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student.sh

By Hayden Ousley

  • Volume 21
  • Video Essay
  • Narrative
 
Discussion Questions

  1. In what ways does the author express emotion and affect in this video essay? What emotions and affects do we think are primarily conveyed in the essay, and how do they function in the service of the author’s primary claims and thesis?

  2. Why present the ideas of this essay through a visual depiction of computer programming?

  3. In terms of rhetorical strategy, what does the author gain by presenting this argument visually? What, perhaps, does the author lose?

Author

Hayden Ousley

Hayden Ousley is a Biochemistry major from Burnsville, MN. “student.sh” intends to emulate the programmatic nature of the higher education system and how it robotically trains students to set them up for failure. The perfection that students must achieve in high school to be able to attend prestigious universities such as Notre Dame comes into stark contrast with the impossibility of perfection in college-level classes. The result is student’s rapid burn out and a complete upheaval of a student's self worth. The topic, while personal to Hayden, is also inspired by the countless number of other students that they have talked with who find themselves in a similar situation. Hayden would like to thank Dr. Nathaniel Myers, their writing Writing and Rhetoric instructor, for the generous support and input in the creative process.