Rhetorical Analysis

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

Analyzing the codes used in the University of Arizonas Natural Science On-line Class Attendance Policy, a genre emerges disparaging the traditional view that knowledge is sharpened through the exchange of ideas. To make the class more appealing to non-traditional students the University has designed an attendance policy which does not eliminate traditional forms of interaction, but instead devalues them subversively thus discounting their necessity. Connotations within the policy divert the unsuspecting student into a particular learning mode. This mode, unappreciative of the insights a typical class would normally culture, does not encourage the student to be "present" mentally, an imperative aspect of becoming educated in a cyber class. Therefore by establishing the existence of these de-prioritizing codes, and the extent to which they must inevitably shape the interpretation of the text, we can clarify the level of interaction the policy genuinely intends. We see then the probability of students relating to the individualistic tone of the policy and discounting the requirements to attend to and with others.

A rhetorical perspective emphasizing specifically the mechanisms of language utilized in the policy allows a less biased examination of it. The author initiates the use of codes, which manipulate aspects of communication and direct the reader subconsciously to an underlying agenda. Simply he guides students responses through style and implication. The author is deliberate, yet subtle in approach. He recognizes some students' have reasons for opting to take such a course, so he gears the policy towards generic commonality- he wrote to the student who desired convenience rather than human contact. Thus whether they fuel pre-existing notions or they coerce the reader into following the policy's understated design, these codes ultimately dehumanize the classroom for perspective students. Codes in this policy echo the contemporary craving for isolation even as it appears to suggest attending sites and connections with other students.

The particulars surrounding the relatively new cyber space attendance have been left vague, and there lacks clarification and guidelines. Clear boundaries and expectations have been omitted deliberately. The author uses this device to infuse a sense of individualism into the policy. For example, he does require his students to "fully participate in this class by making connections with other instructors and students through e-mail and threaded discussions on the Internet," [3, Course Description], but he does not stipulate the extent to which these connections be made. Some form of communication is considered valuable, but the amount has been left to student discretion.