Neighborhood Stories
Ashley Nelson’s documentary, The Combination, is part of the New Orleans Neighborhood Story Project. Use Nelson’s project to think about different ways of telling your own story.
- What are Nelson’s rhetorical goals?
- How does she seem to reach for these goals through her documentary modes?
- What rhetorical strategies does she use in her documentary? (images, interviews, profiles, etc.)
- What do you find particularly strong about her method of storytelling?
- If Nelson was in your critique group, what might you say to her in a response session?
I would like you to think about your own project as a story.
- What modes will you use? Why?
- What kinds of rhetorical strategies will you use?
- For inventional purposes, follow Nelson’s lead and divide your project up into a few major categories. (Just brainstorm on paper for a few minutes.) Then think about what smaller “stories” would fall under these headings. Share these responses with your group members.
