Richard Lieber Conservation Discourse

The experience at the Lilly Library in learning about Richard Lieber was extraordinary. It is always meaningful to encounter the works of an individual with such significant contributions to society. I had the opportunity to read several of his remaining works, but one of them particularly stood out in the sense of discourse because I was able to identify a concept from our course that he seemed to be applying.

The document was the "Nature's Balances," the Address of Richard Lieber, Director of Indiana Department of Conservation, Before 22nd Annual Session of the National Drainage, Conservation And Flood Control Congress, Columbus Ohio, Wednesday Evening, Februrary 15, 1933. In this document, he states the importance of our surrounding environment and natural resources and that human society has been unsustainably exploiting them to the level that we must be warned. In stating his points, he reilliterates that man must reassess his actions and the essense of the balance in nature that must be preserved.

The concept of stasis was seen at work in this document. It seems that he worked from the higher stasis to lower stasis. In the beginning to the middle of the document, he describes his passion and value about nature, its important contribution that directly supports the lives of human beings. He also proposes that we must reasess our actions and acknowledge nature and raise awareness for conservation. Then toward the end, he starts providing information and statistical proof that the environment in Indiana in fact is getting degradated. Therefore questions of values are presented first, then facts and causes are presented. The stase are sometimes the arrangement of arguments that "describe the logic inherent in the development of an issue." (Fahnestock, Secor 429) In Lieber's document, his logic is that rather than saying that nature is being destroyed and talking about its importance, Lieber emphasizes on the importance of nature first, then gives his audience the feel of urgency by stating its degradation later.

I was under the impression that the format of constructing the argument from the lower stasis to higher stasis is the general and popular method. Therefore I was astonished, to encounter a work by an individual who had lived over a century ago arranginging the aspects and organization of his argument in order to make his persuasion more effective.

SA #4 Part Two

Recycling is an important and very easy way to protect the environment. It can easily be done with the awareness and the urgency that one must recycle. However, I see all types of garbage thrown into one Hefty bag and into dumpsters through out on and off campus housings, and even school buildings. There is no law or regulations on recycling to my knowledge, although I believe it is strongly encouraged. After watching the 11th Hour and having taken several SPEA courses, I cannot help but to consider the matter of environmental degradation a directly related urgency to all mankind. Yet people are not willing to contribute by doing as little as separating the types of trash. I would like to determine and investigate the willingness and awareness among people toward recycling, perhaps at a particular area on or off campus.

Historically determining the time recycling was first introduced, and doing a comparative research of people's feelings toward it over time would be an important aspect to this project. A genre could be Political Rhetoric and Public Policy. By analyzing the existing documents on the issue and determining the issue such as miscommunication and the conflict levels is needed. The intended audience would be broad, but especially for those making decisions for regulation.

The genre form will need to be able to achieve the right information and knowledge of recycling to the audience in terms the scientific process of recycling and how it actually protects the environment, and raises the awareness to do so. The genre must contain the reasons and the trend that allow and make people less willingly to recycle.

SA #4 Part One

Ida B. Wells-Barnett's "Lynch Law in America" functions as sustainable public discourse through its symbol-using. Strong discrimination and negative stereotypes toward African Americans by the white population highlighted the American society the time this article was written. She notes that the African Americans were brutally killed for unreasonably in a fashion that "A new name was given to the kilings and a new excuse was invented for so doing." (Wells- Barnett) This essay contributes significantly toward the reassessment of the American society as a whole and the Civil Rights Movement.

Her approach in doing so with this text resonates Enoch's notion of becoming symbol-wise. Enoch interprets Kenneth Burke's concept of being symbol wisdom as an understanding that human language is a "characteristic that unites all human beings," (Enoch 287) and by doing so, people become patient and flexible toward less aggressively convincing ways with a "'frame of reference common to all'." (Enoch 287) Rather than looking through the scope of differences between the whites and blacks, Wells-Barnett questions the integrity of the country of the United States as a whole, to its core foundation such a freedom and bravery. Although she does blame the white population for the killings, her reasoning carefully convinces them in a less combative manner. When she states that "Brave men do not gather by thousands to torture and murder a single individual," one of the most basic and well known American symbol of bravery "'a frame of reference common to all'" (Enoch 287) is used in the texut to say that lynching is unjust.

The concept of dramatistic attitude also seems to be applied in this essay. This terms refers to "'a critical or essayistic analysis of language, and thence of human relations generally.'" (Enoch 281) By forming a dramatistic attitude, Enoch suggests that people can become patient and tentative, and when they are in these states, people are bes at critical reflection and effective in writing. (Enoch 281) Ida closely looks at the building blocks of this country of history, foundation, and economics to say that lynching and discrimination is contradictory to what the country is prodly built on.

Therefore Wells-Barnett's speech seems consistent with symbol-using that she sees human society filled with symbols and by becoming symbol-wise, using language as a tool, she is able to be patient with her text and let it achieve its goals.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett, "Lynch Law in America," The Arena 23.1 (January 1900): 15-24

Enoch, Jessica. "Becoming Symbol-Wise: Kenneth Burke's Pedagogy of Critical Reflection." College Composition and Communication 56.2 (2004): 279-296