ENGL098 Bashforth 27 Aug. 2007 Page 1 of 2 Position Paper READINGS: 1. “How Does Language Affect the Meanings People Assign to Experience?” CR pp. 1-5 2. “In Times of Terror, Teens Talk the Talk.” (Wax:6-9; Cornwell 10) CR pp. 6-10 3. “Bush Ads Anger Families of 9/11 Victims.” CR pp.11-12 4. “9/11 Families Show Support for Bush Ads.” CR pp.13-14 5. Berger’s Interview with CNN – Overview (March 2002) CR: p. 14a 6. “Pearl Harbor Remote to Teens” CR pp.15-16* 7. “Have You Heard the One About Katrina?” CR pp. 17-18* 8. Koehler, “Metaphor of War Disrupts Choreography of Life” CR pp. 19-20 9. Smith, “De-militarizing Language” CR pp. 21-24 BACKGROUND: You are the first completely wired generation, having come of age immersed in technology: computers and the Internet; cell phones that make videos and send text messages; MP3 players, PDA’s etc. You have grown up “reading” the world in ways that neither your grandparents nor your parents could ever have imagined and, perhaps, may not even be able to begin to understand. Just five months after the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and within days of each other in March 2002, advertising guru Warren Berger gave a television interview (3/23/02) and journalist Emily Wax had an article published in the Washington Post (3/20/02) about 9/11’s impact on the way we use language to describe the world. In our readings and through class discussions, we have examined the impact that the 9/11 terrorist attacks have had on both the language of advertising and the way we speak in our less public conversations. Berger’s interview and Wax’s article each present a different snapshot of the same moment in time. While Berger refers to the post 9/11 language of advertising as undergoing “an abruptly sobering maturity,” claiming that long-absent words like “trust, history, integrity, and track record” are finding their way back into the media, Wax paints quite a different picture, describing a world populated by “brazen adolescents with their energy and uninhibited desire to craft their own language.” (Italics added) WRITING TASK: Begin by revisiting the readings you have analyzed in your group today. Think about the car ads we analyzed together and what it means to “read” the world around us and how our “reading” of that reality is reflected in the language we use. Then formulate your position on this topic and respond to the question below in a well-developed, integrated paper of approximately 3-4 pages. How is it possible that the same event, i.e. the 9/11 terrorist attacks , could spark such markedly different “language events” as Berger and Wax describe?Bashforth Position Paper 27 Aug 07 Page 2 of 2 TO HELP YOU DEVELOP IDEAS FOR YOUR PAPER:  Define what Berger and Wax mean by “sobering reality” and “brazen adolescents.”  Identify what factors allow for these seemingly polar opposites to co-exist.  What evidence do both Berger and Wax each offer to support their individual positions on why these particular language patterns have emerged?  In the differing realities presented by Berger and Wax, is language portrayed as our slave or our master?  What would make the families of 9/11 victims see the ads so differently?  How might the Katrina article fit into this paper?  How might the “Pearl Harbor Remote to Teens?” fit into this paper? Suggestions:  Do choose a side and argue for it using the sources to support your claims and remember to acknowledge that others may have a different point of view from yours.  You’ll need to rely on Robbins (#1) to help establish the language issue.  Don’t try to use all 9 (7 required reading and 2 optional) sources in a paper this short – it won’t work out well in such a short paper. Format: We will be a little less formal in this paper than we will be in the Major Essays we write later in the semester. For this Position Paper, you will not have to provide a Works Cited list, but you will need to have some sort of an in-text citations in place for your direct quotes (i.e. for the author’s exact words, you need “” and the page numbers they came from in the Course Reader) and for summaries or paraphrases of the author’s ideas, you don’t need “” , but you’ll still need the author’s name and page numbers. Due: Sunday, Sep. 2, 2007, by 12 Noon, email me a Word Document saved in Rich Text Format. *Optional