May 11th, 2020 
For Thursdays class:I would like you to read, and watch, George Saunders now famous commencement speech, which has since been published under the title Congratulations, By The Way. Links to the text of the speech, as well as a video of it from the day it was given, are below:
Text: https://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/george-saunderss-advice-to-graduates/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruJWd_m-LgY
As you read and watch this speech, consider the idea of genre conventions.
Conventions are a set of rule and guidelines, generally adhered to, within a given genre. This piece (a commencement speech) has its conventions, but what is interesting is the way Saunders both fulfills and subverts them.
In your posts be sure to discuss, with specific reference to the speech, how he addresses these conventions, and in what ways he breaks with them.
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