For Tuesday, Oct. 30: View the following speeches and answer the questions below about them:
Ronald Reagan's Farewell Address (In class, I mistakenly called it the "Morning in America" speech; I was thinking "city on a hill." "Morning in America" refers to an ad from the 1984 presidential campaign.)
Barack Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
If you wish, you may also read Reagan's speech here (scroll down) and Obama's speech here (scroll down).
Answer these questions about the above speeches. Write a paragraph for each answer.
1. Describe Reagan's persona in this speech, and identify at least two key moments where something in the text of the speech or his delivery of the speech make this persona apparent to you.
2. Obama makes effective use of all the tactics we've discussed for delivering a speech (e.g., persona, posture, eye contact, projection, enunciation, pitch variety, pauses, body language, and suiting the delivery to the words). Select three of these and explain how Obama uses them to reinforce the words of the speech.
For Thursday, Nov. 1: The threat of Hurricane Sandy pushed October 30's assignment to today.
For Tuesday, Nov. 6: Complete your speech in response to one of these prompts, which are also posted to the right.
For Thursday, Nov. 8: Read the New Yorker article on TED Talks handed out in class. Sorry, but it's not fully available on line. (You may also read this live chat with the article's author, Nathan Heller. Give the chat transcript a minute or so to load.) Also, view two of the TED Talks posted here. Viewing these will take about thirty to forty minutes of your time.
For Tuesday, Nov. 13: You will write an in-class essay about your independent reading book. Introduce William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1.
