The Researched ProposalDeveloping Plans of Action

Considering the Available Means...

● Legal Action● Labor Action● Commercial Action● Policy Action● Community Action

○ Geographic○ Organizational (for and non-profit)○ Familial

● Individual Action

Assessing Types of Action

● Your action depends on an assessment of at least three factors:○ Critical Mass○ Leveraging Networks○ Money

● The evaluation of factors should be adapted to the problem you want to solve

Organizing for Mass

Objectives: ● To Raise Awareness about a new or controversial issue● To Expand Group Demographics● To Expand Membership● To Attract Support for a New Organization● To Maintain Network Size

Examples: ● www.all.org● http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/index.php● http://ippf.org/

Analyzing 'Mass Appeals': Demographic Classifications

● Geographic Location● Gender● Age● Able-bodiedness● Race/Ethnicity● Social Class/Work● Sexuality● Political Affiliation● Educational Status● Recreation

○ Fitness○ Fashion○ Travel○ Hunting/Fishing○ Volunteerism

● Lifestyles/Habits○ Media Consumption

(TV, Music, Sports etc.)○ Food Consumption (e.g.

Vegans, Health-Conscious)

○ Spirits Consumption (Wine and Beer Drinkers)

● Modes of Expression○ Artists○ Scientists○ Writers○ Techies○ Gamers

Leveraging Networks

Objectives:● Save costs● Expand networks (increase mass) with

shared goals and values● Distributed governance

Examples:○ http://www.futureofsexed.org/index.html

○ http://www.siecus.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageId=514&parentID=477

○ http://www.thesca.org/

○ http://www.sierraclub.org/

Analyzing Network Characteristics

● History● Social Language (jargon)● Symbols: colors, clothing, insignia, branding e.g.

slogans)● Rituals: Meeting Places, Times● Governance: Who does what? Who has the 'power' to

maintain and/or transform the discourse community● Demographics● Intertexts● Conversations

*Categories drawn from linguist James Paul Gee’s “Discourse Analysis”

Consider how each of these exemplifies values, beliefs, ways of seeing the world.

Fundraising or Cost Cutting

Objectives● Give critical mass an easy means of action● Convince individuals or groups to donate ● Demonstrate cost-effective courses of action as a

persuasive strategy○ Crowd-sourcing○ Micro-financing (www.kickstarter.com) ○ DIY

Examples● https://www.eff.org/● https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Home● http://opensourceforamerica.org/

Analyzing Resource Needs

● Where does the group meet?● What supplies does the group use?● Who designs and circulates materials?● How much does information add up to (platform,

production, circulation)?● Who fundraises?● Who plans the group meetings?● How much time do group actions take? (meetings,

voting, canvassing, canning, other communications?)● Who informs the group about necessary action?

Examples: https://www.charitynavigator.org/

The Internet Transformed Organizing

What are some of the ways in which the Internet affects organizing?

○ Websites (including blogs)○ Social Media (Facebook and Twitter)○ Vlogs (YouTube)○ How-To (Yahoo Questions, eHow, About.com)○ Prosumer Sites (Etsy, Ebay, Amazon)○ User Feedback (Yelp, Urbanspoon)○ Micro-Financing (Kickstarter and Flattr)○ Funds Transfers (Paypal)○ Forums and IMC (Sparkpeople or YahooGroups!)○ Archives (Wikipedia, Blake Archives, Doris Duke

Collection)

Legal Action

Most difficult to accomplish● Law-making (e.g. THE LAW)

○ Involves representatives in both legislative and judicial branches○ Need lots of critical mass for voting and public forums and petitions

● Law-suits (e.g. law)○ Involves individuals○ A law needs to be broken ○ Contestation over financial compensation needs to be sought

Note: a lawsuit may turn into law-making, for instance Brown Vs. Kansas Board of Education, Voting Rights Act

Refresher: Branches of Government

Executive Branch: Ratifies laws, organizes departments that communicate with congress (e.g. Department of Education), goes to war.

● Superpowers: Can Command Military Action or Dictate Foreign Policy

Legislative Branch: Passes laws, including the budget, civil rights matters, appoints ad-hoc committees, approves appointees

● Superpowers: Determines where the money goes and Amend the Constitution

Judicial Branch: Interprets the law, abides by constitutional regulations, has the power to set new precedents

● Superpowers: Determines who gets locked up and who goes free, hacks constitution--gives rights (or takes them away)

Congress: 535 (435 House/100 Senate)http://www.opencongress.org

Judiciary: Supreme Court and 13 U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, and District Courts

Executive: 15 Cabinet Departments, President, VP, Chiefs of Staff, AGDepartments of: State, Justice, Labor, Treasury, Commerce, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Education, Energy, Veteran Affairs, Interior, Agriculture, Defense, Homeland Security

Gov. Facts: Their Critical Mass

Purpose of Knowing about Gov

● A Very Large Bureaucracy!● Knowing the different functions enables you

to modify claims accordingly○ Don't assume someone can resolve your problem

who doesn't have the power○ Enables you to understand why major sweeping

change doesn't happen overnight○ Identify parties responsible for making necessary

reforms and participating in reasonable debate over their duties

○ Knowing you and fellow citizens' LEGAL rights and recognizing when they are being infringed upon

Labor ActionChange in the Workplace is the next most difficult...● Depending on the size of your organization

and its culture○ Right to Organize vs. Right to Work:

Living Wage vs. Privilege to Have Opportunity to Work

● Depending on your role in the organization○ Three types of work

■ For-profit■ Non-profit■ Entrepreneur

Commercial Action

What you buy matters...

● Individuals' consumer decisions represent a form of action● Paper or Plastic? Neither..."I brought my own bag!" ● Fair Trade or Slave Made?● Boycotting● Organic or Non-Organic● Buying Local, National, Global● Energy Choices: Wind, Solar, etc. vs. Coal, Petroleum, Natural Gas● Discrimination: Who's represented in commercials--'ethnic hair products,'

or think scandals like Paula Deen using the N-word, or companies pulling ads from athletes engaging in 'bad behavior' (Michael Phelps’ bong ripping)

Policy Action

These tend to apply to bureaucracies. ● These are top-down directives that get translated into

forms and statements--respect my authority!○ Form(al) documents like

■ Memos: circulate policies■ Contracts "honor policies, which include laws"

○ Lack an identifiable author: Boilerplate. "The organization" inaugurates the document

● Depending on your role in an organization and its governance structure, policies may or may not be an appropriate response for expressing authority

● Exceptionalism is how people in this organizational culture gain power

Community Action

Easier to accomplish practical proposals● Address immediate problems

○ PTA meetings ○ Meals on Wheels○ Habitat for Humanity○ Serving Soup on Sunday○ Writing groups at Domestic Violence Prevention for

abused self-mutilators● Fundraise

○ Rock Out for Cancer○ 5K for Anything○ Canvassing your Block for Petition Signatures

Local and University Resources

● Student Affairs○ Almost 1,000 Student Organizations!○ Begin a new organization!

● Student Organization Resources○ Information Packet

● Local Organizations○ Centre Connect

Individual Action

● What we buy● How we relate to our own bodies

○ What we eat○ How we move

● Who we talk to and hang out with● Who we have intimacy with

○ Dating○ Marrying○ Children

Remember: Persuasion is likely to occur in your everyday life with people who already trust you. Arguments take place in intimate contexts, as well as ‘public ones.’

A Sample Writing Assignment: The Audience Analysis Portfolio

● Make a tentative argument outline: complete with a claim that proposes action, reasons for proposing action, and tentative evidence

● Research three different audiences: sympathetic, neutral, and hostile. Take notes.

● Choose a specific audience, and revise the outline to meet the expectations of said audience. This will require you to identify and name their discourse community. Consider how specificity and broadness can work for and against you (e.g. Americans vs. College Students vs. Penn State Students vs. Sierra Club Members vs. Gym Enthusiasts.)

● Write a reflective essay that addresses your choice. You should explicitly state the criteria that affect your evaluations of demographics and organization type. Furthermore, you should discuss how such an analysis influences your proposed action, reasons, evidence, and tone.

Instructor Tip: Students could turn in each writing task as one major assignment portfolio, or each could be evaluated as homework assignments for a Proposal Argument unit.

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