The Table of Contents:

Overview- ........................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Useful Websites: ............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Interviews Nickole Brown Assistant ProfessorError! Bookmark not defined. Dr. George Jensen Chair of Rhetoric and Writing Department....... Error! Bookmark not defined. Diann Shaddox Miles Author, A Faded CottageError! Bookmark not defined. Alex Sanford Author, Big Bad China ......... Error! Bookmark not defined. Charlie McConnell Masters Student .......... Error! Bookmark not defined. Fun Facts ........................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Reflection ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Helpful Websites
For a Rhetoric Major The Basics The History For an English Major The Studies The Value

OverviewWhat is Rhetoric? By definition it is the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing. Rhetoric is about knowing how to choose words and then finding ways to place them on paper as to make the readers minds come alive. I see it as an art, where with the words you write or speak you have the ability to express to a blind person the beauty of a sunset The art of rhetoric is how we have the literature that we have today. We have amazing literary works that have lasted through the ages by artists like Homer, Shakespeare, Voltaire and Browning. This literature has shaped lives and changed minds. The fact that these people were able to express themselves in such a passionate way that it doesnt matter the time that has passed, And it doesnt matter that the way our generation expresses themselves is completely different than that of those in the time of Shakespeare, and yet when read those words still touch hearts. There is a power in words; there is power in learning how to write effectively and how to read with comprehension.

Interviews
Nickole Brown Assistant Professor (UALR)
It only takes moments to know where Professor Browns heart lies. She absolutely loves what she does with all of her heart, and it shows on her very expressive face. The sunlight comes in the window behind her, its not enough to blind me but it gives the strawberry blonde curls that surround her face an ethereal effect. She gushes over poetry and her students like a 16 year old girl would the boy she has a crush on. She lovingly deems them nerds and claims that they are the kind of people who would rather have their nose in a book than anywhere else. Shes been a professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for about two and a half years and has nothing but good things to say about the staff in the English girl, department. Theyre a wild horses wouldn't drive wonderful group of people she states. that crazy mama Prior to working at UALR she was in publishing and from you. Besides, I editing for 12 years. She didnt move too far from her roots since she leads a group of students in publishing UALRs literary promise we'll magazine, Equinox. keep that bombshell Speaking with ease in a soft, melodic voice she tells me blondewhat the differences, in her opinion, are between the English From 1979, A Poem by department and the Rhetoric and Composition departments. English would be access to Literature classes, American, African Nickole Brown and British Literature, along with the concepts of critical reading, linguistics and creative writing. The Rhetoric department would be more about writing, she tells me. They house things like technical writing, creative non-fiction, grant writing etc. She made a little face and informed me that she used to teach creative non-fiction; I took this as she believed it should be housed under the English department. I learned a bit about what classes she is teaching; one of her favorites is a prose-poetry mesh seminar, which sounds amazing. Currently her focus is on poetry, publication (Euinox) and creative writing. Shes been published numerous times, a collection titled Sister is among those poems. The advice I got from her is something I believe we should all carry with us as we make our way into the careers that we dream of. She told me to do what makes you happy. She told me that what you do should be seamless with your life, that there shouldnt be a distinction between your work life and your real life, things should just have a flow to them.

Im not sure yet if I will join the English department, or where my life will lead me. But, I hope that whatever it is that I choose to do, whatever you choose to do that you do it with the same amount of passion and pizazz that Professor Brown does. Her words of wisdom are something to live by: she told me, If someone were to say, You dont have to work anymore, Id say Okay and continue doing what Im doing. And I believed her.

Dr. George Jensen Chair of Rhetoric and Writing Department (UALR)

If you walk by the exterior of the Writing Center, which is where Dr. Jensens office is housed, youd never guess that the man you meet would be late 40s to 50s dressed in a tie. There are random music posters and a glowing OPEN sign that looks like it could be hanging on the outside of a bar. Dr. Jensens office is kind of what youd expect of an office. To the right is a bookshelf covered in books, in the middle of the room there is a table with a few scattered chairs and directly behind that lies his slightly cluttered desk. He rises from his desk to greet me. Hes not an especially tall man but you can tell he likes his presence to be known. I like him immediately. Hes not a man of many words, but he seems eager to help and answer whatever questions I ask him. He tries to offer up as much information as he can, but takes pauses to make sure Im gathering everything that hes saying. As the Chair of the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, you can sense his pride in the career and department. He lets me know that if I were to declare Rhetoric and Writing as my major, all I would have to do is email him, I would be the one to approve you. He seems more than willing, which makes me happy. He shows me a list of the classes required for the major and points out the ones that seem to be the most useful, The students who take these courses rarely have an issue finding a job after they graduate he says. Most of the classes he pointed to were in technical writing, editing and publishing. Other classes he mentioned are in persuasion and creative non-fiction. Most people think that technical writing sounds boring. I emphatically agreed. I thought so too at one time, he continued; but now I think if I went back that may be something that I would have done instead. He goes on to tell me about the internships that are available, the most prevalent is with Axiom, They love our students at Axiom, and most likely if you do well when youre done with your internship you will have a job offer waiting for you. It is always good to know that there are courses out there, such as grant writing, that involve things that not everyone knows. This course, along with others like Technical Writing and Editing, are what graduates get hired for. Not everyone has this knowledge, and its something to consider when choosing a major or a career path.

Interviews Continued

Diann Shaddox Miles Author, A Faded Cottage

Diann has been a published author since March of 2013 and while her novel may not be on the best seller list, you can tell that she loves the idea of being a published author. You can hear the bubbling of personality spilling out of her southern accent. She hasnt always lived in South Carolina but grew up in Nashville, Arkansas and still carries a bit of the twang with her. Both her brother and herself were raised by their grandmother, a strong, capable and handicapped woman. I was regaled with stories of how this elderly woman worked her way around life and into their hearts without an arm or anyone there to help. Some of the favorites I heard were in regards to punishment and how she would thump Diann and her brother on the head with the stump that remained. Diann struggles with a neurological disorder called Essential Tremors, or ET. Having been raised by a woman who wouldnt let anything stop her, there was no way she was going to allow this disorder to get the best of her. After discovering what was making her hands incessantly shake, she took control of her life by learning everything she could about this disorder and finding ways around it and ways to strengthen herself. She stands strong today in the knowledge that she can overcome anything. Also, a portion of all proceeds for her book, A Faded Cottage, go to the International Essential Tremor Foundation. Shes always loved writing, but it wasnt until recently that she actually was able to take the time to sit down and write. Writing will, in most cases, consume your life. She told me, Its not a 9 to 5 job, and your nights become a time when books and protagonists are born. With other books in the works she talks a bit more about the path it took to get where she is and some of the things that she would have done differently, Paths in life become twisted, but in hindsight, which is always nice to have, I would have turned my sights more toward a literary path She went to school to work in Elementary education and ended up working in interior design, life really can throw us some curve balls. When talking about choosing a career path she claims fate has a part of what happens, But everyone needs to go with a career that brings passion to their life. Her favorite part of her job is writing the story, and the least is in the editing and preparing it for publishing, she calls that process long and tedious. You have to learn to handle rejections, she reminds me. Top authors like John Grisham and JK Rowlings werent immune to the rejection letter. The most important thing is to never give up. When it comes to writing, I respect Dianns experience and struggle. Overall it was a privilege to get to know her and know more about some of the steps it may take to become a published writer. She gave me information on assisting agents and publishers. Working alongside publishers would put you into a position where youd have access to a lot of information and the experience that one would need to know in order to become published, or at least understand the process. I think that should the goal be to become published, seeking out an assisting position would be very useful in not only gaining experience, but also in directing life and ensuring that the writing and/or publishing route would be the way to go.

Alex Sanford Author, Big Bad China

Alex lives about 7 kilometers outside Vientiane, Laos in a place called Nong Da. Hes an attorney, a father, and a dreamer. But beyond that we can add author, editor and publisher to that list. Hes truly one of the most intelligent and remarkable men Ive had the honor of knowing. Even before discussing his current work, I look forward to hearing everything that he says. Hes worked on fiction books in the past but, as with most people who love to write, he has many manuscripts, some half written and some complete, that havent been published and are lying around gathering dust. BIG BAD CHINA, thats the title he chose for this work of creative non-fiction, the story goes with the title to be sure. Why creative non-fiction? The topic, He says. I chose to write about the risks that China presents to the world, and that is non-fiction rather than fiction. However, I recognize that most people hate the idea of reading a lengthy historical / political / economic analysis of China I decided to make the content as accessible as possible. With a background in technical writing due to many years of writing legal documents, things seemingly fell into place. The hard part for him was deciding to go ahead and write a book on his own rather than to co-write with someone else. Alex likes a challenge and you can tell by the eagerness he shows for what is yet to come, the publishing. He made the decision to publish on his own, which is something not everyone has the means to do The best part is trying to figure out how to support the book when it is released, to make it a commercial success. Many great books are never found by the public, and many poorly written or uncompelling books actually do surprisingly well. He willingly forks over a piece of advice that made me laugh a little to myself, Get off your fat ass and do it! Fairly obvious for those of us who have started, but he elaborates. Talk is cheap; you can say Im a writer... Im working on a book etc., but words on paper dont materialize by themselves. You actually have to write them, then revise and polish and sew it all together into a finished produce. The process is hugely fun, more than I ever imagined it would be, but its important not to get stuck, or lost, in the process. Finishing is what determines whether someone is a writer or a wannabe-writer. As someone who loves to write and someone who also doesnt want to be coined a wannabe, his speech was something of a kick in the butt for me. He didnt say to stay in school or focus on certain classes, he didnt really have much more advice than Yoda gave Luke, Do or do not But there comes a point where we all need to hear, Get off your fat ass and do it!

Interviews Continued

Charlie McConnell Masters Student

Charlie is working on her masters in English, I knew I wanted to be a librarian and that would require a masters degree, she told me. We have a similar background in schooling, we were both home-schooled, we also both share a love of reading, speaking to her was refreshing to me. Excitedly she tells me, Ive always loved to read and the degree was technically English Language and Literature they gave me credits for reading; that was my kind of deal! You can tell by her cheery disposition that she was being completely honest about her love of literature. Our love of books and homeschooling background are where our similarities end, she stands at about 6, the super tall blonde towers over me. She has a huge smile that engulfs her face, and speaks with her hands for emphasis. When I think about English, I think more about the mechanics of writinggrammar, pronunciation, spelling, A definition of motivation word meaning etc., speaking of her major. I perceive Rhetoric to focus more on the message; that is putting together that Ive heard recently is, a work that accomplishes a goalinspiring, persuading, when your goal is bigger explaining etc., She elaborated on her ideas of how a person can have an amazing message but could find it lost without the than your everyday desires. ability to punctuate, spell or use the proper word for emphasis. On the same side of a different coin you have the person who has wonderful grammar and punctuation but lacks a message, neither of these are going to be effective ways to write, so English and Rhetoric are something that should be learned hand-in-hand. British literature and Shakespeare were among her favorite classes so far. She enjoyed working on a few language papers as well, one was for a class and the paper was about the common elements among all languages, how they evolve and how language is acquired. I love the concepts of all of this, languages and different cultures mixed in with one of my true loves, the written word. Watching Charlie is motivating for me. I know that she has to be extremely busy but is willing to take time for the things that she loves. She loves books, she loves to read, she also loves to help people she wouldnt want to be a librarian otherwise. I think that we could all take a page out of her book. Shes goal-oriented, driven, and loves what shes looking to do. Motivation, thats what all students need, motivation with better time management is something the more non-traditional student like myself needs. A definition of motivation that Ive heard recently is, when your goal is bigger than your everyday desires. In other words, when you can keep focused on your goal and it is more important to you than the daily distractions, you can achieve.

She also told me not to go to class just for a degree, to know what I want to do with the degree and most importantly, the knowledge that I obtain on my way to getting the degree.

Fun Facts
Plato didnt care for the art of rhetoric; he thought it was just a form of flattery used to appease the ignorant masses. Rhetorical questions can be rather humorous &/or nonsensical, like something a blond would ask in all seriousness: Do fish get thirsty? Does a man eating shark eat women too? If you have a cold Hot Pocket, is it just a pocket? The most expensive book ever sold was the original copy of Chaucers Canterbury Tales, in 1998 it sold for $7,429523.40. There is a book out there that has no verbs Le Train de Nulle Part (The Nowhere Train) by Michel Thaler.

Reflection
Ive always been aware to some extent of the power of words. Ive loved the written word since I sat down at four with my first Nancy Drew book. Reading has changed my life. When it comes to learning, there are many ways to do it, but the most common that youll see is in book form. Someone out there has learned to write so effectively that schools and universities around the globe use their words to teach others. That, to me, is incredible. Ive spent quite a bit of time debating between what I want to learn, rhetoric or English. The choice is simple; to me, you cant have one without the other. It would be like having a peanut butter sandwich without the bread youve got something healthy and quite delicious, but its missing something. I, personally, want the whole nine yards. I truly believe that as students, as lovers of books, poetry and prose that we should be able to express in many formats anything that wed like to get across. We should be able to read with appreciation and understanding things that others might brush off as dull. So, I say, find the things that you love the best within these two very compatible majors and use the rest to compliment what you want to learn. Theres so much out there to be read and to be written. Personally, Im looking forward to the rest of this wonderful well written, well-read journey.