Malcolm Gladwell "Small Change"
By: Jada and Karin
" Malcolm Gladwell." 2012. FamousAuthors.org 23 October, http://www.famousauthors.org/malcolm-gladwell
Editors, TheFamousPeople.com"Malcolm Gladwell Biography"TheFamousPeople.com.16 October,- https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/malcolm-gladwell-2220.php
Citations:
allusion:
Logos:
"It was McNeil who brought up the idea of a sit-in at Woolworth’s. They’d discussed it for nearly a month. Then McNeil came into the dorm room and asked the others if they were ready."
"The kind of activism associated with social media isn’t like this at all. The platforms of social media are built around weak ties."
"Activism that challenges the status quo—that attacks deeply rooted problems—is not for the faint of heart."
Rhetorical Strategies
"Within days of arriving in Mississippi, three volunteers—Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman—were kidnapped and killed, and, during the rest of the summer, thirty-seven black churches were set on fire and dozens of safe houses were bombed; volunteers were beaten, shot at, arrested, and trailed by pickup trucks full of armed men."
Ethos: Gladwells Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted was published in the New Yorker. Gladwell also has a very established background towards educational causes pertaining to sociology, psychology, and social psychology.
Summary of Essay
- The Greensboro sit-in
- The American Revolution
- Gladwell talks about how technological activism is less effective than confrontational activism
- Social media doesn't always mean social change
- People are scared to protest and instead hide behind their computer
- He states that many revolutions have been successful without the use of technology
- However, social media can bring about change, even if it is small
- Hierarchical structures were more successful in bringing about great changes
- He states that if there were no leader, people wold obtain difficulty reaching a consensus and setting goals
- Gladwell also says that in order to direct the participants of such movements it is imperative that the organization has a clear leader lest it becomes victim to internal strife
- "Small Change" refers to how social media will cause little change in the creation of a revolution
- you need lots of people in a big place to create a big change, but if you have lots of people at home on their computers, the issue will not go farther from there
- in Malcolm's essay, he refers back to how in the 1960's people didn't use technology to get people to support their cause and how that made a huge difference in the amount of people willing to participate
About Malcolm Gladwell
- He was born September 3, 1963 in Fareham, UK
- Graduated from the University of Toronto's Trinity College with a degree in history
- Canadian Journalist for The New Yorker
- He was honored with the American Sociological Association's first Award for Excellence in the Reporting of Social Issues in 2007
- He cites academic work from subjects pertaining to sociology, psychology, and social psychology