ENG 6023: Rhetoric and Composition
“Writing for Publication in Rhetoric and Composition
and/or Literature”
Dr. Linda Woodson
Office: MB 2.306B (inside Graduate Suite)
Telephone: (210) 458-5344
E-mail (preferred method of communication):
Class Time: Tuesday, 5:30-8:15 pm
Location: MB 1.206
Office Hours: Tuesday, 4:30-5:30 pm
Others by appointment
“the best scholarly research is vital, exciting, done for its own sake, and—
most often—results in more meaningful and reflective lives”
---Gesa Kirsch and Liz Rohan, “Introduction,” Beyond the Archives (9)
“Like any good storyteller, we have to be patient and listen, figuring out where
our piece fits.”
---Lisa Mastrangelo and Barbara L’Eplattenier, “Stumbling in the Archives” (164)
“I felt clueless, a feeling I have since come to learn is at the heart of the scholarly process. In academia, one is in a perpetual liminal space. As soon as you answer a research question, you ask another, your growing body of expertise simply marking the expanding edge of your ignorance.”
---David Gold, “The Accidental Archivist” (25)
Course Objectives: Sidney Dobrin and Christian R. Weisser in Natural Discourse speak of the importance of recognizing that “writing takes place,” emphasizing the significance of environment in the complex and interrelated places in which we write as both theorists and practitioners. The writing about contemporary rhetoric concerns the rich diversity of those places: new literacies, rhetorical sensitivities, relationships to literature, global cultures, activity systems, and so on. Because of this diversity, this course is designed to explore the genres and conventions of rhetorical scholarship, including the connections to composition and/or literature, as it appears in contemporary journals and collections. As part of the class, you will develop an article or chapter based upon a concept, outline, draft, or other beginning place that you have already begun to investigate. You will analyze professional audiences, complete literature reviews, and identify editorial policies, as well as establish a plan to pursue publication.
Texts: The course will use both online texts and print sources.
Electronic sources, among others :
Authoring a Discipline: Scholarly journals and the Post-World War II Emergence of Rhetoric and Composition, Maureen Daly Goggin
“The Construction of Author Voice by Editorial Board Members,” Christine M. Tardy
and Paul Kei Matsuda
“Making the Gesture: Graduate Student Submissions and the Expectations of Journal
Referees,” Richard McNabb
Publishing in Rhetoric and Composition,” Gary Olson and Todd Taylor
“What’s Love Got to Do with It? Scholarly Citation Practices as Courtship Rituals,”
Shirley Rose
Required Print Source:
Beyond the Archives: Research as a Lived Process, eds. Gesa Kirsch and Liz Rohan
Handouts from instructor
Recommended Print Sources:
Learning the Literacy Practices of Graduate School: Insiders’ Reflections on Academic
Enculturation, eds. Casanave, Christine Pearson and Ziaoming Li
MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, MLA, 3rd Ed.
Course Assignments:
Journal analyzing professional audiences and conversations,
completing a literature search, and creating a publication plan (40%)
Two workshop reviews of article (20%)
Completed article (20%)
Presentation (20%)
Course Policies:
Policies: Because so much of what we consider in this class will take place in the class meetings conducted as a professional workshop, you will need to be present most of the time. Lack of participation (more than 3 absences) may cause you to fail the course. If you decide to stop coming to class, be sure to take care of a withdrawal online or by telephone. If you are still on my roster at the end of the semester, I am required to assign an F.
Monday, March 22, is the last day for Sophomores and above to withdraw from an individual course and receive an automatic grade of W.
All work is due at the beginning of the class period for which it is assigned. Unexcused late papers receive an automatic F.
Support services, including registration assistance and equipment, are available to students with documented disabilities through the Office of Disabled Student Services (DSS), MS 2.03.18. http://www.utsa.edu/disability/students.htm
I will not report grades by telephone, fax, or email, nor will the English office staff.
University Academic Dishonesty Policy: Any student who commits an act of scholastic dishonesty is subject to discipline. Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts. http://www.utsa.edu/infoguide/appendices/b.html under section 203
I reserve the right to change assignments occasionally as the semester progresses. Also, I’ll be adding article-sized handouts to these assignments along the way though I will maintain caution that your reading does not become burdensome.
Jan. 12 Introduction to course
19 Research methods and strategies of others
Assignment: “Foreword” and Chapters 1-8, Beyond the Archives
26 Journal audience and conversation analyses
Assignment: “The Construction of Author Voice by Editorial Board Members,” Christine M. Tardy and Paul Kei Matsuda, Written Communication 26, 1 (Jan 2009), 32-52. Available online
Sage, Communication Studies
“Making the Gesture: Graduate Student Submissions and the
Expectations of Journal Referees,” Richard McNabb http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3986/is_200104/ai_n8942082?tag=artBody :coll
Feb. 2 More inspiring research stories
Assignment: Chapters 9-17, Beyond the Archives
9 Journal audience and conversation analyses
16 Authoring a Discipline: Scholarly Journals and Post-World War
II Emergence of Rhetoric and Composition, Maureen Daly Goggin
Available as an e-book through NetLibrary. Specific pages will be assigned.
23 Journal audience and conversation analyses
Mar. 2 Workshop review of articles
9 “What’s Love Got to Do with It? Scholarly Citation Practices as
Courtship Rituals,” Shirley Rose
http://wac.colostate.edu/llad/v1n3/rose.pdf
March 15-20 Spring Break
Monday, March 22 Last Day to Drop an Individual Course
23 Workshop review of articles
30 Journal due
Apr. 6 Publishing in Rhetoric and Composition, Gary Olson and Todd Taylor. Available as an e-book. Specific pages will be assigned.
13 Completed article due
Presentations: These will be conducted as conference panel presentations with Responders and Audience Questions
20 Presentations
27 Presentations
April 29-30 Study Days
May 4 5:00-7:30 pm Final Meeting