Melissa

The discussion surrounding Melissa's essay is one surprising example of seriousness and levity working in tandem. From the very beginning, her topic (understandably) was the lightening rod for several typically comic strands--sex generally, sexual behavior in the elderly, and the academic study of sex. While the jokes continued, and I encouraged them by referencing my own age status, I did manage to direct attention to the rhetorical purpose of the piece and to rhetorical strategies.

Unlike her classmates, however, Melissa somewhat resisted the readings by peers and instructors, and deflected suggestions that she needed to revise or change her rhetorical approach. Such a dual response from the writer--joking about sex and stereotypes but communicating impatience with criticism--seemed dissonant/unusual in the context of our community; at least, other members had been more willing to consider readers' suggestions. But even though one member resisted the voice of community, community solidarity was a goal of others. Dan expressed support for Melissa by extending and agreeing with one of her points. Angie even took the trouble to whisper to me privately (so that others couldn't see her posting) some suggestion for helping Melissa be more emphatic in her argumentation; Angie wanted to be a part of "building the rhetorical community" even though her colleague had rejected her help publicly.