New Domestics Collective Website
Author
I initially created this project in a class called Advanced Persuasive Writing and later developed it into website form in a class called Rhetorical Theory.
Context of the Assignment
Interestingly enough, this project has morphed from essay to website to movement.
My original assignment in Advanced Persuasive Writing was to create a piece of forensic (also known as judicial or legal) rhetoric. Forensic rhetoric is that which defends an issue through judging past events. I chose the topic of new domesticity (defined by Emily Matchar as "the re-embrace of home and hearth by those who have the means to reject these things") because this was a newly discovered research interest of mine, and I was eager to defend people’s choice to practice domesticity.
Though I originally envisioned the essay being delivered to a web audience, due to time constraints, I was only able to produce the essay in print form ("Not Your Grandmother's Domesticity"). The next semester in Rhetorical Theory, I received a similar assignment, and asked the professor for permission to translate my essay into the New Domestics Collective website.
I initially created this project in a class called Advanced Persuasive Writing and later developed it into website form in a class called Rhetorical Theory.
Context of the Assignment
Interestingly enough, this project has morphed from essay to website to movement.
My original assignment in Advanced Persuasive Writing was to create a piece of forensic (also known as judicial or legal) rhetoric. Forensic rhetoric is that which defends an issue through judging past events. I chose the topic of new domesticity (defined by Emily Matchar as "the re-embrace of home and hearth by those who have the means to reject these things") because this was a newly discovered research interest of mine, and I was eager to defend people’s choice to practice domesticity.
Though I originally envisioned the essay being delivered to a web audience, due to time constraints, I was only able to produce the essay in print form ("Not Your Grandmother's Domesticity"). The next semester in Rhetorical Theory, I received a similar assignment, and asked the professor for permission to translate my essay into the New Domestics Collective website.
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However, once I reworked the content for the website, I realized that the argument I was making was more than simply an analysis of past events; it was actually a movement, and something that I came to call the “Collective.” The website, then, functioned merely as the medium to propel the message of the movement.
Context of the Argument The context for my argument as I state in my “About the Collective” page is as follows: “For thousands of years, domesticity [taking care of home and family] has been a cultural norm that has provided stability and increased quality of life for the family unit. In the last one hundred years or so, we have witnessed a departure from domesticity that has changed the family structure and led many people to live in a constant state of emergency.” Audience
The audience for the New Domestics Collective is anyone—men, women, singles, marrieds, students, full-time employees, stay at home parents—who desires to make their home a place of peace. The Collective especially seeks to engage 20-somethings (both male and female) who are in a critical position to determine the quality of life they would like to have and be able to provide for their families in the future. |
Purpose
As I state of the purpose of the movement in the "About the Collective" page:
As I state of the purpose of the movement in the "About the Collective" page:
“The New Domestics Collective is an online community that seeks to give context for the domestics of yesteryear and courage to the New Domestics of today. By providing a forum for sharing stories, advice, photos, and recipes, the Collective aims to foster a conversation about domesticity that will help individuals achieve a high quality of life, with emphasis on the things that really matter. The Collective maintains that there are many viable paths to reclaiming domesticity.”
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Rhetorical Analysis
I created the New Domestics Collective website using Aristotle's strategies from his work, On Rhetoric. The website has come to represent both forensic and ceremonial genres, and uses the three persuasive appeals (logos, ethos, and pathos) as well as enthymeme (rhetorical syllogism). The following paper offers a reflective analysis that describes the Aristotelian Influence present in the website. Technical Tools I created the New Domestics Collective website with Weebly, a drag-and-drop website builder. |
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