e-Portfolio

Alix Tucker's e-Portfolio


As an Classics & Ancient Mediterranean Studies and an Anthropology major, I get asked the question: "What are you going to do with that?" everytime someone hears it. Most people ask this out of ignorance of what the majors actually entail. Yes, the first is the study of classical literature but not classics such as Pride & Predjudice, moreso The Illiad and other ancient texts. Classics & Ancient Mediterranean Studies (CAMS) is the study of religion and beliefs. It gives us an idea of how and why people have done and created the things they have. My second major, Anthropology is the study of people. Basically its definition is what the major is. With these two majors, I learn a more complete, in my opinion, knowledge of the human race.

So what do I plan to do with this? I plan to enter into a field of the government that deal with foreign affairs. Without complete knowledge of humans, negotiating or understanding people of different nations require some understanding of that culture. Whether I work for the United Nations, or the federal government, this skill and knowledge is necessary.

This class, Rhetoric and Civic Life, hasn't helped my knowledge of other cultures, but it definitely has helped my knowledge of rhetoric. The leaders of the past were master rhetoricians. They moved whole nations to follow the laws, enter into wars, and in some ancient cases, believe in gods. Although I didn't learn how to do those things, I did learn how to effectively communicate with others. I also learned how to identify what a rhetorician, or speaker, uses to persuade an audience. They engage the audience using ethos, pathos, and logos. They use the exigence of situation to help persuade action. The kairos of a situation is used to show an opportune moment to act. All of these I can use in future situations to help persuade or understand the affairs of other nations.

I learned in this class that while rhetoric is defined as a means to persuade an audience to take certain action, it uses much more than just simple words.