Touro Communication Club Notes #40

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August seems to be a month for historic events. The 19^th Amendment recognizing Women’s Suffrage and Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream Speech” are two of this month’s momentous happenings. The specter of the possible landfall of Hurricane Gustav on a date close to the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina arrival (8/29) three years ago is incredibly dreadful.

The Democratic convention speeches – Obama, Clinton, Clinton and Obama – will be followed on Monday by the Republican convention speeches – McCain and Sarah Palin, a newcomer on the national political scene. McCain’s choice of Governor Palin completes the ground-breaking nature of this Presidential campaign - an African-American from Hawaii, a white woman from Alaska. A first on four counts especially since Alaska and Hawaii are the last two states to be admitted to the United States and neither one is contiguous to mainland U.S. The fall campaign promises some exciting debating. We have to keep our listening and critical thinking wits about us.

From a Communication viewpoint, all four Democratic speeches were “stem-winders” – a speech that knocks the socks off its already biased audience. It is rare, in my experience, that so many speakers in one party have extraordinary persuasive skills. In next week’s Republican convention, I hope that the rhetorical riches continue.

In 2004, the Department began its Presidential Debate series with the Bush/Kerry debates followed by a critical analysis. Now in 2008 with the formation of the Communication Club, we will continue our playing and studying the Presidential debates. In addition we will be co-sponsoring with Mr. Mason’s Site Director’s office a Debate and Presidential Politics film series. – see below.

Don’t forget that Ramadan – one of the five pillars of Islam – begins on Monday, September lst and runs through September 30. Ramadan is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, believed to be the month in which the Qur'an (Koran) began to be revealed. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which Muslims don't eat or drink anything from dawn until sunset. Fasting is meant to teach the person patience and humility. Ramadan is a time to fast for the sake of God, and to offer even more prayer than usual. Also, asking forgiveness for the sins of the past, asking for guidance in the future, and asking for help with refraining from every day evils and try to purify oneself through self-restraint and good deeds is involved in Ramadan. (cf.: Wikipedia)

Here's our schedule: (We are now in Room 610 @ 50 West.)

Wednesday, September 3, 2008 - 1 pm - Debate – We’ll discuss our fall plans while SPAR-ing. Everyone seems to find the sessions very exciting

The SGS Student Orientation is scheduled for Wednesday, September 10^th @ 2 pm in Room 314 @ 27 West.. Since Lorinda, James and Shile are involved with the presentation, we will skip our club meeting for this week.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 – 2 pm Room 610 (Note time and place change). Club – Open agenda for the moment – Possible topics: continuation of the Story telling/ Leadership discussion, the Presidential campaign, etc. There will be an upcoming film series c o-sponsored by the Club and Mr. Mason’s office on Debate and Presidential Politics. Possible films might be “The Great Debaters” (2008) with Denzel Washington, “Recount” (2008), a fictionalized documentary about the 2000 election with Kevin Spacey and “The Candidate” (1972) with Robert Redford.

What happened on August 26 – Richard Green – “Leadership through Storytelling

Present – Kazi Faltah, Richard Green, David Nussman, James Millner, Lorinda Moore Hal Wicke and Olushile Akintade.

Richard began his presentation with a comment quoted from the title of a book of short essays by Robert Fulghum first published in 1986: "All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten." In preparing his TESOL class in Oral English this summer, he had to relearn how to teach through storytelling, K-8. This endeavor raised his awareness on many levels of the power of story telling for all age groups.

Richard showed a small chalkboard with “Leadership through Storytelling” on one side and “Managing Expectations” on the other. On his laptop he played a Charlie Rose program (Channel 13 weeknights @ 11 pm) where various journalists commented on Michelle Obama’s speech on the opening night (8/25/08) of the Democratic Convention in Denver.

He pointed out that the Democrats emphasized “Patriotism, Family & Faith.” He handed out an essay, “Articles of Faith.” He said that personal history matters.

Other handouts included: "Reading and Interpreting Body Language," and, "What Your Voice Says About You, "

He said that story telling is very transformative. He felt that Michelle Obama gave Barack Obama a face to his voice, particularly in the segment where Barack was shown with his children after his wife’s speech. Another handout listed the many kinds of stories we could choose.

There was some discussion about filters, hearing titles and religious overtones. Richard pointed out that Garrison Keillor was a storyteller who did not follow the prescribed model of what a storyteller “should” be. Comments were made about how the presentation of the Code of Conduct was presented in the wrong way.

Richard urged the group to celebrate the wealth of common experience each of us possesses before trying to understand others’ diversity.

Kazi noted about the British influence in Bangladesh making people conscious of who the citizens were. But in America, we are more aware than anyone else. Richard reminded the group of E.B. White’s essay on the 3 kinds of New Yorkers – native, moved to NYC and the immigrant population. Kazi was concerned that Americans get lazy because they don’t exercise their privileges. E.B. White wrote in the first paragraph of "Here is New York:"

"There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born there, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size, its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter--the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. Of these trembling cities the greatest is the last--the city of final destination, the city that is a goal. "

Lorinda characterized a person by their “swagger” – how each person exemplified their individual style by how he/she showed their “swagger.” “Following is not a swagger,” she said. Shile commented on his SPAR debate last week, interpreting the “Flies/honey vs vinegar” cliché in a Nigerian context. Lorinda recalled the unexpected behavior of football player, Rosie Grier, contrasting his burly frame with his interest in knitting.

Many other topics included Richard reminding us of the power of story telling, masks and facades and sharing our identity with our stories.

The session closed with each of the group sharing a personal story. Lorinda, James, Kazi, Hal, Shi le, David and Richard shared stories. Rather than recounting each one, let it be said that everyone was charmed, amused, touched and warmed by the distinctiveness of each of the stories.

Lorinda remarked how much she felt the bond among the group that was heightened by the stories. The stories made her experience everyone in a different way.

Shile muttered under his breath to Hal that he didn’t think the faculty would share a story. Hal expressed surprise. Shile said he needed to think about why he thought they wouldn’t.

We’ll get back to you on this.

See you next time. Bring a friend!

Hal Wicke