English 282: Introduction to Rhetorical Theory

English 282: Introduction to Rhetorical Theory

Section 0201, Fall 2011

Instructor: Cameron Mozafari Office Hours: F 11:00 – 12:00

Email: or by appointment

Class Hours: MWF 1:00 – 1:50 Office Location: Tawes 2101

Classroom: MW – TAWES 0236

F – TAWES 0223

1. Overview

Course Objectives

Welcome to English 282, Introduction to Rhetorical Theory! As the title of the course suggests, our time together will center on the theory—or theories—of rhetoric. It should be noted that while we will be performing some rhetorical analysis and addressing basic methods in rhetorical criticism, these tasks are secondary to the main scope of this class. In other words, this is not a class designed to help you become a better writer or a better speaker. There’s a chance that this will happen along the way, as both writing and speaking are integral to the history of rhetorical theory, but the weight will be on you to draw connections.

That being said, this course is an attempt to trace out some big questions, questions like:What is rhetoric?In what ways have rhetoric and politics historically been associated with one another?How does rhetoric differ from philosophy? From science?What does it mean to think rhetorically or to perform rhetoric. What’s at stake?Are the theoretical principles of rhetoric relevant to today’s world?Of course, these questions are all to some extent open-ended—there is no single answer—and, as we will see, different rhetorical theorists over the 2,500-year tradition find different answers.

Learning Outcomes for Humanities

By the end of the course, everyone should be able to

• Demonstrate familiarity and facility with fundamental terminology and concepts in rhetorical theory.
• Demonstrate understanding of the methods used by scholars in rhetorical theory.
• Demonstrate critical thinking in the evaluation of sources and arguments in scholarly works in the field of rhetorical theory and criticism.
• Describe how rhetorical theory, from antiquity to the present, represents cultural values held at particular historical moments.
• Conduct research on a topic in the field of rhetoric by using a variety of sources and technologies.
• Demonstrate understanding of the creative process and techniques used by practitioners of rhetorical theory and criticism.

Learning Outcomes for Scholarship in Practice

By the end of this course, everyone should also be able to

•Demonstrate an ability to select, critically evaluate, and apply relevant areas of scholarship.

• Articulate the processes required to bring about a successful outcome from planning,

modeling, and preparing, to critiquing, revising and perfecting.

• Demonstrate an ability to critique existing applications of scholarship, in order to learn

from past successes and failures.

• Demonstrate an ability to collaborate in order to bring about a successful outcome

• Recognize how an application of scholarship impacts or is impacted by political, social, cultural, economic or ethical dimensions.

• Produce an original analysis, project, creative work, performance or scholarly work that reflects a body of knowledge relevant to the course.

• Effectively communicate the application of scholarship through ancillary material (written, oral, visual and/or all modes combined).

While the nature, scope, and function of rhetoric may be at times mercurial, I hope that this course provides us with a copia of things to say about it, as well as a means by which we can perform it.

Required Text

• Bizzell, Patricia, and Bruce Herzberg, eds. The Rhetorical Tradition. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2001. Print.
• Selected texts posted on ELMS. You will be expected to bring these texts with you to class.

Grading

Class participation10%

Multimedia presentation15%

300-word reading responses10%

Rhetoric exercises15%

Midterm examination15%

Final examination15%

Rhetorical analysis20%

*Note: I will not round grades, and since everyone has the ability to get an A in this class, I should not hope that I would need to readdress this at the end of the semester.

1. Expectations and Policies

Regular and Punctual Attendance

While we will be doing a lot of dense and theoretical reading in this class, the important principles and historic contexts of each reading will be touched upon in class. For this reason, your attendance and participation will have a direct effect on your familiarity and comfort level with different rhetorical theories and, thus, a direct effect on your presentations, homework responses and exercises, midterm and final examinations, and final paper. Chances are that your level of participation and engagement with this class will be reflected in the quality of your work. In addition to this, you are expected to arrive to class on time; if you are late, you are being disruptive to me and to your fellow classmates.

Unexcused, or “Discretionary” Absences

Discretionary absences are not “free days” but days where you may need to deal with emergencies. You may miss two full weeks of class (6 MWF days) without substantial penalty—you will, however, loose participation points for each of the days that you miss. A general warning, also: We will be moving very quickly in this class. If you miss more than a week of class, it is very likely that you will fall behind the class. Also, for each unexcused absence after your two week allotment of discretionary absences, I will lower your final grade one full letter grade, e.g. if you have an A and have 7 unexcused absences, you will earn a B in the course, and so on.

Excused Absences

The University excuses absences for certain reasons (illness, representing the University at certain events, religious observance, and the death of an immediate family member), provided the cause of absence is appropriately documented.

Religious Observances

The University’s policy states that students should not be penalized for observances of their religious beliefs. If you need extra time to make up an assignment because of religious observance, I will be more than happy to make that accommodation. I will need for you to tell me if you will be missing class for any absences, preferably with written notification, within the first two week of the semester. The written notification should include a list of the holiday(s) observed and date(s) when you will not be in class.

Documentation Requirements to Justify an Excused Absence for Illness

The University’s policy is to excuse class absences that result from a student’s own illness. The procedure and documentation required for an illness to be an excused absence differs depending on the frequency of the absence.

For a single class meeting missed: A single class meeting missed because of illness requires you to submit a self-signed note to me—no note from a health care provider is necessary, and the HealthCenter will not provide written excuses for a single absence. Each note submitted must also contain an acknowledgement that the information provided is true and correct, i.e. it must follow the Code of Student Conduct. Breaking from the Code of Student Conduct—e.g., me seeing you around campus on a day when you’re supposedly sick—may result in disciplinary action. NOTE: You cannot use this documentation to justify absences on exam dates.

For multiple but non-consecutive meetings missed: If you know that you will be missing more than one class meeting for a medical concern but that these absences will not be consecutive, you should provide documentation from a health care provider upon returning to class after the first absence with details on future dates missed. If you can get a note from your doctor with the a more specific forecast of days you will be missing, that would be nice.

For multiple consecutive meetings missed –or– an absence involving a major grading event: If you have a prolonged absence, you are required to provide written documentation of the illness from the HealthCenter or your health care provider upon returning to class. Make sure you have documentation of the dates missed and the dates of treatment so that I can get a timeframe of when you were unable to meet your academic responsibilities due to illness. I don’t need to know why you missed class (no diagnosis information necessary) only that you missed it and that a medical professional acknowledges that it was for a good reason.

Absences Due to Participation in a University Event If you are absent due to involvement in an official University sponsored event, you must provide documentation for this absences prior to the absence; furthermore, the documentation should be on an official form from the University.

Participation

In order to create an engaging atmosphere where we can all learn, active involvement is an absolute necessity. Active involvement means not only coming to class prepared with whatever readings are required for that day, but also asking question, bringing up relevant examples, expressing your opinion, and engaging with your fellow classmates. I will be keeping a running list of who participates in class, and your final participation grade will be reflective of this list. If you do not feel comfortable expressing an opinion in class, come to my office hours and talk to me then. I’ll keep a running list of who comes to my office hours, too.

Academic Integrity and Honor Pledge

Plagiarism, whether it is submitting someone else’s work as your own, submitting your own work completed for another class without my permission, or otherwise violating the University’s code of Academic Integrity, will not be tolerated. You are expected to understand the University’s policies regarding academic integrity. These can be found at the website of the Office of Student Conduct, Please visit this website, click on the “students” link, and read the information carefully.

You will be asked to write and sign The Honor Pledge, a statement of integrity, on the cover sheet of each formal paper you turn in to this class. The Honor Pledge is as follows: “I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received any unauthorized (or unacknowledged) assistance on this assignment. Moreover, I have not taken or ‘borrowed’ the ideas or words of another without properly citing that source.”

The Writing Center

The Writing Center is located in Tawes on the first floor, room 1205. Tutors are there to help you get a grasp of what you are writing or trying to communicate. Visiting the Writing Center does not in any way mean that you are remedial writer; if anything, it shows me that you are taking the incentive to talk to others about improving your writing skills. I recommend that everyone utilize this invaluable resource—you are paying for it with student fees anyways. Hours and other information about the Writing Center can be found here:

Special Needs

If you have any special needs, please talk to me after class or during my office hours. If you have not yet registered your disability with the university, please make an appointment to see the Disability Support Services in the Shoemaker Building (4-7682 or 5-7683 TTY/TDD).

Communication

If you need to get a hold of me for any reason, please send me an e-mail and allow me 24 hours to respond. I will probably respond within 24 hours, but allow me that time just in case. I will notify you if I will be away from my e-mail for a prolonged period of time. Also, I encourage students to make use of office hours. If you cannot make office hours, send me an e-mail requesting a time to meet, and I will see if I can meet your accommodations. Please do not hesitate to communicate with me in regards to your projects, homework, classwork, or anything else we are working on.

1. Papers and Assignments

Multimedia Presentation15%

Since we will be meeting in the computer lab every Friday, I figured that this would be a great opportunity for us to engage with technology. Prior installments of this class required oral presentations; I am requiring you to take oral presentations to the next level by incorporating various media forms in your presentation.

On certain Fridays throughout the semester, a group of two to three students will present for 15-20 minutes (not including question and answer time after the presentation) on selected topics relevant to rhetorical theory. The presentation assignment will require you to not only contextualize readings thus far in light of your topic but also to go beyond the scope of our readings, draw on contemporary examples, and conduct outside research.

The multimedia aspect of the presentation assignment refers to the means by which you will be presenting. Each group will be required to incorporate the following:

• One photograph or digital rendering of a piece of artwork. This visual component is something I’m asking you to bring into focus and to contextualize in light of your topic. I encourage you to use other visuals as well, but the photograph or piece of artwork is a thing I am asking you to contextualize and analyze rhetorically.

• One video clip. Find a scene from a movie or a clip from the Web that you think is related to your topic, and smoothly integrate the video clip into your presentation. The clip can be something that your group analyzes rhetorically, or it can be something that you think sets up the stage for addressing your topic. Be creative!

• One chart or graph. Charts and graphs are a kind of argument. They argue that the data they represent is quantifiable and organized enough to show relationships. I want you to make a chart or graph (pie chart, line graph, bar graph, self-designed creative chart, etc.) and incorporate it within your presentation.

• One handout. Your handout can be your chart, a transcription from your video clip, some lyrics to a song that you will be addressing in your presentation, or whatever else you want your audience to have in their hands while you speak.

• Appropriate usage of text size, color, space, and empty space. If you are using PowerPoint or Prezi to make an outline for your presentation, don’t fill your slides with a lot of text. I’m sure people have said this to you before, and I’m sure that I will not be the last person to say this to you, either.

The goal of the presentation is not to fill time but to create a multisensory and engaging environment in which to enlighten me and your classmates of the valences of your particular topic. Each group is required to meet with me at least twice: once when planning (two weeks before) and once before the presentation (one class before). Your presentations should not only be informative but have directionality, i.e. you are required to have a thesis and to perform an argument.Works Cited pages should be handed in on the date of the presentation. Note: This assignment is weighted as much as your midterm and final. Take it very seriously!

300-word Reading Responses 10%

Rhetorical theory is complex, drawing from multiple and sometimes contradictory traditions. I will assign weekly reading responses that ask open-ended questions that require you to express your opinions on a particular text we read or to draw connections and synthesize multiple readings. I am not asking you to do any outside research. Responses will be graded in a PASS/FAIL fashion. Without proper documentation, I will not accept late reading responses. If you do the readings and think critically about how the connect to rhetorical tradition, these responses should be an easy 10% of your final grade.

Rhetoric Exercises15%

What I am calling a rhetoric exercise is a homework exercise that is not a reading response. Some of these exercises may call for you to generate creative writing pieces, e.g. I may ask you to write a 500-word response to Francis Bacon in the style and voice of Friedrich Nietzsche. Other exercises may ask you to observe and analyze specific texts using rhetorical or textual theories discussed in class. Imitatio (imitation) and analysis are to very important skills in rhetorical theory and rhetorical education, and I consider them to be central to understanding rhetoric both as a method of analysis and as a theoretical view of the world. These exercises will be graded in a PASS/FAIL fashion. Note that I will not accept late exercises without proper documentation. These assignments collectively weigh as much as your midterm and final.

Rhetorical Analysis20%

For the final assignment of the class, I am asking you to perform a rhetorical analysis on a text of your choice. The only restriction is that the text needs to be non-fiction. You could, for example, perform a rhetorical analysis of an autobiography or biography you have recently read, an interesting news article, an essay, a textbook for another course you are taking, of a documentary, of an advertisement on television, of a blueprint of a city, of your family photo album, of your driver’s license, of your Facebook, of a series of dictionary entries —of anything, really. By the time we approach the end of this class, we should all understand that rhetoric—both classical and contemporary—pervades the everyday. As such, anything and everything can be analyzed rhetorically. In other words, I want you to remember that rhetoric is the condition, not the content, of your analysis. I’m most interested in seeing how your thinking, writing, and theoretical knowledge work together to constitute a rhetorical lens from which you view your object of analysis.