Blog Post#3

Research Question: How does your life experiences shape your story that identifies you today?


When I feel misrepresented, I feel as though a part of my identity, has been stolen or taken away in some way. I wanted the person to know that I was different that what they perceived me to be. Depending on the situation and the person, I will comment in a subtle way or sometimes not even respond. However, misrepresentation is a large issue that when the whole picture is not available, the consequences can be large. Having the same offense over and over again can lead to problems that forcible reshape the person’s identity.


Dear Future Jon,


The biggest take away from the readings, in class discussions, and podcasts has to deal with the identity of oneself. Now for me, I am unsure of where to go with that question, but one guiding question from Tara Blach is “What is it like to be you?” To further that point, what is it like to be you today? This idea of relating to others is critical to the idea of diversity. No one person is exactly like the other, therefore, each person has a unique story or experience to share. To be an effective human communicator, I must first establish that my life and someone’s else life is not the same, so I cannot approach it as such. For an effective interview, I must not act as an eye in the sky looking down on someone, but as a human talking to another human right in the eye. Camille Dungy puts this idea in context at her Church as All those people you listed, I continued, we are not “on the outside of society looking in.” We are part of this society! We are at the very center of what America has been built upon. But the rhetoric you used during that prayer is a rhetoric of exclusion.” Here it is clear, that an us versus them mentality not only degrades the idea of society, but forces silenced voices to be meaningless. However, every voice has equal worth and in my interview, my interview will hold the sole voice as it is their interview. I want to give a politically correct interview. Under the words of Franchesca Ramsey, “Political correctness is avoiding words or behaviors that exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.” Here, my behavior would include everything that a person would to say and not be discriminated against. To address ethos, logos, and pathos, I would ask specific questions. For ethos, how would you feel if someone described you as someone that you were not? What would you do it response and why? For logos, if someone were to ask about your experiences, what would you tell them to understand your story from your point of view that no one else would have understood? For pathos, what successes and struggles did you overcome to be where you are today?


List of people:

I have one person that I know who is willing to be interviewed. She has a powerful story that is directly related to the rhetorical situation of immigration in this country. As a Dreamer in college, I want to be able to give a platform to which she can share her story and have a voice.
From what I have gathered, my role in this interview is to not press a certain idea or look for a certain answer, but to establish a set of guidelines in which a story can be told. I want the perspective of the subject to have all of the attention, while I sit in the background conducting the process. I do not want a single story to be the end all and be all for this vast subject of immigration, but to have a tangible story that can be relatable while still gaining some sort of meaning beyond the idea of “another interview.”

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