1) What is the immediate context for this essay? Where and when was it first published? Who wrote the essay, and what do you notice about the author’s bio?
In Yo-Yo Ma’s essay, ““Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education” he discusses how art can lead to happiness and fulfillment in the brain. This essay was originally published online on the blog WorldPost. Yo Yo Ma is an expert cellist, and has won 17 Grammy’s. He also graduated from Harvard University.
2) What is the imposed context? What circumstances surround your personal reading experience? What is your purpose for reading this text?
I began read this essay for an English assignment, but I continued reading it because I was interested in the points that Mr. Ma was trying to make about education in the United States. I am one of the “STEM” students that he describes in the paper, so I found a personal connection to the text.
3) Describe the internal context. What is the rhetorical situation? What is the scope? What is the “so what?”
I believe the purpose of this text is aiming to both promote art in our education system and reform the way we think about art education in the United States. The question that is posed is whether Art show or shouldn’t be added to the “STEM” acronym, or more fundamentally if art should be given the special treatment that STEM is. The author promotes this new way of thinking, and will help to enhance our students minds.
Virtuoso: a person highly skilled in music or another artistic pursuit (dictionary.com)
Bandwidth: the difference between the upper and lower frequencies in a continuous set of frequencies (dictionary.com).
Tandem: one following or behind the other (dictionary.com).
