of the questions. The written response to each of the three sections should be about two paragraphs, no more than one double-spaced page. 1. Plato writes in this peculiar form, a dialog with more than one character. What impact does this have on the strength of his arguments and what impact on the nature of his project? 2. Plato writes three speeches on love. What is the point of having three speeches, what lesson do we learn from this multiplicity of speeches? In the speech Plato seems most committed to, Socrates outlines a theory about how souls are like horses and riders, galloping around the universe. Does this image have any power over us modern readers? Why or why not? 3. Plato argues that the ultimate rhetoric is that rhetoric inscribed on the soul of a man. What does this mean, and do you buy it? Finally, each group should find one argument in Plato’s dialog that seems effective and one that does not seemeffective. Be prepared to offer these examples in class and discuss why they were or were not effective arguments. C3: For those not participating in the debate, write a single paragraph on the D1 debate topic, offering a sketch of one argument you find most persuasive for either side of the debate. C4: Proposal for A3. Please write a proposal outlining your plans for the essay, A3. The proposal should be no more than one double-spaced page, about two medium-length paragraphs. Your proposal should specify which technology you plan to look at and where you will find the examples of rhetoric relating to that technology. You should also indicate at least broadly what your thesis might be or why you think this will be a good choice of technology. Please email to me your proposal by Saturday, November 6, at