Reflection Post 1

In regard to how I’m understand the course and it’s relating topics I thought it would be easier to cluster the adjectives in chunks.

I came into this course with absolutely no background on digital platforms, software or anything in between. This was my first time experiencing grad school, online, during a pandemic :/ Now with all that said I have had some take-aways from this course.

Recently the most exciting topic we have gone over is games. Now, I’m not sure if it because there is a relatability factor there from watching my family fight over the X box or if it’s because games seem to encompass many of the topics and concepts we have already gone over. Whatever the case may be I found the topic much more engaging than anything we’ve gone over; so much so that I am teetering on writing my final on it. In a similar sense, I found interface just as interesting, as there were many instances where interface becomes crucial to our learning and to rhetorical message when considering social media platforms like Facebook. However, there is still confusion on my part on this topic and thus has made it uncomfortable to write a lengthy paper on it.

As far as surprising, I found literacy to be the most shocking rather than surprising. Not that I thought everyone in this country was equal, but I hadn’t yet considered people of color and their relationship with technology. As it stands marginalized people already struggle with every other aspect of “equality” here in America, but I found the excessive struggle much more upsetting as even during these trying times there is still so much to be done to help the equality in a digital scope(Not to mention that those articles were written during a “normal” time in America).

Like I stated before, this course caught me off guard when looking at rhetoric though a digital standpoint. There were many instances where I found myself confused or I found concepts difficult to understand. However, MOST of the time I found my footing again. I will say that all of the concepts we’ve gone over I still don’t fully understand, but I think the density of the subject matter in this course allows for a brief overview with sufficient material to understand just enough.

Every week we go over a new concept that I forget could be considered as digital, so as far as questions about the semester’s’ subtopics, I have none. I am anticipating even more interesting concepts in the coming weeks that may pertain to gaming in pedological sense as I have grown an interest in this topic. I would definitely benefit from any future theory, abstract or idea at this point, because as my mind races over communication through various modes I have enough to write my final. However, I am excited to see what else we can pull out of digital rhetoric that can aid me in my journey or even just for fun.