I realize this happened a while ago, but I never posted about it. So here we go.
I like Professor Henderson. I have her for another class this semester, and she is one passionate woman. You can just tell by the way that she teaches about rhetoric and writing that she absolutely loves this stuff. While her short presentation didn't exactly help me solidify the definition of writing studies, it certainly helped me to realize the work and progress that is happening in the field.
One thing that has been on my mind since her visit is what she said about writing for social change. Like I said, I'm in another one of her classes, so I've been hearing a lot about the writing for social change course she is teaching next semester, as well as the conference of the same name. Also on my mind is the node I have been researching, the digital turn. I have been thinking about how digital communication has increased the amount of writing for social change. We have moved past the simple commercials that ask for you to help needy children and whatnot, and have moved to an age where anybody can type a letter or make a video that the whole world can see. Think about the Kony 2012 video. Whether or not you agree with the message of that video or campaign, you have to admit that it is pretty impressive how the video has spread throughout the world. It got millions upon millions of views in the first few days after it was posted... and now hundreds of millions of people have seen it.
Exploring the use of rhetoric used in this video, and the way that digital technologies were used is part of writing studies. A very small part of it. Seems like there's a lot more to learn in the writing studies field.
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