Reflection Paper

Kady Newman

English 460

28 April 2015

Reflection Paper

Reflection Paper

    There are many things in which I learned from taking the class, Rhetoric of Rape.     Firstly, I found that my views on the rape culture in our society has changed completely. I have always been aware of the heightened sexual innuendos in our culture. However, I always decided to ignore such things, as this is what we are taught to do. Having taken courses that analyze rhetoric in the past, it was easier to understand how important rhetoric is in our daily lives. Even though I have not been through certain situations in my own life, I was able to understand such things, by different means. Many of the classes I have taken in the past seem to have been a prerequisite for English 460. Understanding such rhetoric, made me understand the rhetoric of the topic of rape on an entirely different level. I truly believe that every peer who engaged in our discussions, found there were different steps to acknowledging rape and rape culture. Each week of class built up from the previous week, in a very synchronized fashion. From the start of the semester, our class took a look at the overall problem of rape. We dissected the issue, and really dove into the statistics, laws, and overall ideas of rape. From there, we started to look at why rape occurs, and how our society plays such a large role into such situations. Our culture is taught to react to rape in very simple ways. It was very easy to understand why we do so, after referring to typical rhetorical appeals. Our class was even able to brainstorm why certain systems are flawed, in regards to rape. We even thought of possible solutions to the system, and different responses to rape and rape culture. This class required many things from it’s students, and each lesson was vital for dealing with our society.

In this class, we were asked to use our prior knowledge of rhetoric, and apply it to something that is too prevalent in our society; Rape. This process not only stimulated my thought process on the topic, but also helped me to understand rhetoric in different ways. Rhetoric is everywhere, and in our society it is especially important. We rely on rhetoric without even knowing it. Understanding how higher authorities and the media handle rape, plays a role into how our overall society views rape. When I was able to make that connection, I knew that I had truly learned something. Often in times, we will hear about stories on the news, and think nothing of it due to the way these stories are told. By depersonalizing such events, our society is able to justify why bad things happen to innocent people. However, this social stigma has created a large problem in our society. We are not able to call things what they really are. Rape, happens to be the perfect example of such an act. We look for certain things to help us understand the bigger picture. If a young girl is raped, the question of “what did she do to provoke the guy”, will almost always come to mind. But why does society teach us to think in such ways? By dancing around hard topics, we are able to go on with our lives. It is easier to ignore such things as rape, even though the underlying problem comes from our own culture. Our class really covered such topics, and why the rhetoric behind it was so imperative.

The ways in which our class was set up, helped broaden my sense of acknowledgment of rape in our society. My first paper, focused on the sexual assault problems on college campuses. This was a very important section of the term. This is because the majority of rapes that occur, happen on college campuses, and happen more often than we realize. It was really interesting to learn why rape is such a tricky topic, especially in regards to under reporting. I always wondered why many victims would not want justice for themselves, and punishment for their perpetrators. However, after writing this paper I was able to understand why many victims are doomed from the start. Our system is so flawed, that any victim will face scrutinization when trying to gain justice. I think that understanding every level of rape, helped us to understand why this scrutinization occurs. Slut shaming is a real thing, and we are so caught up in the controversy of it all, that we do not put a real human face on it. We learned about rape kits, how they are performed, and how they are somewhat ineffective. We also learned about the overall process of a rape case and how long it takes to reveal such situations to the public. It is unfair in most cases, how much disconnect there is between a victim and their own journey to a piece of mind.

The second essay I wrote, was focused more on rape culture rather than rape itself. I drew from the controversial book and movie, “50 Shades of Grey”, as my main example for my paper. I highlighted how rape culture and such sexual fantasies are glorified, rather than scrutinized. This occurrence happens too often in our culture. Such movies, songs, and themes that include rape and sexual undertones, affect people in their own subconscious. Often times, we don’t even know that we are being affected by it, because we are so used to it. Our society reflects this and other tones, in the ways we react to rape. It was also very interesting to note that our society wonders why rape occurs, even though rape themes are everywhere in our pop culture.

The third project I created was a certain “solution” to rape. I made a pamphlet, including multiple sources of information about why rape occurs so often on college campuses. I also included certain resources which people can use in order to make a wave of change. I really zoomed in on the idea of consent as well. I believe that many people find this to be a grey area, in regards to sexual relationships. I created a consent versus non consent survey, that helps clear up the confusion of the overall idea. For example, I asked certain questions about what is considered to be consent, or not. I included the answers at the end of the survey, and feel that it was very thorough. From this project, I learned even more about the topic of rape and consent issues. I did not know that in certain circumstances, an event could be considered rape, or not. However, I am very clear on it now and feel that others should be informed of this as well. I liked wrapping up the class with the idea that each individual can come up with creative and practical solutions to such problems in our society. I was really blown away by my classmates and their own personal ideas to reach a certain audience in a certain way. This reassured me, that education is key when trying to find a solution to rape.

I feel that the rhetoric we applied to the issue of rape in this class was very influential. The way the class was set up, was very effective because of this. Having discussed all different views and issues regarding rape, I felt that we almost became experts in terms of analyzing rape. This was my favorite class that I have taken in college thus far. I think that having taken English 360 last semester, was very important for this reason. For one, I had already recognized and analyzed rhetoric in it’s many forms. From there, I was able to apply it to the situations and topics that come along with rape. I was able to understand certain situations, why they occur and how our society chooses to deal with such situations. I was also able to recognize where my strengths lie, after this class as well. I was very pleased to see that I could apply and acknowledge the use of rhetoric in multiple situations. I feel that this has helped me to become a stronger writer, but an even stronger observer. By being able to analyze and understand certain situations on a broader scale, I have become a better learner. Each class throughout my college career has played vital roles into the writer that I have become. However, this class was a very good way to help tie all of that knowledge together. I understand the world around me in a much different way, but am able to recognize why it is so. This course has opened my eyes to the society we live in, but has also shown me what I can do in order to make a change.