This website is devoted to the rhetorical study of video games & South Park. Here you will find two short critical essays and supplemental materials to contextualize both the topic and my analysis.
The first essay is regarding the rhetorical implications of video games and their subsequent applications for composition classes. I use Jacqueline Jones Royster's essay "When The First Voice You Hear is Not Your Own" as a theoretical framework to analyze how video games allow one to gain a better understanding of voice as the result of rhetorical situations. Along with my essay, you will find critical research annotations for scholarly articles and essays that have helped shape the thought process behind my work. I have also included links to articles and videos that are mentioned in the essay, as well as links to websites and articles that veteran gamers, and those new to video games, may find interesting.
The second essay is a web-text that analyzes the cynicism of South Park through a rhetorical framework. I apply the theories of Foucault and Burke to episodes from the show in an attempt to illustrate how the rhetorical methods executed by the creators manipulate cynicism into a critical mode of self-reflection. Included are supplementary videos and links to help further contextualize the both the show and my analysis.
The first essay is regarding the rhetorical implications of video games and their subsequent applications for composition classes. I use Jacqueline Jones Royster's essay "When The First Voice You Hear is Not Your Own" as a theoretical framework to analyze how video games allow one to gain a better understanding of voice as the result of rhetorical situations. Along with my essay, you will find critical research annotations for scholarly articles and essays that have helped shape the thought process behind my work. I have also included links to articles and videos that are mentioned in the essay, as well as links to websites and articles that veteran gamers, and those new to video games, may find interesting.
The second essay is a web-text that analyzes the cynicism of South Park through a rhetorical framework. I apply the theories of Foucault and Burke to episodes from the show in an attempt to illustrate how the rhetorical methods executed by the creators manipulate cynicism into a critical mode of self-reflection. Included are supplementary videos and links to help further contextualize the both the show and my analysis.