WP 1: Rough Draft 2

The above photo was taken in early 2008 in Uganda. Uganda is a landlocked country in Eastern Africa bordered by Kenya, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Rwanda. (Wikipedia, Uganda). For the last 23 years Uganda has entrenched in a brutal civil war between the Government of Uganda, currently headed by President Yoweri Museveni, and The Lord’s Resistance Army. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is a rebel guerrilla army formed in 1987 by Joseph Kony, who is a self-proclaimed “spokesperson” of God and a spirit medium. The LRA, recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States, adheres to a blend of Christianity, Mysticism, witchcraft, and claims to be establishing a theocratic state based on the Ten Commandments, (GlobalSecurity.org) The LRA is accused of widespread human rights violations including abduction, murder, mutilation, and the sexual enslavement of women. Kony and the LRA are possibly most known for abducting children and forcing them to fight in his army. “It is estimated that over 90% of the LRA’s troops were abducted as children” (Invisible Children). In an attempt to protect people from the LRA the Ugandan government forcibly evicted thousands from their homes and pushed them into overcrowded communities that have come to be known as displacement camps. Now, over a decade later, over a million people still live in displacement camps and along with the ever-present threat from the LRA “struggle to survive among the effects of abject poverty, rampant disease, and near-certain starvation” (Invisible Children). The displacement camps have offered few opportunities for cash income, almost no credit available, and very few of the people receive support from relatives living outside the camps. The main means of support for the camps is international humanitarian aid, which is never enough.

The knowledge about the conditions under which the people of Uganda must live their daily lives is something foreign and unfathomable to most American citizens. It is true that over “37 million Americans live below the official poverty line and millions more struggle to get by every month,” (AmericanProgress.org) but to be evicted from your home, herded and held in a community with no opportunity for income, and living in constant fear for your life is a way of life that few Americans, and other audiences of this photograph are able assimilate with or fully understand.

Upon first glance, this photo might simply appear to be a simple snapshot of young boys looking at their village in Africa. And indeed this is the case. However, this photo, and many others like it, force us to look beyond what we see in the first glance and begin to understand that the photo was taken purposefully to illustrate an argument about another, distinctly different, way of life, one in which contemporary American audiences may find to be incomprehensible. The photographer is using the photo as a catalyst that allows the audience to experience first hand the struggles of the people portrayed in the photo. The key elements in this photo work together to illustrate the significance of the historical and social context, describe the relevance of ethos, pathos, and logos as rhetorical appeals, as well as demonstrate the importance of vectors of attention and their relation to the argument made by the photo.

It is not only the knowledge of world events and historical contexts that lend themselves to help the audience understand the photo’s argument. The arrangement and vectors of attention play a large role in providing insight into the argument as well. According to Compose, Design, Advocate, vectors of attention are, “lines of direction that our eyes follow,” (CDA, 350). The vectors of attention found in the photograph are focused toward the displacement camp. The subjects are centered in the middle of the photograph, so they are certainly the first things that you notice when looking at the picture as they are the largest and take up the most space. But then, your attention turns to what they are looking at, or what their attention is directed on. It seems that the vectors of attention are such that your attention is drawn to the center of the photo, and then encourage you to work slowly outward. The way that the boys are standing also, with the tallest in the center and the shorter boys on each side, also directs your initial attention to the center of the photo. But there is something else to be explored about the arrangement. The boys are looking away from the camera and we cannot see their faces. This decision could be one made simply to encourage the audience to make the connection between the boys and the displacement camp below them. But it could also be something more, a rhetorical statement about the world that American citizens do not know about, and do not see. The boys see the devastation and horrors happening all around them, but the American audiences viewing the photo do not see them, cannot see them. The three boys represent the over 32 million residents of Uganda, (Wikipedia, Uganda) who remain faceless victims of violence and mere statistics to an unassuming United States population.

The arrangement of the subjects and vectors of attention are also an appeal to pathos and logos as well. There are many strong appeals to pathos in this photo, most of which are created by the vectors of attention and arrangement. By having the three boys centered in the photo and standing right next to each other, not only does it draw your attention to them right away, it eludes that they might be friends or brothers and evokes in the viewer a sense of compassion and empathy, as most of us can think of the loving feelings that we have for our own friends.

There is also an appeal to pathos through the vectors of attention. While our initial attention is drawn to the center and the boys, it is where they are looking and what they are looking at that is really applicable to pathos. The displacement camp is where the attention of the photo is directed. Even though an audience member might not know what a displacement camp is, by looking at the photo, it is evident by the sheer number of homes, how close together all of the homes are, how small they are, and how they are all constructed of straw and earth, rather than timber an steel as most modern homes typically are that is a place that most people would not like to live. This would invoke in most people a sense of sympathy, as any person can understand how important shelter and home are.

It is this appeal to pathos that greatly shapes the photo’s argument. While the historical context is very important to understanding the relevance of the photo, and the vectors of attention and arrangement might lend support, it is the appeal to pathos that truly shapes the argument the photo is attempting to make. As mentioned before, there are very few who can directly relate to the struggles facing the pictured Ugandan boys. And that is precisely the argument that the photo is trying to make, that there exist other ways of life that contemporary American audiences my find unfathomable and incomprehensible. While the photo makes an argument that there are ways of life that a majority of United States citizens may be unable to identify with, it also attempts to illustrate to the audience the struggles of the young boys and allow them to begin to gain both empathy and sympathy for the boys and their way of life.

Works Cited

"History of the War." Invisible Children. Invisible Children, 2009. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. <http://www.invisiblechildren.com/about/history/>.

"The Lord's Resistance Army." Global Security. N.p., 2009. Web. 15 Oct. 2009. <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/lra.htm>.

"The Poverty Epidemic In America." Center For American Progress. N.p., 24 Apr. 2007. Web. 13 Oct. 2009. <http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty_numbers.html>.

"Uganda." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda>.

Wysocki, Anne Frances, and Dennis A. Lynch. Compose, Design, Advocate: a rhetoric for integrating written, visual, and oral communication. New York: Person Longman, 2007. Page 350.

WP 1: Rough Draft 1

Upon first glace, this photo of three Ugandan children might simply appear to be a simple snapshot of young boys looking at their village in Africa. And indeed this is the case. However, this photo, and many others like it, force us to look beyond what we see in the first glance and begin to understand that the photo was taken purposefully to illustrate an argument about another, distinctly different, way of life, one in which contemporary American audiences may be find incomprehensible. The photographer is using the photo as a catalyst that allows the audience to experience first hand the struggles of the people portrayed in the photo. The key elements in this photo work together to illustrate the significance of the historical and social context, describe the relevance of ethos, pathos, and logos as rhetorical appeals, as well as demonstrate the importance of vectors of attention and their relation to the argument made by the photo.

To begin to unravel the photo’s argument, it is imperative to first become acquainted with the historical anand social importance

from which it is derived. The photo was taken in early 2008 inUganda. Uganda is a landlocked country in Eastern Africa bordered by Kenya, Sudan, theDemocratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Rwanda. (Wikipedia, Uganda) For the last 23 years Uganda has entrenched in a brutal civil war between the Government of Uganda, currently headed by President Yoweri Museveni, and The Lord’s Resistance Army. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is a rebel guerrilla army formed in 1987 by Joseph Kony, who is a self-proclaimed “spokesperson” of God anda spirit medium. The LRA, recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States, adheres to a blend of Christianity, Mysticism, witchcraft, and claims to be establishing a theocratic state based on the Ten Commandments. “It is estimated that over 90% of the LRA's troops were abducted as children," (Invisible Children). In an attempt to protect people from the LRA the Ugandan government forcibly evicted thousands from their homes and pushed them into overcrowded communities that have come to be known as displacement camps. Now, over a decade later, over a million people still live in displacement camps and along with the ever-present threat from the LRA “struggle to survive among the effects of abject poverty, rampant disease, and near-certain starvation” (Invisible Children). The displacement camps have offered few opportunities for cash income, almost no credit available, and very few of the people receive support from relatives living outside the camps. The main means of support for the camps is international humanitarian aid, which is never enough.

This knowledge about the conditions under which the people of Uganda must live their daily lives is something foreign and incomprehensible to most American citizens. It is true that over “37 million Americans live below the official poverty line and millions more struggle to get by every month,” (AmericanProgress.org) but to be evicted from your home, herded and held in a community with no opportunity for income, and living in constant fear for your life is a way of life that few Americans, and other audiences of this photograph are able assimilate with.

But it is not only this knowledge of world events that lends itself to help the audience understand the photo’s argument. The arrangement and vectors of attention play a large role in providing insight into the argument as well. According toCompose, Design, Advocate, vectors of attention are, “lines of direction that our eyes follow,” (CDA, 350). The vectors of attention found in the photograph are focused toward the displacement camp. The subjects are centered in the middle of the photograph, so they are certainly the first things that you notice when looking at the picture as they are the largest and take up the most space. But then, your attention turns to what they are looking at, or what their attention is directed on. It seems that the vectors of attention are such that your attention is drawn to the center of the photo, and then encourage you to work slowly outward. The way that the boys are standing also, with the tallest in the center and the shorter boys on each side, also directs your initial attention to the center of the photo. The way that they boys are arranged also lends an appeal to ethos. The decision to arrange the subjects the way that they did lends credibility to the photographer. Their arrangement and the vectors of attention are very effective at directing our attention to all of the various elements present in the picture, and making it obvious how they relate to each other and why they are important to our understanding of the argument the photo is attempting to make.

The arrangement of the subjects and vectors of attention are also an appeal to pathos and logos as well. There are many strong appeals to pathos in this photo, most of which are created by the vectors of attention and arrangement. By having the three boys centered in the photo and standing right next to each other, not only does it draw your attention to them right away, it eludes that they might be friends or brothers and evokes in the viewer a sense of compassion and empathy, as most of us can think of the loving feelings that we have for our own friends. There is also an appeal to pathos through the vectors of attention. While our initial attention is drawn to the center and the boys, it is where they are looking and what they are looking at that is really applicable to pathos. The displacement camp is where the attention of the photo is directed. Even though an audience member might not know what a displacement camp is, by looking at the photo, it is evident by the sheer number of homes, how close together all of the homes are, how small they are, and how they are all constructed of straw and earth, rather than timber an steel as most modern homes typically are that is a place that most people would not like to live. This would invoke in most people a sense of sympathy, as any person can understand how important shelter and home are.

It is this appeal to pathos that greatly shapes the photo’s argument. While the historical context is very important to understanding the relevance of the photo, and the vectors of attention and arrangement might lend support, it is the appeal to pathos that truly shapes the argument the photo is attempting to make. As mentioned before, there are very few who can directly relate to the struggles facing the pictured Ugandan boys. And that is precisely the argument that the photo is trying to make, that there exist other ways of life that contemporary American audiences my find unfathomable and incomprehensible. While the photo makes an argument that there are ways of life that a majority of United States citizens may be unable to identify with, it also attempts to illustrate to the audience the struggles of the young boys and allow them to begin to gain both empathy and sympathy for the boys and their way of life.

Statement Of Purpose

The photograph I have chosen of three Ugandan boys looking out over a displacement camp has many possible purposes, possible interpretations, and even more possible contexts. To produce an effective analysis of the photo, there are many factors including purpose, audience, and context that must be taken into consideration as I go about writing my analysis.

My personal purpose for choosing this photo is my passion for the cause from which it derives. I have always had an interest in the plight of the people in Central Africa including the regions of Darfur, Sudan, and Uganda. By choosing and analyzing this photo, I would like to bring light to an issue that I feel deserves far more attention than it currently receives. While this purpose is very particular to my specific interests and social position, it is also a purpose that everyone could share. There are so many different kinds of people in the world, but in the end, we are all people, and we should come to the aid of our fellow human beings. This is a purpose that all people can relate to and potentially feel passion for. This is definitely a purpose that I would like for all people to have, as it is an important social issue, as well as an issue of humanity, which is something that affects us all.

An essential element to consider when writing about the photograph I have chosen is the audience that will be viewing my analysis. My primary audience consists of my teacher and my classmates. They are the people who will be reading, reviewing, and helping me revise my analysis. Aside from the fact that they are going to be required to read my writing, I hope to provide them with insights and information about the circumstances surrounding my photo, the context in which it was taken, as well as a piece of writing that they can learn from, and help me learn from as well. But along with my classmates, I have a very prominent secondary audience as well. Since this photo analysis will be posted on the Internet, my secondary audience could potentially be quite large and quite diverse, with different backgrounds, experiences, and opinions. I recognize that this secondary audience will probably not be seeking out my blog, so when they find it, I hope to be able to interest them with the information found in my analysis and might, with any luck, be able to inspire them to learn more about the subject of the photo and potentially join the cause as well.

Another very important element to bear in mind while composing my analysis is the context from which my audiences will be viewing my writing. While it is virtually impossible for me to determine or consider all of the possible perspectives that my audience will have, I can certainly imagine a few and cater to those particular demographics. Obviously, my teacher and classmates will be of primary concern, and will most likely be my focus as they will be the ones guaranteed to read my analysis. They will be reading from an academic standpoint so I will need to write with a certain amount of sophistication. They will also most likely be forced to read my work, so I will need to add a certain sense of urgency and importance in order to keep their attention and help them understand my writing. This point is also true for my secondary audience as well. Most of the random blog seekers will probably stumble upon my post by accident, and I will need to capture their interest so they want to read what I write, and write with enough gusto that they want to finish reading my analysis. I am not particularly interested in whether or not either of these audiences agrees with what I have to say, but I would like to understand the contexts in which my audiences will be reading what I write, so that I can effectively cater to my demographic and accomplish my purpose in writing about the photo.

Blog Post #10: Historical Context

In order to better understand the relevance of the photograph of the three Ugandan boys I have chosen, it is very important to understand the historical and cultural contexts from which it is derived.

To fully understand the significance of the photo, you must understand the history of the location at which it was taken. This photo was taken in 2008 in Uganda. Uganda is a landlocked country in Eastern Africa bordered by Kenya, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Rwanda. (Wikipedia) For the last 23 years Uganda has entrenched in a brutal civil war between the Government of Uganda, currently headed by President Yoweri Museveni, and The Lord’s Resistance Army.

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is a rebel guerrilla army formed in 1987 by Joseph Kony, who is a self-proclaimed “spokesperson” of God and a spirit medium. The LRA, recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States, adheres to a blend of Christianity, Mysticism, witchcraft, and claims to be establishing a theocratic state based on the Ten Commandments. The LRA is accused of widespread human rights violations including abduction, murder, mutilation, and the sexual enslavement of women. Kony and the LRA are possibly most known for abducting children and forcing them to fight in his army. “It is estimated that over 90% of the LRA’s troops were abducted as children” (Invisible Children). The LRA leaders believed that they young children would be easier to terrorize could easily be brainwashed and molded into trained fighters and killers, and that they could less easily escape. In search of safety and protection, approximately 25,000 children, between the ages of 3 and 17, known as night commuters, have been forced to travel up to 12 miles per night from their small vulnerable villages to larger more protected cities. The children sleep in masses at hospitals, empty churches, and bus parks where the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces offer some protection while they sleep.

In an attempt to protect the Ugandan people from the LRA and put an end to the night commuting, the Ugandan government forcibly evicted thousands from their homes and pushed them into overcrowded communities, now called displacement camps. Now, over a decade later, over a million people still live in displacement camps and along with the ever-present threat from the LRA “struggle to survive among the effects of abject poverty, rampant disease, and near-certain starvation” (Invisible Children). The displacement camps have offered few opportunities for cash income, almost no credit available, and very few of the people receive support from relatives living outside the camps. The main means of support for the camps is international humanitarian aid, which is never enough.

In the photograph, we see three boys overlooking hundreds of homes. Understanding the history of the country they are in, the war that is raging around them, that their homes are part of a displacement camp with deplorable conditions, and that they most likely live in constant fear of abduction by a rebel group provides a whole new context from which to view the photo.

Works Cited

"History of the War." Invisible Children. Invisible Children, 2009. Web. 1 Oct.
2009. <http://www.invisiblechildren.com/about/history/>.

"Lord's Resistance Army." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2009.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord's_Resistance_Army

"Uganda." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda

Blog Post #9: Arrangement And Appeals

In the photograph of the three Ugandan boys I chose, the vectors of attention are focused toward the displacement camp. The subjects are centered in the middle of the photograph, so they are certainly the first things that you notice when looking at the picture as they are the largest and take up the most space. But then, your attention turns to what they are looking at, or what their attention is directed on, and that is on the displacement camp. It seems that the vectors of attention are such that your attention is drawn to the center of the photo, and then encourage you to work slowly outward. The way that the boys are standing also, with the tallest in the center and the shorter boys on each side, also directs your initial attention to the center of the photo. The way that they boys are arranged also lends an appeal to ethos. The decision to arrange the subjects the way that they did lends credibility to the photographer. Their arrangement and the vectors of attention are very effective at directing our attention to all of the various elements present in the picture, and making it obvious how they relate to each other and why they are important to our understanding of the context in which the photo was taken.

The arrangement of the subjects and vectors of attention are also an appeal to pathos and logos as well. There are many strong appeals to pathos in this photo, most of which are created by the vectors of attention and arrangement. By having the three boys centered in the photo and standing right next to each other, not only does it draw your attention to them right away, it eludes that they might be friends or brothers and evokes in the viewer a sense of compassion and empathy, as most of us can think of the loving feelings that we have for our own friends. There is also an appeal to pathos through the vectors of attention. While our initial attention is drawn to the center and the boys, it is where they are looking and what they are looking at that is really applicable to pathos. The displacement camp is where the attention of the photo is directed. Even though you might not know what a displacement camp is, by looking at the photo, you can see the sheer number of homes, how close together all of the homes are, how small they are, and how they are all constructed of straw and earth, rather than timber an steel as our homes typically are. This would invoke in most people a sense of sympathy, as any person can understand how important shelter and home are. Thinking about living in such small and tight living conditions would make most people count their blessings and be thankful that they live in the home that they do and feel sorry for those who live in such squalor.

The appeals to logos found in this picture are in the very elements that make up the photo. The photo is in black and white, and because of that the only hues in this image are black, grey, and white. Despite the lack of color, there is a great deal of contrast present. There are extreme differences between the lights and darks in this picture. The dark skin of the boys is a stark contrast to the light and bright area of the displacement camp homes and they sky.