1. Inventing Arguments by Analyzing Artifacts Todd Sumerfield

2. Introduction to Inventing an Argument When analyzing a piece of work, or a rhetorical artifact, the first step is to choose an article to write about. Choosing an artifact can oftentimes be the most difficult part of the argument. One must determine the difference between an article and an artifact.

3. Article vs. Artifact An article is defined as any object that is made by humans We are looking for a rhetorical artifact, which is an article that aims to persuade its audience. Artifacts can be anything from spoken word to physical art to videos. As long as they aim to persuade the audience of something. We are looking for a rhetorical artifact, one which speaks to a specific purpose or exigence. A few examples of rhetorical artifacts include sculptures, debates, graffiti, lectures, documents.

4. Determining the Artifact’s Audience After finding an artifact, one must then determine who the artifact is addressing in its rhetorical mission to persuade. It would be easy to say that a movie was speaking to the people in the theatre; instead you must decide exactly what type of person it trying to persuade. This can be difficult because the artifact often means different things to different people. This prompts a deeper look into the audience, to see what the most likely message is. Little things about the audience can be important such as gender composition, average age, price range of event if there is an entrance fee, etc. All of these things can tell you something about your audience, and can help you to see the artifact through their eyes and understand the meaning of the piece. It may sometimes be helpful to design imaginary characters from your audience so that you can see the piece through their eyes, and see how they might be affected by it.

5. Exigence After analyzing the audience, it must be determined what the piece says to them in the rhetorical context. Each rhetorical piece speaks to what is called an exigence. An exigence is an obstacle or imperfection that can be changed by a particular action. The goal of each rhetorical artifact is to move the audience to action against the particular problem identified by the exigence. The exigence of the article must create a number of debatable arguments about the means and method of change the exigence requires.

6. Analyzing the Artifact Directly When looking at the exigence of your artifact, do not look at the obvious reasoning for the piece, or how it is most likely meant to function, look for a deeper reason that may not be obvious to the untrained eye. Oftentimes it can be helpful to analyze part of the artifact which feels out of place or contradictory to the rest of the piece. To analyze the artifact, one must look at all aspects of the artifact, which may include other restrictions or requirements which the artifact must fulfill.

7. Writing Your Analysis Once you have compiled all of your information (artifact, exigence and audience), it is time to analyze the artifact. Find that one thing in particular which is unique about the artifact and start piecing together your analysis of the audience and what the artifact will specifically mean to them. It is important to portray your information in a way that will be most effective to your audience as well, just as was the case with the artifact communicating with its desired audience.

8. The Right Argument for Your Situation When writing your analysis, there are bound to be a number of different rules that bind your analysis but feel free to bend them. Rhetorical analysis is a an inventive art, so feel free to bend the rules a bit. This analysis is meant to portray the exigence and means of change in an effective method to the audience, and in many cases this is not through an essay or power point. It may be that other creative methods are necessary in order to get your point across in the most effective manner. Analyze how the rhetor creating the artifact succeeds by breaking the rules himself and setting his/her piece apart from the others.

9. Example Below I have included an example analysis which I did, analyzing a video that was shown to a group of organized protestors in Denver. The audience was a group which was already taking part in protests, but the desired change from the video was for people to do more than just peaceful protest. The images of people around the world losing their lives for their cause is meant to instill a deeper sense of responsibility in the protestors and move them to action. The presentation and explanatory piece that accompany it fully explain the audience, exigence, and artifact and present it to the audience in such a way that explains that main debatable argument to the audience in a creative manner.

10. Example Continued Notice how the example piece is creatively displayed; using the imagination of the audience by engaging them in pictures, text and videos. Although the movie did not mean the same thing or portray the same message to all of the audience, the general exigence to a group of protestors was determined to be a call to action and to arms. This was determined by observing the audience and the artifact thoroughly. The example is given below in its original format.

11. Your Assignment After understanding the concepts above and observing my example, all of you should be able to construct your own analysis of a rhetorical artifact. Your assignment is to find an artifact around campus to analyze. Take your time in choosing an artifact, and don’t forget the great resources we have in the art displays. The article may be off campus if it is approved by the instructor, but this should not be a full day commitment. Rhetorical artifacts are all around you if you know where to look. The artifact doesn’t have to be something physical, it can be a speech or meeting as well. Make sure you engage yourself in the people around the artifact, immersing yourself in the people and culture surrounding the article. This will help you to understand the audience and the particular exigence that the rhetorical artifact speaks to.

12. Get Creative! I don’t expect all of you to have the same format for all of your projects, in fact I hope not to see two projects that are in the same format. You can be as creative as you wish with your analysis, as long as you explain all of the necessary pieces. Feel free to explore possibilities outside of Microsoft Word or Power Point. Your analysis should contain an analysis of the artifact, audience, exigence, and whether or not you thought the artifact expressed its desired change in an effective manner. Good Luck! And have fun with this!