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Marilyn Cooper's reading this week focused on the concept of agency, the way in which rhetoric, speech, and action can affect change. Cooper defines agency as something that is necessary to create rhetoric. In her essay, she continues to focus on agency as the way we move through the world and create meaning within it. At the national and local levels, many people are not allowed to attend meetings to discuss ideas or provide feedback to the people they elect. This ultimately weakens our society by not allowing groups to participate in this body and allowing only the dominant culture to flourish. Cooper points to public figures such as former President Barack Obama to give examples of how agency propagates rhetoric. The article continues with Obama as an example because he is known for his excellent rhetoric. Cooper uses Obama's speeches when talking about rhetorical agency. As Cooper states, "Obama's ability to imagine precisely and compassionately what it would be like to take various courses of action allows him to take on the usual role of mediator (Cooper 433)." Give us a clear example that people can understand and relate to. Make each individual agent think about this topic in the context of this agent's constitutional process.

Cooper, Marilyn M. “Rhetorical Agency as Emergent and Enacted.” College Composition and Communication, vol. 62, no. 3, National Council of Teachers of English, 2011, pp. 420–49.