Last blog!

I had studied both Toulmin and Foucault before, and I think they're both really interesting and made important contributions to rhetoric.  Toulmin introduced the logic of argument rather than the logic of the proposition which I think is really important because I think that the media demonstrates frequently that a proposition doesn't have to be logical to be an effective argument.  For example, I just used an article on Sarah Palin in one of my other classes that was on how she calls herself a housewife and how she is clearly not a housewife.  After reading the article, it made me think a little more about Palin and I really think that millions of Americans think that she stays at home with her kids.  However she obviously doesn't, she was a governor and ran for President.  Foucault is interesting as well because he talks about how society defines a lot of things.  I feel like panopticism is really interesting as well.  I think it's definitely true that society defines a lot of things and that we create barriers to prevent change, especially in the case of sexism.  Going back to Palin, she wouldn't be a viable candidate if she wasn't married with children.  While there's no real reason for this, society has defined a role for women, and while it has changed a little, there are a lot of barriers still up.