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1
Rhetoric And Composition 102
Ahmad Kassim
RHET 102
Section: 25
Spring 2012
Dr. Michael Gibson
2
Table of Contents
Cover Letter…………………………………………….. 3 – 4
MWA 1 – Final Draft ..………………………………. 5 – 9
MWA 1 – Reflection ………………………………..... 10
MWA 1 – 2nd Draft ……………………………………. 11 – 15
MWA 1 – 1st Draft……………………………………… 16 – 20
MWA 1 – Brainstorming …………………………… 21
MWA 2 – Final Draft ………………………………… 22 – 26
MWA 2 – Reflection …………………………………. 27
MWA 2 – 2nd draft …………………………………….. 28 – 32
MWA 2 – Brainstorming …………………………… 33 – 34
MWA 2 – Notes During Conference …………… 35
MWA 3 – Final Draft ………………………………… 36 – 40
MWA 3 – Reflection …………………………………. 41
MWA 3 – 1st Draft ……………………………………. 42 – 44
MWA 3 – Brainstorm ………………………………. 45
Notes in Class 1 ………………………………………. 46
Homework on Greek Words …………………… 47 – 48
Homework/Notes on Greek Words ………… 49 – 50
Of Mice and Men ……………………………………. 51 -‐ 52
Male And Female Extremes …………………… 53
Synthesis Thinking ……………………………….. 54
Eureka Conference Notes……………………… 55
3
Cover Letter
Here we are at the end of my freshman year in college. When I look at
back at the first day I entered the American University in Cairo, I see how much I
learned over the course of a year. Taking RHET 102 drastically helped my
writing skills. I used to think to myself that I have good writing skills, but when I
actually reread my papers I always thought to myself how much better I could
have written them. I remember by the end of the first semester in RHET 101, my
professor had told me “Ahmad, I think you’re starting to lose motivation.” Ever
since she told that, she created sort of a fear at the back of my head. She made me
sit down and think to myself how many things in life I put minimum amount of
effort, where I could have done a much better job. As I entered the second
semester in college, I never forgot the words of my professor. Now every time I
think about what my professor had told me about losing motivation, ironically
that motivates me to keep pushing myself forward and putting my best effort in
everything I do. RHET 102 had taught me to actually think before I write. I used
to just write everything that comes to mind without actually organizing my
thoughts, and I used to put not that much of an effort on my first draft. In RHET
102, I learnt how to write better research papers. When it came to writing
research papers in the past, I didn’t really know how to actually do the research.
I just wrote what’s in my mind, not what’s in sources I’d have to read.
4
I remember that at the first day of classes we had to write a narrative on
how where we think we may be placed in this class in regard of the grades. I had
said that I would place myself in the A-‐ group, but my aim is to get an A. I think it
all depends on this portfolio whether or not I shall achieve my goal in getting an
A not an A-‐.
A portfolio has to be submitted by the end of the RHET 102 course. I will
try my best to place the assignments and papers in the portfolio based on the
dates they were written. For the major writing assignments I shall place the final
drafts first, and the reflection papers shall follow each of the final drafts. Then
the first and the second drafts will be placed after the reflection papers, and
finally comes the brainstorming for each of the writing assignments. After
placing all my writing assignments, I shall then include the rest of the papers that
include notes and other pieces of writing. I believe that this is one of the most
organized ways to place the papers in the portfolio.
5
Ahmad Kassim
RHET 102 – 25
March 15, 2012
MW1 (Final Draft)
Dr. Gibson
College Student and Ethics
Ethics are moral principles set so that an individual or groups abide by.
Aside from the main definition, what does Ethics mean to me? From my
perspective, ethics (apart from the law) are a way of direction that separates the
what’s wrong from what’s right. I believe that there is no such thing as a man
without ethics. There must be some rules, whether if it’s rules set by a society, an
individual or even rules that you’re unconsciously abiding by, that an individual
has. Almost all people for example, wear clothes. People wear clothes not only to
make ourselves warm, but because it is unethical to bare yourself and walk nude
in public. It’s considered breaking social norms. Focusing more on how ethics
relates to me, I believe that in order to meet the standards of today’s society, I
have to set goals to myself. Today, we live in a competitive world, and in order
for me to get to the top and reach my goals, I have to have some rules that are
socially accepted so that everyone gets a piece of mind.
I believe that there are many ways a person can relate to ethics. One of
the ways is through a society or culture, where the whole society goes by a set of
6
rules. In my opinion people shouldn’t always follow ethics set by a society. It’s
like going to school, although you go to school to get educated, but in fact most
schools limit your creativity because they teach you to always think in a certain
way. They teach you to think in a manner that’s either black or white.
An example of ethics is the movie ‘The Gridiron Gang’. This movie is about
a football team who were formed by a coach. That football team was brought
together inside a prison. They had rules, because rules where they all agree upon
are one of the main building structures in making a team. Throughout the movie,
two of the characters were from different gangs, so they were sort of enemies.
They had this hatred towards each other. By the end of the movie they defended
each other and had each other’s back. This hatred came out of the way these two
gangsters were taught. They were taught to care about each member of their
own gang, but anyone in another gang is right away seen as an enemy. I believe
this is one form of extreme ethics.
There are many different types of religious groups in Egypt. Some of these
groups like to take religion to extremes. I remember I once stopped a taxi to get
to my friends house. On the way to my friends house the taxi driver kept on
talking about how Islam is the religion in Egypt and any non-‐Muslim should go
live in America. This taxi driver was taking ethics to an extreme. He set his mind
to think that if someone is not a Muslim, then he doesn’t belong in Egypt. Another
example of ethics was when my RHET teacher, Dr. Gibson, told us about an
incident that happened to him when he was sitting at a café in Egypt named
‘Costa’. While he was sitting with his friend a Salafi with a long beard came up to
7
him and asked whether he was a spy because he looked like a foreigner. Then
when Dr. Gibson told him no, the Salafi started cussing and accusing him of lying.
In the movie, ‘Of Mice and Men’, George’s decision to kill Lennie was an
ethical dilemma. One might argue whether it was right or wrong to kill Lennie. If
you would think emotionally, you would most definitely say it was the right thing
to do because George killed Lennie out of love. He did not want the police to
torture him for a murder he unintentionally committed. Although George could
have ran away with Lennie rather than killing him, he would just be risking
another event of Lennie killing someone else unintentionally. If one was thinking
logically, he would say that killing is wrong and therefore justice must be served.
It is very debatable whether George’s actions towards Lennie were right or
wrong and that’s why it’s an example of ethical dilemma..
People shouldn’t be extremely ethical making things either black or white.
They should be balanced so that everyone lives in peace and prosperity. In my
opinion, an example of being ethically balanced is your parents. Parents do not
think either logically or emotionally. They use both emotions and logic when
interacting with their children. Well, most parents do. The majority of parents
would not want their children to grow up to be mean or rude and also having a
lack of sensibleness. Therefore, they have to be equally balanced between logic
and emotion.
It is very complicated to make people be ethically balanced. I think that
one of the most effective ways to make people ethically balanced, is to make the
8
ethically balanced people constantly perform moving speeches to the public that
include logic and emotion. For example, Martin Luther King Jr’s speech had an
enormous effect on the United States and the world. In 1950s, African-‐Americans
didn’t have rights and never thought they’d ever get them while living in
America. In 1963 Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech,
which had an enormous impact on United States and the world. He used both
emotions and logic in his speech. I believe that if Martin Luther King Jr can give a
speech and get African-‐American their freedom of right, then almost anyone
who’s ethically balanced, can go out and have an effect on the way people think
towards ethic.
9
Works Cited
"Gridiron Gang (2006)." Gridiron Gang. Flixter. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gridiron_gang/>.
"Ethics." Ethics. Jeff Landauer and Joseph Rowlands. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Ethics_Main.html>.
"Ethics: A General Introduction." BBC News. BBC. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/intro_1.shtml>.
10
Ahmad Kassim
March 15, 2012
MW1 (Reflection)
Dr. Gibson
Reflection: Self-‐Assessment on MW1
When I was writing the paper on how ethics is related to being a college
student, I didn’t actually do my best work to be honest. This was my first writing
assignment that I had to write ever since Winter Break so I wasn’t expecting it be
very will written. I am usually a very good writer, and I’m very good at writing
essays despite the fact that I hate essays. To me, as an individual, when I get a
score of 95% or more on my essays then I am satisfied because I know I achieved
my best. When I get a score below 95%, I am usually not satisfied because I know
I could so much better. During that first paper, I didn’t take my time writing. I
didn’t procrastinate, but while I was writing it I was impatient to finish it. I had
also told myself to wait till the peer review to make it better, which was… let’s
just say his English isn’t that good. So I decided to give it to another peer to
review, but after reading a couple paragraphs, she said that up until what she
read it was very good, but she was too tired to continue reading it. Honestly, I’d
give myself not more than a 90 – 92% on that paper.
11
Ahmad Kassim
RHET 102 – 25
900113671
March 15, 2012
Dr. Gibson
MW1 (2nd Draft)
College Student and Ethics
Ethics are moral principles set so that an individual or groups abide by.
Aside from the main definition, what does Ethics mean to me? From my
perspective, ethics (apart from the law) are a way of direction that separates the
what’s wrong from what’s right. I believe that there is no such thing as a man
without ethics. There must be some rules, whether if it’s rules set by a society, an
individual or even rules that you’re unconsciously abiding by, that an individual
has. Almost all people for example, wear clothes. People wear clothes not only to
make ourselves warm, but because it is unethical to bare yourself and walk nude
in public. It’s considered breaking social norms. Focusing more on how ethics
relates to me, I believe that in order to meet the standards of today’s society, I
have to set goals to myself. Today, we live in a competitive world, and in order
for me to get to the top and reach my goals, I have to have some rules that are
socially accepted so that everyone gets a piece of mind.
12
I believe that there are many ways a person can relate to ethics. One of
the ways is through a society or culture, where the whole society goes by a set of
rules. In my opinion people shouldn’t always follow ethics set by a society. It’s
like going to school, although you go to school to get educated, but in fact most
schools limit your creativity because they teach you to always think in a certain
way. They teach you to think in a manner that’s either black or white.
An example of ethics is the movie ‘The Gridiron Gang’. This movie is about
a football team who were formed by a coach. That football team was brought
together inside a prison. They had rules, because rules where they all agree upon
are one of the main building structures in making a team. Throughout the movie,
two of the characters were from different gangs, so they were sort of enemies.
They had this hatred towards each other. By the end of the movie they defended
each other and had each other’s back. This hatred came out of the way these two
gangsters were taught. They were taught to care about each member of their
own gang, but anyone in another gang is right away seen as an enemy. I believe
this is one form of extreme ethics.
There are many different types of religious groups in Egypt. Some of these
groups like to take religion to extremes. I remember I once stopped a taxi to get
to my friends house. On the way to my friends house the taxi driver kept on
talking about how Islam is the religion in Egypt and any non-‐Muslim should go
live in America. This taxi driver was taking ethics to an extreme. He set his mind
13
to think that if someone is not a Muslim, then he doesn’t belong in Egypt. Another
example of ethics was when my RHET teacher, Dr. Gibson, told us about an
incident that happened to him when he was sitting at a café in Egypt named
‘Costa’. While he was sitting with his friend a Salafi with a long beard came up to
him and asked whether he was a spy because he looked like a foreigner. Then
when Dr. Gibson told him no, the Salafi started cussing and accusing him of lying.
In the movie, ‘Of Mice and Men’, George’s decision to kill Lennie was an
ethical dilemma. One might argue whether it was right or wrong to kill Lennie. If
you would think emotionally, you would most definitely say it was the right thing
to do because George killed Lennie out of love. He did not want the police to
torture him for a murder he unintentionally committed. Although George could
have ran away with Lennie rather than killing him, he would just be risking
another event of Lennie killing someone else unintentionally. If one was thinking
logically, he would say that killing is wrong and therefore justice must be served.
It is very debatable whether George’s actions towards Lennie were right or
wrong and that’s why it’s an example of ethical dilemma..
People shouldn’t be extremely ethical making things either black or white.
They should be balanced so that everyone lives in peace and prosperity. In my
opinion, an example of being ethically balanced is your parents. Parents do not
think either logically or emotionally. They use both emotions and logic when
interacting with their children. Well, most parents do. The majority of parents
14
would not want their children to grow up to be mean or rude and also having a
lack of sensibleness. Therefore, they have to be equally balanced between logic
and emotion.
It is very complicated to make people be ethically balanced. I think that
one of the most effective ways to make people ethically balanced, is to make the
ethically balanced people constantly perform moving speeches to the public that
include logic and emotion. For example, Martin Luther King Jr’s speech had an
enormous effect on the United States and the world. In 1950s, African-‐Americans
didn’t have rights and never thought they’d ever get them while living in
America. In 1963 Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech,
which had an enormous impact on United States and the world. He used both
emotions and logic in his speech. I believe that if Martin Luther King Jr can give a
speech and get African-‐American their freedom of right, then almost anyone
who’s ethically balanced, can go out and have an effect on the way people think
towards ethic.
15
Works Cited
"Gridiron Gang (2006)." Gridiron Gang. Flixter. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gridiron_gang/>.
"Ethics." Ethics. Jeff Landauer and Joseph Rowlands. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Ethics_Main.html>.
"Ethics: A General Introduction." BBC News. BBC. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/intro_1.shtml>.
16
Ahmad Kassim
RHET 102 – 25
March 10, 2012
MW1 (First Draft)
Dr. Gibson
College Student and Ethics
Ethics are moral principles set so that an individual or groups abide by.
Aside from the main definition, what does Ethics mean to me? From my
perspective, ethics (apart from the law) are a way of direction that separates the
what’s wrong from what’s right. I believe that there is no such thing as a man
without ethics. There must be some rules, whether if it’s rules set by a society, an
individual or even rules that you’re unconsciously abiding by, that an individual
has. Almost all people for example, wear clothes. People wear clothes not only to
make ourselves warm, but because it is unethical to bare yourself and walk nude
in public. It’s considered breaking social norms. Focusing more on how ethics
relates to me, I believe that in order to meet the standards of today’s society, I
have to set goals to myself. Today, we live in a competitive world, and in order
for me to get to the top and reach my goals, I have to have some rules that are
socially accepted so that everyone gets a piece of mind.
I believe that there are many ways a person can relate to ethics. One of
the ways is through a society or culture, where the whole society goes by a set of
rules. In my opinion people shouldn’t always follow ethics set by a society. It’s
like going to school, although you go to school to get educated, but in fact most
17
schools limit your creativity because they teach you to always think in a certain
way. They teach you to think in a manner that’s either black or white.
An example of ethics is the movie ‘The Gridiron Gang’. This movie is about
a football team who were formed by a coach. That football team was brought
together inside a prison. They had rules, because rules where they all agree upon
are one of the main building structures in making a team. Throughout the movie,
two of the characters were from different gangs, so they were sort of enemies.
They had this hatred towards each other. By the end of the movie they defended
each other and had each other’s back. This hatred came out of the way these two
gangsters were taught. They were taught to care about each member of their
own gang, but anyone in another gang is right away seen as an enemy. I believe
this is one form of extreme ethics.
There are many different types of religious groups in Egypt. Some of these
groups like to take religion to extremes. I remember I once stopped a taxi to get
to my friends house. On the way to my friends house the taxi driver kept on
talking about how Islam is the religion in Egypt and any non-‐Muslim should go
live in America. This taxi driver was taking ethics to an extreme. He set his mind
to think that if someone is not a Muslim, then he doesn’t belong in Egypt. Another
example of ethics was when my RHET teacher, Dr. Gibson, told us about an
incident that happened to him when he was sitting at a café in Egypt named
‘Costa’. While he was sitting with his friend a Salafi with a long beard came up to
him and asked whether he was a spy because he looked like a foreigner. Then
when Dr. Gibson told him no, the Salafi started cussing and accusing him of lying.
18
In the movie, ‘Of Mice and Men’, George’s decision to kill Lennie was an
ethical dilemma. One might argue whether it was right or wrong to kill Lennie. If
you would think emotionally, you would most definitely say it was the right thing
to do because George killed Lennie out of love. He did not want the police to
torture him for a murder he unintentionally committed. Although George could
have ran away with Lennie rather than killing him, he would just be risking
another event of Lennie killing someone else unintentionally. If one was thinking
logically, he would say that killing is wrong and therefore justice must be served.
It is very debatable whether George’s actions towards Lennie were right or
wrong and that’s why it’s an example of ethical dilemma..
People shouldn’t be extremely ethical making things either black or white.
They should be balanced so that everyone lives in peace and prosperity. In my
opinion, an example of being ethically balanced is your parents. Parents do not
think either logically or emotionally. They use both emotions and logic when
interacting with their children. Well, most parents do. The majority of parents
would not want their children to grow up to be mean or rude and also having a
lack of sensibleness. Therefore, they have to be equally balanced between logic
and emotion.
It is very complicated to make people be ethically balanced. I think that
one of the most effective ways to make people ethically balanced, is to make the
ethically balanced people constantly perform moving speeches to the public that
include logic and emotion. For example, Martin Luther King Jr’s speech had an
19
enormous effect on the United States and the world. In 1950s, African-‐Americans
didn’t have rights and never thought they’d ever get them while living in
America. In 1963 Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech,
which had an enormous impact on United States and the world. He used both
emotions and logic in his speech. I believe that if Martin Luther King Jr can give a
speech and get African-‐American their freedom of right, then almost anyone
who’s ethically balanced, can go out and have an effect on the way people think
towards ethic.
20
Works Cited
"Gridiron Gang (2006)." Gridiron Gang. Flixter. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gridiron_gang/>.
"Ethics." Ethics. Jeff Landauer and Joseph Rowlands. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Ethics_Main.html>.
"Ethics: A General Introduction." BBC News. BBC. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/intro_1.shtml>.
21
Ahmad Kassim
900113671
MW1 Brainstorming
• What is ethics?
• What does ethics mean to me?
• I believe that there’s no such thing as a man without ethics
• Social norms
• Ethics within different types of societies and cultures
• Ethics in “The Gridiron Gang”
• Ethics in Egypt
• Ethics in “Of Mice and Men”
• Was it right for George to kill Lennie?
• Should people be extremely ethical?
• Emotion and logic
22
Ahmad Kassim
April 14, 2012
RHET 102 – 25
MW2 (Final Draft)
Dr. Gibson
Gender of the Generation
There is a difference between the term “Sex” and the term “Gender”
that might go unnoticed. A person’s “sex” is basically whether a person is male or
female based on a set of physical attributes, while a person’s “gender” refers to the
roles attributed to a person based on their sex. In some cultures, men have more
power than women, and this is a result of gender. For example, in the movie “Of Mice
and Men”, Curly was treating his wife disrespectfully as he was the one who was
always portrayed to be in control. By comparing “Of Mice and Men” to one of the
more recent TV shows, “FRIENDS”, I found that there was a major difference in the
interactions between different sexes. While Curly’s wife wanted to run away as a
result of the way she was treated, all the males and females in “FRIENDS” were very
close to each other and cared for one another. The time difference between the two
illustrates that the gender code and gender roles have changed over time. Females are
now edging closer to equality with males such that even the basic gender roles that are
dependent on the physical attributes of sexes, such as pregnancy for females, are
“practiced” by both sexes as we saw in class with the pregnant male. The question
that poses itself is: Shouldn’t males and females respect their genders, at least to an
23
extent? That’s what the gender code used to do for me; however, throughout this
course I’ve realized that the gender code is too restrictive.
The gender code can be defined as “a culturally constructed belief
system that defines and dictates the appropriate roles and behavior for men and
women in society” (Maasik and Solomon). I think it’s fair to say that it is this gender
code that led me to react very negatively at the thought of a man getting pregnant.
After the class discussion though, I realized that I was simply outraged at the notion
of something so out of the ordinary; something that defied the gender code. I first
started thinking about how the gender code started, but I realized it doesn’t matter.
We can argue about whether the gender code is something natural, whether its nature
came from religion or any of the explanations regarding its origin but that is all
irrelevant as its origin doesn’t affect what it is now and it shouldn’t affect whether it
should be engraved in us or not . I used the term “engraved” because that is how it is
applied; we simply follow it without thinking. In Egypt, women are treated as though
they are inferior to men and many women are still largely expected to stay at home
while the husband goes out to make money. That is the status quo that is only defied
by a few, and that is common knowledge to us Egyptians.
The gender code can be restricting in that respect. Women are regarded
as largely inferior even though they are closer to equality with men than at any point
in history. A woman wanted to nominate herself for presidency in Egypt, but she was
received with mocks, cynicism and instant rejection just because of her sex. Gays
aren’t accepted while Tomboys are looked upon with awe and bemusement. Trying to
apply the gender code even more will not give gays more freedom and relaxation, for
24
example. On the contrary, they are more likely to feel even more out of place than
they might feel already. By trying to pressure them to follow the gender model of
what society expects, we are only limiting their freedom. Their freedom to express
who they truly are will be limited, and instead they will try to pretend to be a person
that they are not. Their freedom of sexual preference will be completely thrown out
the window because they are only allowed and expected to be straight. The gays
wouldn’t like to be living within a community where they’re being called names
or where their identity is frowned upon. They would not want to be even more
restricted.
I then found myself wondering what the benefits would be of
trying to have students conform to a gender code at my age, but I couldn’t find
any. There isn’t much wrong with allowing people who are different from most
to live their lives normally without applying extra pressure on them, so why
apply that pressure? To have knowledge of the gender code is one thing, but to
try to force it through and have it applied is a different matter that doesn’t offer
any worthwhile benefits, unless religion is involved.
To have knowledge of the gender code and constantly try to resist
it has the same effect as constantly trying to force it or apply it. It’s like having
chocolate in front of you. You don’t have to eat all of the chocolate, but you don’t
have to complete refuse eating it either. Moderation is always important. You can
eat some of the chocolate and leave the rest. The same concept can be applied to
gender codes. One doesn’t need to constantly try to apply them, but one
shouldn’t be trying to resist them at every given opportunity either. One should
be able to distinguish between the times that the gender code should be applied
and the times where it should be disregarded completely.
25
I suppose a simple question would help in concluding: If a man
opted to be pregnant, how does that affect you as an individual or as a society? It
has very little bearing on anything except for the man himself. Instead of
accepting that, we start by judging him, placing restrictions and throwing our
opinions around like axes to try and hurt him. I’m not just talking about the man
who wants to get pregnant; I’m talking about every single person that gets
affected by the unfair expectations placed on him/her by society in the form of
the gender code. As a society, we still have a long way to go. As Mr. Gibson told
me, we need to learn to stop judging and try to become more understanding of
people around us.
26
Works Cited
"He's Definitely Got His Figure Back:." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers Ltd, 28
July 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-
2019579/Worlds-pregnant-man-Thomas-Beatie-unveils-muscular-body-3-
babies.html>.
Mrabet, Yasmina. "Egypt: A Revolution in Women's Rights Is Not Over | Peace X
Peace." Peace X Peace. 24 Jan. 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.peacexpeace.org/2012/01/egypt-a-revolution-in-womens-rights-is-not-
over/>.
Wolfe, Lahle. "Gender Discrimination Against Women: From Cradle to
CEO."About.com Women in Business. The New York Times Company. Web. 18 Apr.
2012.
<http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/challengeswomenface/a/genderdiscrim.htm>.
Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon, “We’ve Come a Long Way, Maybe: Gender Codes
in American Culture,” In Signs of Life in the U.S.A.: Readings on Popular Culture for
Writers, (New York : St. Martin’s, 2003). 475-483.
27
Ahmad Kassim
RHET 102 – 25
April 14, 2012
MW2 (Reflection)
Dr. Gibson
Reflection: Self-‐Assessment On MW2
I recently just completed the second major writing assignment, which we
had to write for RHET 102. The paper was about gender and what gender means
to me as a college student. Unlike the first paper, I didn’t procrastinate while
writing this assignment so I wrote my ideas freely without feeling compressed
because of the time. I think I did very well on this paper, as my ideas were
organized and clear. If I were to grade myself I’d give myself a grade between
97%-‐98%. The two or three percentage lost are due to some of my ideas being
all over the place. I also think I did very well due to the positive feedback I got
from my peer while reading my essay.
28
Ahmad Kassim
RHET 102 – 25
April 14, 2012
MW2 (Second Draft)
Dr. Gibson
Gender of the Generation
There is a difference between the term “Sex” and the term “Gender”
that might go unnoticed. A person’s “sex” is basically whether a person is male or
female based on a set of physical attributes, while a person’s “gender” refers to the
roles attributed to a person based on their sex. In some cultures, men have more
power than women, and this is a result of gender. For example, in the movie “Of Mice
and Men”, Curly was treating his wife disrespectfully as he was the one who was
always portrayed to be in control. By comparing “Of Mice and Men” to one of the
more recent TV shows, “FRIENDS”, I found that there was a major difference in the
interactions between different sexes. While Curly’s wife wanted to run away as a
result of the way she was treated, all the males and females in “FRIENDS” were very
close to each other and cared for one another. The time difference between the two
illustrates that the gender code and gender roles have changed over time. Females are
now edging closer to equality with males such that even the basic gender roles that are
dependent on the physical attributes of sexes, such as pregnancy for females, are
“practiced” by both sexes as we saw in class with the pregnant male. The question
that poses itself is: Shouldn’t males and females respect their genders, at least to an
29
extent? That’s what the gender code used to do for me; however, throughout this
course I’ve realized that the gender code is too restrictive.
The gender code can be defined as “a culturally constructed belief
system that defines and dictates the appropriate roles and behavior for men and
women in society” (Maasik and Solomon). I think it’s fair to say that it is this gender
code that led me to react very negatively at the thought of a man getting pregnant.
After the class discussion though, I realized that I was simply outraged at the notion
of something so out of the ordinary; something that defied the gender code. I first
started thinking about how the gender code started, but I realized it doesn’t matter.
We can argue about whether the gender code is something natural, whether its nature
came from religion or any of the explanations regarding its origin but that is all
irrelevant as its origin doesn’t affect what it is now and it shouldn’t affect whether it
should be engraved in us or not . I used the term “engraved” because that is how it is
applied; we simply follow it without thinking. In Egypt, women are treated as though
they are inferior to men and many women are still largely expected to stay at home
while the husband goes out to make money. That is the status quo which is only
defied by a few, and that is common knowledge to us Egyptians.
The gender code can be restricting in that respect. Women are regarded
as largely inferior even though they are closer to equality with men than at any point
in history. A woman wanted to nominate herself for presidency in Egypt, but she was
received with mocks, cynicism and instant rejection just because of her sex. Gays
30
aren’t accepted while Tomboys are looked upon with awe and bemusement. Trying to
apply the gender code even more will not give gays more freedom and relaxation, for
example. On the contrary, they are more likely to feel even more out of place than
they might feel already. By trying to pressure them to follow the gender model of
what society expects, we are only limiting their freedom. Their freedom to express
who they truly are will be limited, and instead they will try to pretend to be a person
that they are not. Their freedom of sexual preference will be completely thrown out
the window because they are only allowed and expected to be straight. The gays
wouldn’t like to be living within a community where they’re being called names
or where their identity is frowned upon. They would not want to be even more
restricted.
I then found myself wondering what the benefits would be of
trying to have students conform to a gender code at my age, but I couldn’t find
any. There isn’t much wrong with allowing people who are different from most
to live their lives normally without applying extra pressure on them, so why
apply that pressure? To have knowledge of the gender code is one thing, but to
try to force it through and have it applied is a different matter that doesn’t offer
any worthwhile benefits, unless religion is involved.
To have knowledge of the gender code and constantly try to resist
it has the same effect as constantly trying to force it or apply it. It’s like having
chocolate in front of you. You don’t have to eat all of the chocolate, but you don’t
have to complete refuse eating it either. Moderation is always important. You can
eat some of the chocolate and leave the rest. The same concept can be applied to
gender codes. One doesn’t need to constantly try to apply them, but one
31
shouldn’t be trying to resist them at every given opportunity either. One should
be able to distinguish between the times that the gender code should be applied
and the times where it should be disregarded completely.
I suppose a simple question would help in concluding: If a man
opted to be pregnant, how does that affect you as an individual or as a society? It
has very little bearing on anything except for the man himself. Instead of
accepting that, we start by judging him, placing restrictions and throwing our
opinions around like axes to try and hurt him. I’m not just talking about the man
who wants to get pregnant; I’m talking about every single person that gets
affected by the unfair expectations placed on him/her by society in the form of
the gender code. As a society, we still have a long way to go. As Mr. Gibson told
me, we need to learn to stop judging and try to become more understanding of
people around us.
32
Works Cited
"He's Definitely Got His Figure Back:." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers Ltd, 28
July 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-
2019579/Worlds-pregnant-man-Thomas-Beatie-unveils-muscular-body-3-
babies.html>.
Mrabet, Yasmina. "Egypt: A Revolution in Women's Rights Is Not Over | Peace X
Peace." Peace X Peace. 24 Jan. 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.peacexpeace.org/2012/01/egypt-a-revolution-in-womens-rights-is-not-
over/>.
Wolfe, Lahle. "Gender Discrimination Against Women: From Cradle to
CEO."About.com Women in Business. The New York Times Company. Web. 18 Apr.
2012.
<http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/challengeswomenface/a/genderdiscrim.htm>.
Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon, “We’ve Come a Long Way, Maybe: Gender Codes
in American Culture,” In Signs of Life in the U.S.A.: Readings on Popular Culture for
Writers, (New York : St. Martin’s, 2003). 475-483.
33
MWA 2
College Student Gender
Brainstorming
• Gender is the differentiation between males and females. In some
cultures, ales are given the upper hand while then women are not even
given half the power the men get. For example the movie “of Mice and
Men”, Curly was treating his wife disrespectfully. It showed that he was
the one who was always empowered over her and that’ why she was
always flirting with the other guys and she also wanted to run away. Now
to compare it to one of the most popular TV shows today, FRIENDS, the
gender code in that show is completely different. I think the time
difference in “Of Mice and Men” and “FRIENDS” played a major role in the
gender code. Unlike the “Of Mice and Men”, the males and females in
“FRIENDS” are very close! They’re all best friends, and they all care for
one another. You don’t like there’s distance between the two genders.
• Honestly when I watched the video about the pregnant man, I got
disgusted. Why would someone change their gender just because they
have feelings for someone? I think that it’s very unethical. If we’re going
to include religious views, then changing genders is most definitely
wrong! You’re not supposed to change how God created you!
• Define Gender
• Culture
34
• Extreme people who broke the code completely or are against it
• Is it ok to change from past experience?
• Is abuse a major factor in why people change genders?
35
36
Ahmad Kassim
RHET 102 – 25
Dr. Gibson
MWA3 (Final Draft)
May 1, 2012
Perceiving Class
The financial difference between the higher classes and the lower classes
continues to grow in Egypt. One of the main reasons for the January 25th
Egyptian Revolution has taken place is because there were a lot of people who
didn’t have enough money to simply sustain their own simple life. I believe that
in Egypt, as well as in many other countries, the separation between people to
form social classes is intertwined with the difference of economic class between
the people. I wouldn’t classify myself as part of the upper class or the high class,
but I would say that I’m somewhere between the middle class and the upper
class. The trend that I noticed is that the upper class boasts of its superior
knowledge as the main difference that separates them from those who don’t
have money. Unfortunately, some people have been raised in a society where
they perceive that life without an education disables people from performing any
of the actions educated people do. These groups of people belong to a class. The
term “social class” refers to a group of people in a society that have the same
economic, cultural and political status. In Egypt, there’s a huge gap between the
upper class and the lower class. People in my social class should seek to acquire
education, but at the same time not think that just because we’re being educated,
that non-‐educated people have less power and should be treated differently.
37
In the society I live in, education is a must! I’ve been taught that education
is the key to life and that without education I can’t perform well during life. I
think it’s true that people should be educated, but not all people could afford
education. I believe that the educated people should take advantage of their
education and try to think of ways to help the lower class get educated. I have a
neighbor, whom is known to be quiet wealthy, has been my role model for quiet
sometime. She told me that she failed many times in life, but every time she fails,
she learns from her mistakes and gets back up. Today, she has become very
wealthy. She told me that she had taught herself as a child by reading books that
she borrowed from a friend because her parents could not afford to put her in
school. Now she’s using her money to help educate poor people, she built two
schools and every year she donates a lot of money. In Egypt, there is a huge
difference between the upper and the lower class. Unfortunately, some of the
upper class people tend to think of themselves as more powerful that the lower
class people. Just because the lower class people may be less fortunate that does
not mean that they’re no better than the upper class. My father once told me to
“treat everyone equally because you never know what had happened in each
individual’s life, and you never know what might happen to yours.”
Education isn’t the only way to succeed. It’s one of the most guaranteed
methods of achieving some form of economic success, but it is not the only road
to success. We don’t need to look far to see that some people, without ever
graduating from university have succeeded without going through this
commonly treaded path of education. Ellen Degeneres is an example of such
38
people as is Steve Jobs. So education is not the “only” method of achieving
success; however, they do say that “knowledge is power” and in the case of
Egypt, the upper class definitely sees it as such. Being more intelligent than
somebody or knowing more than somebody does not entitle anyone to claiming
that they are “better” than that person. A person with a lot of knowledge is as
valuable to society as the person farming and gathering wheat to feed the nation.
Another example of a person who is successful, but at the same time isn’t
educated is the famous soccer player “Mohamed Abotrika.” Although he is not
educated, most Egyptian love him and have a lot of respect for him. He comes
from a poor family, and after becoming successful he now donates thousands of
pounds to the poor. He took lead in a blood donation campaign and also went on
TV to try to get people to donate money to a hospital that’s being built in Egypt
for people with cancer. I think that the key to success would be to never give up
and to always fight for what you want no matter how hard things may be.
I’m not saying that knowledge is worthless. It’s considered as the safest bet in
life. Education has become almost essential, but that still does not give people
the right to feel superior or use it as a reason to call themselves superior to
others. The problem in Egypt is that education isn’t easily accessible to everyone
and so it is harder for most to get a proper education, as they don’t have money.
Since money becomes factored into the equation of social classes via education,
the link between a person’s economic status and his/her social status becomes
difficult to deny.
39
It is silly to think that one can completely get rid of the difference between
social classes, as they are separated into their classes because of that difference.
Once we can reach a state where there is no difference between social classes,
then there will be no social classes. It is realistic, however, to think that the
difference between social classes can be diminished or restricted. In my point of
view, education would be key to diminishing that difference. Offering free
education, or at least making it more easily accessible to people would help in
improving the interactions between the upper social classes and the lower ones.
40
Works Cited
"Mohamed Aboutrika." World News. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://wn.com/mohamed_aboutrika>.
"Upper-Class People Trouble Recognizing Emotions." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily,
22 Nov. 2010. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101122172008.htm>.
Giddens, Anthony. "Stratification and Class Structure." Sociology. Second ed.
London: Polity, 1989. 213-19. Print.
Berg, Don. "Definition of Education." Definition of Education. Attitutor Services.
Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.teach-kids-attitude-1st.com/definition-of-
education.html>.
41
Ahmad Kassim
RHET 102 – 25
Dr. Gibson
MW3 (Reflection)
May 1, 2012
Reflection on MW3
When writing this paper, it actually required a lot of reading. I didn’t
really understand the topic quiet well at the beginning until I did a lot of
research. The problem is, I took too much time researching. I focused more on
understanding the topic, than actually focusing on writing the paper. I still think I
did well though, I like my ideas and I enjoyed writing it. I just think that my
paper needed to be more organized. Organization is always my problem; I feel
that my ideas are all over the place. I would probably give myself no more than a
85 percent on this paper. I didn’t do the correction on turnitin yet because the
comments didn’t show up through my computer. After I do the correction I’m
pretty sure I’ll get a higher grade most probably between 90 – 93 percent.
42
Ahmad Kassim
RHET 102 – 25
Dr. Gibson
MW3 (First Draft)
May 1, 2012
Perspective on Class
Unfortunately, some people have been raised in a society where they
perceive that life without an education disables people from performing any of
the actions educated people do. These groups of people belong to a class. The
term “social class” refers to a group of people in a society that have the same
economic, cultural and political status. In Egypt, there’s a huge gap between the
upper class and the lower class. People in my social class should most definitely
require education, but at the same time not think that just because we’re being
educated, that non-‐educated people have less power and should be treated
differently.
In the society I live in, education is a must! I’ve been taught that education
is the key to life and that without education I can’t perform well during life. I
think it’s true that people should be educated, but not all people could afford
education. I believe that the educated people should take advantage of their
education and try to think of ways to help the lower class get educated. In Egypt,
43
there is a huge difference between the upper and the lower class. Unfortunately,
some of the upper class people tend to think of themselves as more powerful
that the lower class people. Just because the lower class people may be less
fortunate that does not mean that they’re no better than the upper class. My
father once told me to “treat everyone equally because you never know what had
happed in each individuals life, and you never know what might happen to
yours.”
44
Works Cited
"Mohamed Aboutrika." World News. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://wn.com/mohamed_aboutrika>.
"Upper-Class People Trouble Recognizing Emotions." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily,
22 Nov. 2010. Web. 14 May 2012.
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101122172008.htm>.
Giddens, Anthony. "Stratification and Class Structure." Sociology. Second ed.
London: Polity, 1989. 213-19. Print.
Berg, Don. "Definition of Education." Definition of Education. Attitutor Services.
Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.teach-kids-attitude-1st.com/definition-of-
education.html>.
45
MWA3 Brainstorming
• Examples of how people how are considered high class
economically, but low class socially
• Examples of how people who are low class, have a high social
class
• DEFINE social class and economical class… the difference
between the two
46
47
Ahmad Kassim
900113671
Homework on the Greek Words
Logos: -‐ has many meanings; a ground, a plea, an opinion, an expectation, word,
speech, account, reason…
-‐ Aristotle used the term referring to “reasoned discourse” or “the
argument in the field of rhetoric
-‐ When you appeal to logic you use: literal and historical analysis,
quotations, citation for experts and authorities, factual data and
statistics, and informed opinions
-‐ As defined in the dictionary: a symbol or other design adopted by an
organization to identify its products, uniform, vehicles, etc.
Ethos: -‐ appeals to the English word ethics
-‐ refers to the trust worthiness of the speaker or writer
-‐ an effective persuasive strategy because when we believe that the
speaker does not intend to do us harm, we are more willing to listen
-‐ As defined in the dictionary: the characteristic spirit of a culture, era,
or community as manifested in its beliefs and aspirations
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Pathos (emotions): -‐ related to the English words pathetic, sympathy and
empathy
-‐ Includes emotions of love, fear, patriotism, guilt, and hate or joy
-‐ Although it can be manipulative, it is the cornerstone of moving
people to action
-‐ As defined in the dictionary: a quality that evokes pity or sadness
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52
53
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55
Ahmad Kassim
900113671
Eureka Conference Notes
• The library in such a way that it’s energy efficient
• The auc campus is also bit in a way that it’s energy efficient
• The location of the new AUC campus is chosen for maximum sunlight
exposure
• Building location chosen for breeze
• Building designs are semi-‐open
• Solar power costs much less than wind power
• The wind power causes:
o Destruction of landscape
o Unpleasant noise
o Very costly
o Needs regular maintenance
o Low win availability
• Bassem Youssef, the famous Egyptian comedian, was motivated by John
Steward
• Bassem Youssef lived in the states
• Pepsi and other acidic drinks destroys the teeth and the bones.
![[Professor Arthur E. Walzer] George Campbell Rhet(BookZZ.org)](https://img.pdfslide.us/doc/110x75/55cf884355034664618f0e6e/professor-arthur-e-walzer-george-campbell-rhetbookzzorg.jpg)
