Week 6 Prompt

Find a logical fallacy in either Chapter 4 or Chapter 5 of Eating Animals. Point out what fallacy it is (either its specific name or give a description of it) and why this particular section in EA is a fallacy. Take a look at Heinrichs or http://yourlogicalfallacyis.com for descriptions. 

Alternatively, if you don't want to find a logical fallacy, you can point out a piece of logic that is not a fallacy, and explain why it is good logic, based on what Heinrichs says. 

Knightly-week5

This week in rhetoric me and the group I was assigned went to a coffee shop in Iowa City called T-Spoons.  We went there to analyze the rhetoric of a coffee shop.  At first I thought this was a weird activity.  I was thinking why we would go to a coffee shop to analyze the rhetoric of it.  After doing analyzing it I realized I was wrong.  I actually liked this activity, it was good to get out of the classroom and use the skills we have been learning about.  It was also good to get to know other kids in the class.  T-Spoons was a very unique coffee shop.  It had its own feel to it, and it wasn’t like the other expensive coffee shops.  It took its own stance as a shop and sold cheap coffee to college students.  Overall this was a great experience.  I hope we do more things like this in the future. After we analyzed the shop we gave a speech about our findings the next day in class.  I don’t really like to give speeches so this activity was good for me in preparing me for future speeches.  My group and I all worked well together and that is another reason this was a good activity.  We all contributed and gave our own input.  It will be good to hopefully get to know more people in the class by doing more activities like this. 

Week 5 Kenny Levine

The rhetoric of a coffee shop was a very interesting, unique assignment.  Like many others, I never looked at public spaces as having rhetorical qualities.  It was fun going around to different parts of Iowa City that I wouldn't ordinarily visit and have class outside of the classroom.  I had no idea how much thought goes into the decorations and organization of these coffee shops.  When previously visiting certain establishments, it never even occurred to me that the chairs, tables, menu layout, decorations in the room were there for a specific purpose.   However, I felt like for the group presentation, our group could've done a little better.  One thing I noticed is that most of the groups seemed more prepared and organized with their speeches than ours was.  Even though we all felt like we had a sufficient amount of information, it didn't necessarily translate into the speech I felt.  However, aside from that I definitely enjoyed the rhetoric of a coffee shop assignment.  It was a fun and different assignment that really challenged my thinking.

Week 5 Poulsen

I thought the analyzing of a coffee shop project was fun and interesting.  It really opened up my eyes to what a space can say just by how it is decorated or even painted.   I personally am not a huge coffee drinker or even a coffee drinker at all for that matter.  For this reason I found this project more incite full and it even encouraged me to check out other coffee shops to see how they differ and why.  I kind of felt weird doing this but I also thought it would be interesting to analyze where I spend most of my time, the ice rink.  When analyzing the ice rink I realized that everything I really like or enjoy doing was surrounding me.  The up keep of the rink was close to something that I would have to in my house and the colors and smells reminded me of home also.  After analyzing this rink I was able to see why I spend so much time there it was because this place reminded me so much like home and made me feel comfortable.  I can safely say that that rink would act as a 3^rd space for me due to all of the hours I have spent there.  I could almost call this rink a second home the only reason I really leave is because of class and school work.  If it weren’t for those Im not sure I would ever leave. 

Week 4 Poulsen

In chapter 3 the author Safran Foer describes the work Bycatch.  At first I didn’t really think anything about this work until he puts it in the context of the sea creatures.  When he describes this word it explains that when we go to the store and buy some shrimp were not actually just buying those shrimp.  In reality were actually buying a whole group of animals that were killed just to catch those shrimp but were in the way.  This really stood out to me because he names animals like sharks, whales, dolphins and turtles.  These animals never come into mind when someone sits down to eat or buy shrimp.  After reading this section it made me curios about what all goes on just to make a hamburger or bacon in the morning.  Safran Foer has brought to my attention that the average person knows next to nothing about what they are actually eating and where it came from.  I for one love Sushi and now when I eat sushi I am more curious about what other animals have been killed just so I can enjoy a dinner meal.    The word Bycatch by definition means the portion of a commercial fishing catch that consists of marine animals caught unintentionally.  This may seem rather straight forward but when Safran Foer actually names the names of animals we are able to get a better idea of what animals are actually being killed and it makes the word seem more harmful than just the base definition.

Week 5-Dani Reed

         I thought the rhetoric coffee shop assignment was unique because we were able to take what we learned in class and use it to analyze a place in the real world. Rarely do students get to do a hands-on activity like that and I think it helps show that what one is learning in class actually does pertain to everyday life even though you may not see it at first. I liked how the groups were small because it forced everyone to participate. At first this assignment was odd for me because I go to coffee shops every other day without noticing and even realizing they each hold a different argument. My group and I went to the Fair Grounds Coffee House and immediately thought of it as an older looking place with dim lighting, wobbly wooden chairs, and unprofessional looking workers. The ceiling was exposed with the pipes showing that the shop did not care to class up their space and instead show more of a rugged look. This coffee shop also had a bar in it that was placed in the front of the shop, which attracts the older crowd. This coffee house sold breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well. The employers gave you a number after you ordered and would serve you your coffee, pastry, and or meal to your table. This gave it an old diner sort of feel. The argument for this coffee shop was that they were attracting older college students and adults to stop by for less expensive meal or drink, opposite of the modern sophisticated “Starbucks” type of place.  This assignment showed me that every place really does have an argument even if you do not recognize it at first.

Week 5 (My thoughts on group project) - Zarif

Personally, I think that I could have done even better for the coffee shop assignment as I think that the Presentation part (PT) would have been smoother if I really do all my parts clearly. If I have the chance I will work even harder in order to carve each of the audiences smile by the end of my group's presentation. Generally, I feel that this course brings me into a broader perspective of seeing things aside from attaining new ways of thinking critically. Throughout the coffee shop assignment, I felt that there is an exquisite touch on simple and little things which I believe that no one will ever notice even if there's any small changes to the place we usually enter.

As an Asian boy, I believe that it takes more than just fluency in English to communicate with westerners especially Americans since my hometown usage of English was based on full reference of British English. Both American English and British English has little distinction but very critical ones and it should not be put lightly in any aspect. I personally enjoyed my time with my group knowing more about how they think compared to mine. I believe that as we get along each other we tend to learn more about humanities and how similar our goals are regardless of gender, age or diversity groups that we came from.

Week 5 Hart

Analyzing the rhetoric of a place or a thing is something totally new to me. I have never considered the amount of thought and planning that goes into setting up a business such as a coffee shop. One could go into great detail when considering everything that makes a coffee shop. Even with a very shallow understanding of the art of rhetoric,  my group members and I were able to work through the provided questions easily and even continued to go deeper into the rhetoric of the shop we visited. I personally think that shows just how impressively vast the practice of rhetoric and rhetorical analysis can be. I for one am a very new student to rhetoric and I was still able to pick out many of the important factors and the subtle appeals to the customers through the set up of shop, goods sold, and branding. Of course these are very broad terms that include a lot of information, and thats what makes the more discreet side of these shops; the rhetorical appeals. We could have sat and discussed what makes the coffee shop a complete experience. Everything in establishments such as these shops, is completely thought out and executed for a reason. I was also completely unaware of these concepts about month ago.

Week 5 -Stukel

 I really enjoyed this weeks assignment on the rhetoric of a coffee shop. Previously, I had never given much thought to the idea of certain spaces using rhetoric through the decor, menu, and general vibe that they attempt to give off. This assignment made me look at spaces in an entirely new way. I now realize that many establishments spend time purposefully choosing to what the rest of the world appear to be minor details. They choose things like furniture, lighting, posters, employees, package design, presentation, and even location, all to give people the idea that their establishment is one thing or another. Overall, I really enjoyed the assignment and the fact that we got to have class in a different place than the AJB, it was a nice change of scenery.

Week 5(Rhetoric of a Space) - Sangkyung

I and my group visited Prairie Lights Cafe on Tuesday, February 18. I think that our group well examined space of the coffe shop and I learned a lot from rhetorical thinking about the coffee shop. Because I usually do not think what a coffee shop is about (I normally consider a coffee shop as a pick-up space of coffee or a chatting place), I do not care what a coffee shop is. I just get some coffee unintentionally at a cafe whenever I go a cafe. However, from this assignment I could learn that there are always reasons for anything. I mean why they put furnitures this way and that or why they appeal their menu to customers like that way and etc. There are always elaborated processes. I needed an “education” to order some menu. In Prairie Lights Cafe, they sell alcohol, such as wine, as well as normal coffees. For example, there is a alcohol called “Dirty bastard” and there are all french words for wines. Thus, I need to know what those refer to when I order those. The space of the cafe itself was very cozy and comfortable. Ambient lighting spreads throughout whole Prairie Lights Cafe and there were many tables that have very comfortable seating space. It made people be more interactive and sociable. There were broadly-based people. Many college students and local people were mixed on there. By analyzing Prairie Lights Cafe, I got the chance to know what rhetorical analysis is and I could improve my thinking skills. It was really intriguing activity for me.

Koyel - Week 5.

I think the idea of analyzing a coffee shop as a rhetoric made us realize how broad the subject of rhetoric actually is , and how we can actually find rhetoric in everything around us. The idea of it did make me feel like I was going to learn something new , which excited me . Though it was sort of time consuming for me to find Java House because I had never been there before , neither did I really know the directions. The only thing I knew was that it was somewhere in Iowa Avenue. Thankfully a student helped me to locate it . I was assigned to jot down points regarding the coffee menu and the items being sold along with it. It was really enjoyable and time consuming at the same time . I had to walk around the entire counter area continuously and jot down every detail as if I am some journalist , minus the talking. It wasn't hard at all to jot every single thing down , since I have a habit to overwrite a lot. That's what happens when you come from  an Indian school , I guess. In every lecture , the professor rambles like there's no tomorrow at the speed of racing cars , and you are expected to note every single word and concept down . Regardless,  of how fast and inconsistently the teacher is speaking . If one point is  not jotted down due to the teacher's speed and convenient transference within different topics , and it lands on an exam paper - that's totally your fault. So , it was no surprise that I had three pages of jotted points for one coffee counter. The problem is when you have to use your voice and say your points out loud in front of people. That is just scary. At least , for me it is. The thing I learned and discovered in Java House were from  various aspects. As I spotted the mugs being displayed right beside the cashier counter, I realized its two elements of being a tool.  It not only fits but enhances the mood and feel of the place being most definitely , and makes it a cozy coffee shop. It also was a catalyst  in trying to lure in  costumers , and influence them  to order what they want right away . Because ,  it produces the instinct of getting coffee, right after seeing them in display. There is a reason why they were located right beside the cashier counter when you are placing your order - it isn't a coincidence , it is a luring trap to get costumers rattled in thinking what sort of coffee or tea they want , immediately. If it weren't for Java House being a prospect of an assignment , I would have never been able to look at things in that perspective within normal circumstances. In fact , I wouldn't even realize that the location of where everything is has a reason for why they are there. It also made me realize the uniqueness of Java house through various small elements draped around the counter area. The placement of bananas with stashes of chocolate beside it is something I haven't seen yet in any coffee shop . It gave one the feeling of home , where stashes of bananas are usually placed in our kitchen counter in front of  us , while we are sipping coffee. These food items placed in front of the counter acted as a tool in reminding us of how we have coffee at home. Java House, basically was trying to make costumers feel like this is a piece of our own homes thrown into the outside world of a city. Also , while ordering the menu , the Java House employees always offer costumers a coffee cup voluntarily . Offering a coffee mug  , like the ones we usually have at home , becomes a symbol of wanting the costumers to stay longer and making it feel like we are at home in our own living room , sipping coffee. Rather , than at a cafe , within the city. Another unique element I spotted was the lemonade container at display where one does not need to order it , and actually has the power to pour themselves as much as lemonade they want. It isn't something I have seen before and wouldn't have even noticed its uniqueness if Java House wouldn't be given to us as an assignment. Another very striking and different aspect I found in Java House was a brew bar . Before coming to Java House , I had never heard of a brew bar . It was explained to me there what a brew bar is . It is a brewing system where you have the power to actually make your own coffee and see from the counter that how it is being done and if you specifically would want it to be like that or in any other way. Famous coffee shops like Starbucks don't have this , and yet Java House does. It introduced me to something new , which I was not aware of. The most important thing , however , of what I discovered during our coffee shop assignment in Java House , was culture. I had asked one of the Java House employees to tell me about the variety of tea in their menu. Surprise , surprise - they had Masala Chai . Masala Chai is the  most common Indian tea , that Indians universally have in their country or in other countries , which had surprised me to find it here as an Indian myself. This added up to the broadening of Java House's cultural context , that is adorned with rich American cultural heritage as well , as we see portraits of Lincoln and Einstein draped  across the earthy wallpapers. The mixing of ancient American culture with new cultures of coffee and tea added to the mix , produces the audience Java House demands for ,  to be global.

These were few of the things on my list which made me realize how every small thing in daily life around us has a meaning and reason to why they are there. The smallest of smallest things around us are more than just objects- not only do they have meaning , but they have purpose. Just like us humans. This is what this coffee shop assignment in Rhetoric taught me.  

Week 4 - Koyel.

In chapter three , Shame, of Eating Animals , Foers touches a raw nerve of everyone opinions that makes them conflicted within themselves. The concept of shame being formed a dual force - social and personal arcs. However , when and how does that shame come when we eat of certain sort of animals , and why does it not come when we eat other types of animal meat? Is guilt ans shame socially constructed? Or is sometimes shame created within , despite the majority around you not feeling guilty on eating up other lives? The words that particularly stood out for me in the third chapter were :

 Shame is the work of memory against forgetting .Shame is what we feel when we almost entirely- yet not entirely- forget social expectations and our obligations to others in favour of our immediate gratification . Fish ,for Kafka, must have been the flesh of forgetting  : their lives are forgotten in a radical manner that is much less common in our thinking about farmed land animals.  

I found it so interesting the way in which Foers makes this point and sort of makes the readers self reflect amongst themselves. It's almost like our choices of which sort of animal to eat and which sort to preserve becomes a mirror reflecting the typical hypocrisy inherent in humans . How the minds of humans have the power to judge and categorize which sort of meat to eat is a taboo , and which sort of meat to eat is habitual . It exercises these human made concepts to the level that these prevalent judgments suddenly seem to be the normal way of life . We don't realize to what level we have created this entire universe of moral yardsticks that carve out an illusion of truth. Sometimes the most commonly forgotten animals due to social expectations around us , are not registered in our guilty consciousness because they are a reflection of the aspects within us , that we want to forget. I agree so much with this proposition to the extent that it makes me want to rip off all my self made moral yardsticks that I have lived with all this time. The fickleness , fallacy and the conceit within all of our self made rules seems to be looking back at us , formed in this mirror in front of us created by Foers. And it's scary. It's scary as hell. Foers literally makes see the things about yourself with this paragraph that you don't want to see. Memory presents to us as a convenient handy tool here. It's the things that we don't want to forget whenever we do something because to us it is morally right, and moral yardsticks , especially within yourself , can never be disobeyed. Therefore we conveniently make our own memories of what to remember, for example , Indians remembering to never have beef of Muslims remembering to never have pork , and what to forget , such as eating fish . Foers draws a stark picture of human fallacy in front of its human readers, that petrifies them and enlightens them at the same time and makes them realize in dismay , how inconsistent and shallow they are. 

Week 5- Bender

 I thought rhetorical analysis was only in literature before taking this class but was proved to be wrong when we got the chance to leave the classroom and uncover the argument behind a coffee shop. I am really glad we got the chance to go and do it on our own and being challenged to find out how much we have learned about rhetorical analysis so far.  I loved being able to leave the classroom and work with my classmates. I spend a lot of time in coffee shops so I found it very interesting to pick apart the coffee shop and find things I had never noticed before.  We analyzed The Java House and I was very intrigued by the layout and architecture. I had never thought of the homey and living room feel that the back section of the shop appeals.

           

 At first when you asked us to form an argument for the coffee shop I did not think it was possible. I can now confidently go into any public place and look into the details of what the company is trying to brand themselves as. I find myself stopping and taking in the scenery more than ever before.  I found the speaking presentation to be difficult. We have only been writing down rhetorical analysis so far, so it was very different having to explain it to other people and make them understand. The group atmosphere was good, but was also hard when we had to improvise for one of our missing group members. I learned a lot from this assignment and am glad I was challenged to think outside of my comfort zone.

Week 5-Shepherd

Chapter four of Eating Animals was a very interesting chapter. I really enjoyed that the majority of the chapter was told from other peoples perspectives compared to just Foer’s. It was still in a very easy to read format as well which helped. There was a bit of contradiction to the earlier parts in the book mainly chapter 3 when Foer talked about intelligence in animals and used the example of the pigs opening their gate etcetera. In Chapter 4, “Hiding/ Seeking” in the section titled “The Myth of the Myth” the author states that “species don’t make choices” (Foer 100). This rules out that they are intelligent and can have any sort of say in what happens to them or what they do and do not agree to, thus contradicting his earlier message that animals are smart and intelligent. For surely an intelligent person/animal would be able to make such a simple decision.

There is also a lot of talk about stories in this chapter, which ties back to the first chapter where he talks about stories being such a huge part of what makes a person or a family unique. A lot of these stories are being told by the other authors and about how they came to believe in what they do now because of the experiences they had on factory farms or kill lines and so forth. Names are also mentioned as telling a story in “The First Chicken” section.

I didn’t learn anything particularly new other than that turkey can fly, but the points of how gruesome these factory farms are and all the terror and pain the animals must be going through to become our food were stressed extremely and certainly got across to me.

Week 5 Deegan

I think that the rhetoric of a coffee shop assignment was creative and fun overall. I think that the note-taking portion of the task went well, but the actual execution of the speech could have gone better. When we got to the coffee house we went through the question sheet and were able to thoroughly answer all the questions and had a good understanding of the café. It was interesting to look around and get out of the classroom for an assignment. I also liked to see a different coffeehouse aside from Starbucks, which is the only place I have been. When going through the questions it was interesting to notice and think about why brands would pick certain colors or furniture for their store.

When we were physically doing the speech, it was hard because we were missing one of our group members the day of the analysis, and it became difficult to fill him in. Relaying the information and trying to assign each member what to say was rough and hard to communicate with each other over email and then again in person during the time before the speech. I think given an extra class to go over what each person should say and to make sure not to read the answers off the question sheet would help to make it better. Public speaking has never been my forte and going up without much preparation was not easy. 

Cooper week 5

I liked the change up for class this week by going to the coffee shop and analyzing the space. I have yet to go and visit any of Iowa City’s coffee shops so this allowed for me to do that. It was also nice that the groups we were assigned to were random therefore we met some new people, which was nice. I don’t drink coffee so I am rarely ever in any coffee shops, let alone I have never analyzed a space like this before. After taking a brief tour of the Java House and discussing it with my group we noticed several distinct things that made this coffee shop stick out. Overall the coffee shop had a very calming atmosphere. One of the main things that I noticed was all of the paintings that they had up on the walls. They really wanted us to notice them because they had lights aimed down on them. I also liked how the coffee shop was set up into two different parts. The front part being more a social atmosphere where people could meet up and grab a cup of coffee in-between class or something along those lines. Once you get more towards the back it was a more serious quite zone for people to get work done. Overall I liked this activity we did for class because it was different and made me realize that places are decorated for a certain reason.

Week 5 Prompt

For this week, either write about your experiences with the Rhetoric of a coffee shop activity, or about your reaction to Chapter 4 of Eating Animals. What did you like/dislike, learn/discover?

Week 4 Kenny Levine

One of the words Safran Foer used in chapter 3 that stood out to me was downer.  Downer is a word that really has no positive quality.  Foer then goes on to explain how downer is "an animal that collapses from poor health and cannot stand back up."  He does this to gain the sympathies of his audiences, by describing the mistreatment of downers.  Foer gives out statistics about how many downers there are every year and how they are just being left to die because they have no value.  I think that Foer did a good job of gaining credibility by talking about his visit to Farm Sanctuary.  He was there first hand so he knows how poorly some of these animals are being treated, and that is important for the reader to know.  It was also important that he mentioned the story of the person who found a group of downers, but specifically saved one of the sheep and because he saved her, she was able to live for ten more years.  This part really got to me because it shows how easily some of these "downers" can be helped and yet the farmers are doing nothing to help them.  As I read this section of the chapter 3, I was definitely looking back on some of my food choices and thought about how the animals had to suffer.

week4-knightly

After reading chapter three one of the words that really stuck out to me was cruelty.  It is a small section but he describes it very well.  One thing he says is “cruelty depends on an understanding of cruelty.”  This is an interesting phrase because he talks about how animals may be cruel to each other and that is different from what humans can do to animals.  Humans should know what is cruel and what is not.  Animals have no understanding of this so they don’t know they are being cruel.  I agree with this statement because of what he said next, he said we have the ability to change it or ignore it.  I see people being cruel everyday and usually I just ignore it if I don’t know them but I could also change it by acting upon it.  Foer believes animals should be in the wild because nature isn’t cruel.  I disagree with this because I eat meat.  If we didn’t have farms to raise the animals we eat, it wouldn’t be the same.  I disagree with the ranchers that say they are protecting animals from nature.  I believe they are just raising them based on that fact that they can later sell them.  I agree with this part of this article and also disagree with it at the same time that is why this article stood out to me.

Week 4 Gordon

This week I read the Words Meaning chapter of Eating Animals.  I found it extremely interesting that Jonathan Safran Foer chose to write this chapter in the form of an encyclopedia.  The section of this chapter that stuck out the most to me was Downer.  Downer explains how some animals are not taken care of properly and they can become so ill that they collapse and are not able to stand back up.  Foer uses descriptive language to appeal to the audience in the form of pathos.  For some of this book I have felt that Foer’s credibility is lacking because he seems to talk at the audience and not explain his own struggles.  Although he might tell stories he often tells stories about relatives or friends and not himself.  In Downers he explains that he really did go to the farm.  For me this built his credibility because he was telling the tory first hand and not repeating someone else’s experience.  He explains that some of the animals he has never seen besides dead and chopped up on his plate.  This made me reflect on my own life. I have had the opportunity to see animal that I eat alive and free, but it made me think of it differently when Foer explains the difference between being raised on a farm and dead on your plate.  I have still not changed my thoughts on eating meat but this chapter did make me think deeper into why I really do want to eat meat.