Merrimack College CM 401A "The Sixties"

Nice job folks!

I hope you got a taste of the power of an informed and coordinated group action. You were very cohesive, and acted well as a team. Perhaps if we'd had this exercise earlier, you may have had a different view of student protests and how Baby Boomer's considered the anti-war efforts a bonding experience. Imagine if your actions today had been an on-going effort that resulted in major, verifiable change?

How do you think it may have felt to the Sixties demonstrators to actually see the first troop withdrawals from Vietnam? The students of that time believed "they could change the world/rearrange the world" as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young sang.

I'll keep the Blog going for a while, so feel free to use it.

I'm also happy to spin off the Team Blogs and give you the administration rights so you can use them as your own.

Anyhow, I'll be seeing some of you during the Final. Good luck with your other, less important :) finals.

To my graduating seniors, I'll miss you terribly! and best of luck with bright and promising futures!

Drop the essay to 1000 words.

Have a main AND EXPLICIT topic or thesis, reinforce it with at least 3 but no more than 5 supporting threads, use relevant imagery, and citations.

Major events might include:

Elevation of Youth Culture and the Role of music, leaders, education;

Global Perceptions of the United States with consideration of Mass Media;

Media's Role in making Local Events into National/Global Events and how communication practitioners utilize it;

Fear of Communism/Nuclear War and it's Role in developing US Policies (A Fear-based appeal is inherently Aristotelian);

the Role of a Representative Democracy (smaller number of elected, hopefully qualified, representatives making group decisions) vs Poll Results (raw figures on how people think and/or feel) in determining US Legislation. An essay based in terms of the three Artistic Appeals - Ethos/Pathos/Logos- may provide an interesting possible explanation.

Acceptance of African-American Musicians by Mass Audience and impact on Social Policy;

Anti-Colonial Movement of the Sixties and the impact on US Global Policies. How did the country that produced the Declaration of Independence deal with other countries aspirations to be independent in a Cold War environment?

If broadcast television influenced the American voters in the Sixties and eventual withdrawral from Vietnam, what media are important today? What is emerging? What is fading? Are there any patterns forming? Can media such as the Blog meet Augustine's qualification that rhetoric "Inform, Move or Entertain" the audience?

You are not bound to these, they are mainly to trigger some ideas.

Good Luck