Class 10/14

Answer to Question #1:

I found that the three terms from Lazere's article that most closely aligned with Corbett and Eberly's discussion of Citizen Criticism were "Rogerian Argument", "partisan viewpoint", and "guilt by association".  Lazere explain that Rogerian Argument is the technique of addressing the opponent in order to fully understand their argument and thus empathize with them. This is similar to the way Corbett and Eberly says Citizen Criticism should invoke and address the opponent. Lazere defines partisan viewpoint as simply a view that someone sides with, which in Citizen Criticism can be defined as one's bias. Lazere's "guilt by association" is similar to Corbett and Eberly's description of "personal attacks". Personal Attacks in citizen criticism is a diversion by attacking the opponent and advancing the issue instead of addressing it. Guilt by Association can be considered a form of personal attack, as Lazere defines it as distorting the ideas of the opponent with extreme positions.

In "The New Jim Crow", Michelle Alexander reveals her bias or "partisan viewpoint" in the explanation of her exigence for writing the article. Alexander not only explains her viewpoint, but she also says how she came to have it, revealing that she use to think differently. She's able to identify with her opponent and reason with them, instead of attacking them.

Alexander also uses Rogerian Argument technique by identifying with the viewpoint of her opponent. By sympathizing with them, and understanding why Americans who haven't spent time incarcerated may not be aware of a caste system, she aims to make her opponents empathize with her.

I don't think Alexander really uses "guilt by association" in her article, but something else that's noteworthy is her example of "THE DRUG WAR IS THE NEW JIM CROW". When she didn't believe incarceration was a form of a caste system, Alexander took this as extremist, but she eventually came to this viewpoint once she took her new job.


Answer to Question #3:

I found that Corbett and Eberly's and Lazere's articles furthered the definition of Miller and Shepherd's "Blogging As a Social Action". The blog is a popular and accelerated form of citizen criticism. Miller and Shepherd emphasized the importance of kairos and the content of blogs. They say semantics is a vitally important part of blogging for readers, as bloggers are able to combine the "immediately real and genuinely personal". This also seems to be a hallmark of citizen criticism, as citizens use their own experiences to comment on the state of the public or certain communities. Corbertt and Eberly and Lazere in their articles seem to give framework for citizen criticism in any medium, but particularly through blogs.