MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

My presentation will deal with the increasingly complicated task of teaching students to think critically about self-presentation on social networks. In a society that is inundated with visual communication as well as short phrases of writing such as status updates, tweets, and slogans, these messages of identity are often absorbed without much thought. I will present an assignment I use in my first year writing courses that uses social networks to creatively teach analysis and urges students to consider the images they choose to post and what messages about their identity are being conveyed to their “friends and followers.”

Most students already apply rhetorical analysis strategies while perusing social networks, but are not conscious of this fact. A disconnect exists between social and academic practices. My classroom activities engage students in an area they are intimately familiar with while bringing awareness to the idea that Facebook may not be the straightforward communication tool they originally thought. We discuss aspects of identity and the possible purpose behind the images used for profile pictures. For example, why did person A choose to use an image of their pet dog as their profile picture rather than a selfie?

The assignment concludes with a response paper in which the student analyzes the use of logos, pathos and ethos in a chosen few examples cited on a social network of their choosing (typically Facebook or Instagram).

My presentation will interactively detail this assignment, explain the importance and give examples of the various pedagogical results I have found through classroom participation and reading the response papers. I will also reference several other studies found through my research on this topic.