Screening TED: a Rhetorical Analysis of the Intersections of Rhetoric, Digital Media, and Pedagogy
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2014 Screening TED: A rhetorical analysis of the intersections of rhetoric, digital media, and pedagogy Joseph Alan Watson Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Watson, Joseph Alan, "Screening TED: A rhetorical analysis of the intersections of rhetoric, digital media, and pedagogy" (2014). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2544. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2544 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. SCREENING TED: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE INTERSECTIONS OF RHETORIC, DIGITAL MEDIA, AND PEDAGOGY A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Communication Studies by Joseph A. Watson B.A., The University of Memphis, 1998 M.A., The University of Memphis, 2003 December 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The decision to enter a doctoral program is agreeing to train for and complete an intense marathon. During my training, I had the good fortune to work with some amazingly talented and supportive people at LSU. First, thank you to my best friend and wife, Shalika, for supporting and believing in this dream. You have been the backbone and inspiration for this entire journey. Our children, Kobe and Zoe, have also sacrificed me on many weekends and late nights, not fully understanding just what “thing” Daddy was writing. One day, perhaps, they will appreciate all of those lost nights. I entered the Department of Communication Studies at LSU at a unique moment as my graduate student peers were a collaborative mix of aspiring rhetoricians, performance artists, and theorists. Our group truly bonded and shared in one another’s successes and failures. Thank you to Dre, Rebecca Walker, Jes, Sarah, Holley, and John for many nights at the Chimes and Slinkys as well as porch time in Spanish Town. This period of philosophical incubation was truly fantastic and magical as we inspired and challenged each other. Thanks to Rachel Spear for being my campus wife and always putting up with my shit with such patience and compassion. Thanks to Chas for so many conversations and his friendship. In order to complete this marathon, I had to lean on so many brilliant minds. I am a better person for having known and interacted with these tremendous people. For Loretta, I am not sure I would’ve survived had it not been for your wisdom, patience, and guidance. I owe you many drinks during March Madness. For Laura, you pulled me from the edge, inspired me, and saved me from that dark pit of despair. I am forever grateful. For Rachel, thank you for your strong insight and passion. For Ruth, I will never see the world the same way again after having been taught by you. For Tracy, presence and absence still haunts me in the most fabulous way. ii I cannot thank you enough for being my cinematic twin. For Jackie, thank you for jumping in and digging into TED-ED and being so generous with your time and input. For Andy, thank you sir, for producing such a fun rhetorical ride down so many fruitful paths. For Trish, thank you for showing me how to teach film the right way and helping me see what makes film and pedagogy go. For Larry, I will never forget that TED chat. Thank you for bringing me into your staff and letting me explore and discover my creative identity. For Kristin, thank you for being such an amazingly supportive person and giving me opportunities to dream through teaching. Michael Bassford- thank you for the best bromance anyone could ask for in life. I must thank the remarkable Lillian and Communication across the Curriculum team. Without Lillian and CxC, I would not have found my roots and built courage to grow as a leader. Without Studio 151, I am not sure where I would be today, but I am grateful to Kevin for his patience and support, especially for all my crazy ideas and antics. The same could be said for Rebecca Burdette, who will always be my TEDx partner and yin to my yang, as she has never wavered in her support for me. If it were not for Karen, I may have never known Louisiana. Thank you for all you did to help get me there, support me, and believe in me. I will never forget that afternoon phone interview. It made LSU and Louisiana click for me and my future immediately took a turn for the better. Finally, thank you Stephanie. You introduced TED to me and pushed me to seek its relevance. You have played many roles in my life and I am honored for you to have mentored me. Thank you! iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………...………………..ii ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 Purpose of the Study........................................................................................................... 7 Research Questions........................................................................................................... 17 Methodology..................................................................................................................... 20 Structure of the Study ....................................................................................................... 25 2 LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………………………...29 The Production of Expertise….…………………..…………………………………… ...29 The Ecology of Spreading……....……………………..……………………………… ...36 Education On-Demand……………………………………………………………… …..43 Hybrid Pedagogy…………….…………………………………...………………… …...47 3 IT'S ALL CONNECTED: THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT OF TED……………….. .53 Finding Agency............................................................................................................... ..64 Convergence Culture………………………………………………………………… ….70 4 TEDx: POSSIBILITES FOR COMMUNITAS IN THE DIGITAL………………………..77 The Salon……………………………...………………………………………………...85 Curating the TEDxLSU Lesson Plan...………………………………………………...104 5 TED AS DISRUPTIVE PEDAGOGY…………………………………………………… 111 Disrupting the Introductory Course………..…………………………………………..118 Pecha-Kucha: The Classroom as TED…….………………………….……………… .127 Making a Mix Tape of Ideas………………………………………………………… ..132 Reflections and Recommendations………….………………………………………. ..139 6 THE RHETORIC OF EXPERTISE……………………………………………………… .147 BIL……………………………………………………………………………………..149 The Expert on Trial…………………………………………………………………….159 7 CONCLUSION………....................................................................................................... .162 Future Work on TED……………………………………………… ... ………………...165 iv REFERENCES............................................................................................................................168 APPENDIX A TED TALKS AND OTHER SOURCES………………………………...……………..178 B IRB MATERIALS……………………………………………………………………...179 VITA……………………………………………………………………………………………181 v ABSTRACT The presence of expertise resonates across our daily lives. Experts are called upon to consult us about which candidate is ideal for office, which type of wood is the best choice for a carpentry project, which scientist has optimal data on the effects of air pollution, which speech teacher is the best one to take for proper credit hours, and more. An expert is typically conceived as an individual who knows more about a given topic and can create stronger identification than an average person. The struggle to achieve expert status is one that is fundamentally tied to power and is reliant on the establishment of authenticity and legitimacy from audiences. It is, at its core, a struggle that utilizes rhetoric. Begun in 1984, the TED conference has become a critical player in an architectonic movement to manufacture expertise. Modeled on the Lyceum movement of the early American 20th century, the TED conferences have spread rapidly into public culture, but most notably in field of education. TED “talk videos” are classroom artifacts. Likewise, the TED conferences have become models of community engagement that work rhetorically to demonstrate the attribution and manufacturing of expertise amidst a 21st century digital world. In short, we have acknowledged TED’s growth and expansion as credible and sanctioned their identity as the harbinger of expert and inspirational ideas. The democratization of digital media has made it possible to share ideas faster than ever before. The attribution of expertise and the precise role of technology within pedagogy become increasingly complex. My dissertation posits that TED employs current uses of digital media technologies in order to manufacture its ethos of expertise within public culture. vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION At the American Institute of Architects Conference in 1976, president Richard Saul Wurman introduced the concept of “information architecture” into our vernacular. Richard Saul Wurman is an author, architect, scholar, and professed information junkie. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania