Week 4 Journal

         In class, we have been talking about the distinctions between rhetoric and genre, as well as how these two ideas work together. Katriel and Farrell believe that scrapbooking is a “genre of self.” Thus meaning, one’s own ideas and perceptions of their life are shown throughout a scrapbook. I liked how they referred to a scrapbook as an “autobiographical text,” I never thought of it that way.

Scrapbooks are indeed an example of print text because we previously discussed that no print text is like the other. Scrapbooks, for instance, are completely unique to each owner. There are not any identical scrapbooks made by different people because each ‘writer’ has depicted their own personal views and ideas. 

When talking about everyday writing, we agreed that there is no need for particular schooling or rules to be followed while writing. In the article, three main concepts are implied but not necessary. They are saving, organizing, and contemplating. These are not like school subjects or written guidelines. It is pretty much common sense. When creating a baby book, the parents must save baby pictures, baptismal certificates, etc. This is obvious because what else would one put in a baby book? Organizational skills are also quite arbitrary. One may like the look of linear order whereas someone else may prefer overlapping and skewed pictures. 

“A picture is worth a thousand words” is such a cliché but also holds true. Scrapbooks include both pictures and text to tell a story or explain an event. Therefore, I highly believe that it is an example of everyday writing. 

Zines, in close relation to scrapbooks, are also a craft and are considered everyday texts as well. Both require technologies to produce the final product. Anything that contains text and/or pictures and that is “DIY” I consider to be everyday writing. 

Finally, I disagree with Emily because scrapbooks may contain text to explain a certain picture. It still reflects events within a person’s lifetime which is why it could be ‘everyday.’ I like how Paige is open to both sides and acknowledges that if it has “blurbs  of writing” then it is writing because that is how I understood it too.