Advertising, Politics, Activism, and Human Dignity

Question 1: Analyzing an Advertisement

Sources:
• Excerpts from Good Reasoning Matters (on Moodle) – for questions 1 and 3
• “The Daily Show’s Exposé of Political Rhetoric” (on Moodle) for questions 1 and 3
• “The Idea of Human Dignity” (on Moodle) for questions 2 and 3
• Any online sources used for advertisements and examples

Answer all of the following questions:

1) Choice 1 advertisement from the list at the end of this document – whether or not you agree with the message of the advertisements, they all use persuasion techniques: appeals to emotion, fallacies, slanting (omission and distortion), and non-verbal elements (visual, auditory (chapter 6) – important b/c advertisements rely heavily on visual and auditory components). These persuasive techniques/elements are arguably manipulative (Satire, Politics, and Fallacies Lecture, especially Part 1). 

• Think about the advertisement as an argument trying to persuade its audience of something.

• Who is the arguer, intended audience, and the opponent? What beliefs, desires, or emotions is it trying to get the audience to adopt, and for what reason? 

• What fallacies, appeals to emotion, slanting techniques (omissions & distortions, euphemisms & dysphemisms, non-verbal elements) are being employed to persuade you? 

• What does the argument amount to? If we think of the advertisement’s persuasive elements as premises, are they acceptable, contextually relevant, and/or sufficient? 

2) “Dignity” has a technical meaning in theoretical ethics. What is it and why is it important? (“The Idea of Human Dignity”). Explain if and how your advertisement might violate human dignity. 

3) Briefly develop a thesis /conclusion (a position, a take-away, a lesson) on any of the issues concerning advertising, politics, activism, consumerism, human nature, political rhetoric, political satire, etc. Give reasons – reasons why others should agree with your position
(conclusion).

Tips:
• The more you engage with the required sources, the better.
• If you cannot understand elements of the readings, talk to me about it rather than googling stuff, which can lead to plagiarism.

• No extensions will be granted. Begin your assignment now. You have lots of time to complete this assignment and so if you leave it until the night before and get sick (etc.) you will have to live with the late penalties. Also, be sure to back up any drafts, notes, or any work you do on the assignment in case your computer crashes. “Catastrophic laptop failure” is not an excuse. So 1) begin now; 2) back up your work.

Requirements:
1) A typed, formal written response to questions posed above, with a body which is between 2 and 4 pages – no longer than a 4-page body. If you really need to, you can go a little over the length limit but make sure it is not because of poor editing. 

• 12-point font, double-spaced, normal margins, and indented paragraphs (write in paragraphs not bullet points),
• With a title page and a reference page including an appendix for a screenshot of the advertisement you choose; see below). Times New Roman is the standard / professional font.

2) It should be crystal clear that you are answering these questions on the basis of the assigned readings (provide page and paragraph numbers whenever you use a source at the end of that sentence. 

• For in-text referencing from the sources, at the end of the sentence provide: (Name, p. #, para. #).
• You should provide some short, integrated quotations on key points.
• If any outside sources are used, you must give full bibliographical citations on the reference page as well citing it in-text whenever you use it.
• If you use class lecture notes, the lecture should also be cited in text and on the reference page.
• Cite whenever a source is used, not just for quotations.

3) Provide a Title Page with all relevant information (your name, student number, the name of the course, section #, title of the assignment, and my name and title); 

4) Provide a properly formatted Reference Page containing every reading and source used
• Reference individual chapters: each chapter from Good Reasoning Matters must have its own complete reference on the reference page as if they were essays in an anthology (see sample below),
• Reference all sources used in alphabetical order (roughly APA format),
• Provide screenshot of the advertisement you choose as an appendix (last page)