Maxwell's blog

Submitted by Maxwell on January 28, 2012 - 12:39pm

Dear Blogorians,

After watching the State of the Union Address (and following the conversation about it on this blog), I realized just how much the President acts as a historian in this speech and others.

The Artistry of the Book Review

Submitted by Maxwell on November 28, 2011 - 10:43pm

Dear Blogorians,

In my last post I wrote about the ups and downs of my first conference experiences. After some networking during one of those conferences, I was lucky enough to be offered the opportunity to write a book review for a journal I had actually heard of. I quickly agreed. And now that the book has been read, the deadline is fast approaching.

South Central MLA

Submitted by Maxwell on October 25, 2011 - 12:50am

After my most excellent experience at the FemRhet Conference in Mankato (referenced on this blog here and here), I'm excited to hit the road again this week for my first taste of a regional MLA conference. Of course, it would have been much closer for me to attend the Midwest MLA (held this year in St. Louis, a mere hopskipjump from Mizzou), but since there's no standing panel in Rhetoric at the MMLA, and since the SCMLA is nothing more than a short 7-hour drive through the Ozark Mountains from Columbia, I decided to point my wagon south.

Mr Maxwell Goes to Washington

Submitted by Maxwell on July 30, 2011 - 8:26pm

My Rhetorical Criticism Prof. (thanks Dr. McKinney) sent me a link to a NYT story about a new exhibit at the National Archive. With “What’s Cooking Uncle Sam?” the archive scooped my dissertation idea by documenting the government’s ever-present impact on the food culture in this country.

In need of a definition

Submitted by Maxwell on May 3, 2011 - 10:17pm

Greetings Blogorians,

Perhaps you faithful readers of the Blogora can help me with a definition.

Rhetoric of Inquiry

Submitted by Maxwell on April 17, 2011 - 5:51pm

Since the beginning of my graduate work, I've been interested by the concept of interdisciplinarity. It might have something to do with the way I was introduced to the study of Rhetoric, but it makes sense in my mind: Rhetoric can speak to other disciplines and other disciplines have equally as much to say to Rhetoric. In this vein, I've become interested in how various disciplines function rhetorically.

Costello and Abbot: A Travesty

Submitted by Maxwell on February 26, 2011 - 3:27pm

Previously, I've blogged about coming to terms with the ampersand here at the Blogora.

Historical Fail

Submitted by Maxwell on February 19, 2011 - 3:26pm

I'm in a socio-Linguistics course called Regional and Social Dialects of American English.

Rhetoric of Legislation

Submitted by Maxwell on February 15, 2011 - 12:55am

Do any of you faithful Blogora readers know a good place to start looking at the rhetoric of political legislation?

Arguing and Preventative Ethics

Submitted by Maxwell on February 8, 2011 - 3:43pm

'What's your argument?' Get to what you're arguing.' 'How can you develop this argument further?' I've been asked all of these questions in person or in comments on written work, often with the assumption that I know how to negotiate the argumentative process. One of the most difficult aspects of academic writing for me is creating, developing, and ultimately proving an argument. In fact, in my experience it's taken for granted that graduate students are well-aware of what's expected of their arguments. With myself as primary evidence, this is not always the case.
So I've decided, with the help of a seminar called Arguing Differently, to take a more critical look at the strategies, skills, conventions, and alternatives in my understanding of academic argumentation.