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SYLLABUS: COMM 3030 001 – Communication and Social Responsibility
Focus: Disability and Gender
Professor Benjamin Mann
University of Utah – Department of Communication
Spring 2018
LNCO 2750
Tuesday/Thursday: 9:10am-10:30am
Ben’s email: (please doNOTemail me through Canvas)
Email policy: I will respond to emails within 48 hours (typically sooner) during business days (Monday-Friday). If you email me on weekends, you will receive a guaranteed response from me within 48 hours of the next business day.
Ben’s office:LNCO 2810 (cubicle)
Ben’s office hours: Tuesday/Thursday 11:00am-12:00pm, and by appointment
You are welcome to call me Ben or Professor Mann. I am fine with either he/him or they/them pronouns.
Required text: Tufte, T. (2017). Communication and social change: a citizen perspective. Malden, MA: Polity. 1st edition.
In addition to University of Utah bookstore availability, copies of this book on Amazon are currently under $20, and EBook copies are available for under $20.
I will distribute all other readings for this course or provide instructions on how to access them. No additional purchases are required.
Course description:“Applying critical thinking to a series of contemporary social issues, regularly developing positions on social issues in writing and speech, and increasing sensitivity to the role of language in understanding and action.”
What is social responsibility? What does it mean to be socially responsible in 2018? What roles might communication play in social responsibility? How does social responsibility relate to power, ideology, and discourse? We will grapple with these questions and many more through an inquiry and discussion-based course. This version of COMM 3030 is designed to investigate communication and social responsibility by first establishing rhetoric as a basis of civic engagement with the world, before examining a variety of authors and topics who address social responsibility in its various forms, with dedicated units related to disability and gender. As an intermediate-to-advanced level course designed for majors and non-majors alike, COMM 3030 requires roughly 40-50 pages of reading a week, a moderate writing requirement that consists of response papers, student discussion leading, and a final project, along with active class engagement and attendance throughout the semester.
Course outcomes:
To engage with contemporary issuesfacing political society and culture from the discipline of communication.
To applyreading and writing skills gained in the course to investigating contemporary issues.
To developcritical thinking and perspective-taking on contemporary issues of communication and social responsibility.
Americans With Disabilities Act: Equal access to programs, services and activities for disabled populations is provided at the University of Utah. If class accommodations are required, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability & Access (CDA), 162 Olpin UnionBuilding, 581-5020 (V/TDD). Alongside CDA, I will work with you for accommodations, including alternate writing opportunities. Please let me know if additional accommodations are required. All accommodations are confidential.
Drop/Withdrawal Policy:Please check the Spring 2018 academic calendar for information pertaining to dropping and withdrawing from a course. You may withdraw from this course at any pointpermitted by University policy, but it is your responsibility to know the various withdrawal deadlines and procedures.
Academic Honesty and Plagiarism:Academic honesty is required of all students. Students found guilty of academic dishonesty can receive an “E” for the assignment or the course, and other disciplinary action may be taken. I take a strong stance on plagiarism and ask that all case briefs in the course be in APA citation style with both in-text citations and a works cited list. If you are found to be in violation of this policy, you will,at minimum, receive a 0 on the assignment(depending on the circumstances more severe repercussions may be appropriate).Plagiarism includes (but is not limited to) intentional submission of someone else’s work without credit, in part or as a whole; misuse of citations to conceal a source; use of other course work in this class; and other similar behaviors such as purchasing papers online. Please meet with the instructor immediately if you are unclear as to what constitutes plagiarism.
Curriculum Accommodations:I can provide schedule accommodationsfor those who have a conflict that involves religious/spiritual observances, documented and University-sanctioned activities (including athletic participation demonstrated at the beginning of the semester), and family or medical-related emergencies. If you anticipate any scheduling conflict with this course, please speak with me as soon as possible. You must make alternatives as soon as possible for any assignment, presentation, or examination. Content accommodationswill not be provided for this course.Respect, civility, and listening skills are imperative. Students may not engage in “ad hominum” (personal attacks) of their colleagues. If you believe that you may experience a conflict with your sincerely-held ethical commitments or religious beliefs as a result of this course’s readings, assignments, or activities—and you are unclear about materials’ relevance to the class—you should speak with the instructor immediately and decide whether this is a course you wish to take.
Maintain and Update Your Email Address:On the first day of class, I will ask each student to give me their preferred email address for me to form an email listserv, which I will use to distribute information about the course, such as possible class cancellations or changes. Make sure the email you provide me is one that you check at least once every 24 hours.
Electronics: Please do not use cell phones in class without prior consultation with me (such as a family emergencies). You may use laptops or tablets for note-taking and digital copies of readings, but if they become a distraction to yourself or other students, you may receive a warning. Continued infractions may impact your participation grade in the course.
Late Work: Assignments turned in late for unexcused reasons will receive a 10% grade deduction (one full letter grade) if turned in within 24 hours past the due date. For each additional day the assignment is late, it will receive an additional 10% deduction.
Grievance Policy:If you have any concerns about the course or your instructor, please contact me () or visit me in office hours as soon as possible. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive or not comfortable speaking to me about your concern, you may contactDr.Glen Feighery, Director of Undergraduate Studies ()or Dr. Danielle Endres, Department of Communication Chair().
Assignments:You can turn in all assignments for this class in one of two ways.
- Email me a doc, docx, or PDF (no.pages,Google Docs, or any other formats) of your assignment before9:10am on the day the assignment is due. The assignment must be emailed to to be considered on time.
- Hand me a physical copy of your assignment at the start of class. This copy should be stapled. Please plan your printing ahead of time so that you are not late.
Response papers: 250 points possible, 25% of grade. Youwill be tasked with completingfive2-3 page (12 point font, Times New Roman, double-spaced, standard margins) response papers over the course of the class, divided through the semester as you choose, though you may only turn in one paper for a particular day of class. Each response paper will be worth 50 points. These response papers should demonstrate close engagement primarily with reading(s) that have not yet been discussed in class. I am not interested in a summary of what you’ve read. I am interested in your own original thoughts on the reading, such as how this relates to major themes in the course, your own personal experiences, and/or what you may want to pursue for your final paper. While formal citations are not required for these papers, I expect clean prose free of convention errors. Your grade on these papers is based on your engagement with the reading, your quality of writing, and the extent to which you offer your own perspective and effort in your response. You may revise any response paper within two weeks of receiving your grade on it if you wish to improve your score: your final score on the paper will be an average of the original paper and your revision, and you will need to attach your original paper when submitting the revision.
Class leading: 100 points possible, 10% of grade.On 1/16, you will sign up to lead one class this semester. You will have a half hour of time to facilitate class discussion. In order to do this, I encourage you to bring in 5-7 discussion and inquiry-based questions, identify particular passages/quotations from the text(s) that spur class discussion, or offer your own original prompts on the material. Your class leading should focus on the text(s) assigned for the particular class.It does not need to be comprehensive: rather, you could focus on specific texts or issues that emerge from the readings thatyou are interested in dedicating time to. Your grade on this assignment will be based on the degree to which you are prepared to guide discussion, your quality of questions, and your engagement with relevant texts for the particular class.You will be expected to hand in a 1-2 page outline of your major questions/topics of discussion on the day that you are scheduled to lead class.
Paper proposal: 150 points possible, 15% of grade.Due March 15th.You will complete a 2-3 page proposal of the topic you seek to investigate for your final paper. This should be a topic related to issues of communication and social responsibility broadly, and one that integrates material from readings and class discussion. This proposal must contain three parts: 1. A brief explanation and justification of the topic and its social significance. 2. A rationale documenting this topic’s relevance to the course. 3. An annotated bibliography consisting of 5-7 sources in a proper citation style with 4-6 sentence summaries. On 3/15, you will be asked to provide a 4-5 minute explanation of your proposal to the class. You are encouraged to consult with me in developing ideas for this paper.
Final paper: 300 points possible, 30% of grade.Your final paper in the course will develop the topic from your proposal into a 7-8 page paper. You should use at least 10 sources, have clean conventions, and be free of spelling errors. The final paper must be emailed to me no later than midnight on April 27th, 2018. You will be asked to provide a 4-5 minute explanation of your progress on this assignment in class on 4/24.
Participation: 200 points possible, 20% of grade.Active participation is crucial to success in this course. I will take regular attendance in the class: you may have, at most, three unexcused absences. Following this, your grade will be reduced by a third of a full letter grade (i.e. B+ to B) for each additional unexcused absence. In addition to engaging in class discussion and regular attendance, there will be short quizzes given periodically in the course and activities used to help assess participation. Please do not enter class late or leave earlier outside of emergency without contacting me in advance.
Total – 1000 points
Grading Scale:
94-100%: A90-93%: A-
87-89%: B+84-86%: B80-83%: B-
77-79%: C+74-76%: C70-73%: C-
67-69%: D+64-66%: D60-63%: D-
0-62%: E
Students will be regularly updated about their attendance and grade progress through Canvasover the course of the semester. If a student is less than half a percentage point away from a higher grade and has demonstrated exemplary participation in the class, they will be bumped up to the higher grade.
Schedule:(students will be alerted of changes if they are needed via class and email listserv)
I: FOUNDATION MATERIAL
Tuesday, January 9th
Introduction to the Course
Required reading: none
- Introductions
- What is communication? What is social responsibility?
- Walk through syllabus and class assignments
Thursday, January 11th
What is Rhetoric? A Refresher
Required reading: Aristotle, “Rhetoric”, Parts 1-3
Tuesday, January 16th
Rhetorical Spaces for Communication
Required reading: Bitzer, “The Rhetorical Situation”, Calhoun, Habermas and the Public Sphere pp. 1-13
- Sign up for class leading
Thursday, January 18th
Communication Spaces in the 21st Century
Required reading: DeLucaPeeples, “From Public Sphere to Public Screen”
- Syllabus quiz due on Canvas by 9:10am
II: COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE
Tuesday, January 23rd
Communication and Social Change
Required reading: Tufte, Chapter 1
Thursday, January 25th
Development of Social Activism over Time
Required reading: Tufte, Chapter 2
Tuesday, January 30th
Participation in Social Change
Required reading: Tufte, Chapter 3
Thursday, February 1st
Collective Participation in Social Change
Required reading: Charland, “Constitutive rhetoric”
Tuesday, February 6th
New Media and Participation in Social Change
Required reading: Tufte, Chapter 4
Thursday, February 8th
Global Cognitive Justice
Required reading: Tufte, Chapter 5
Tuesday, February 13th
Communication Movements: Part 1
Required reading: Griffin, “The rhetoric of historical movements”
Thursday, February 15th
Communication Movements: Part 2
Required reading: Tufte, Chapter 6
Tuesday, February 20th
Communication Movements: Part 3
Required reading: Gregg, “The Ego-Function of the Rhetoric of Protest”
Thursday, February 22nd
Institutional Participation in Social Change
Required reading: Tufte, Chapter 7
Tuesday, February 27th
Social Change Praxis
Required reading: Tufte, Chapter 8
Thursday, March 1st
Material Effects of Speech: Part 1
Required reading: Butler, Excitable Speech Introduction
Tuesday, March 6th
Material Effects of Speech: Part 2
Required reading: Butler, Excitable Speech Chapter 1
Thursday, March 8th
Parrhesia, Part 1
Required reading:Dyrberg, Foucault on the Politics of ParrhesiaChapters 1 and 2
Tuesday, March 13th
Parrhesia, Part 2
Required reading: Dyrberg, Foucault on the Politics of ParrhesiaChapters 7 and 8
Thursday, March 15th
Required reading: none
- DUE: Paper proposal
- Share work on paper proposals
Tuesday, March 20th
NO CLASS: SPRING BREAK
Thursday, March 22nd
NO CLASS: SPRING BREAK
Tuesday, March 27th
DIGITAL CLASS: OUT OF TOWN FOR DEBATE NATIONALS
Complete online activity (linked on Canvas)
III: APPLICATION: DISABILITY AND GENDER
Thursday, March 29th
Disability: Part 1
Required reading: Linton, Claiming Disabilityand Chapter 1, Dolmage, Disability Rhetoric “Rhetorical Histories of Disability”
Tuesday, April 3rd
Disability: Part 2
Required reading: McRuer, Crip Theory Introduction
Thursday, April 5th
Disability: Part 3
Required reading: Cherney, “The Rhetoric of Ableism”
Optional reading: Mann, Survival, Disability Rights, and Solidarity
Tuesday, April 10th
Gender: Part 1
Required reading: Butler, “Imitation and Gender Insubordination”
Thursday, April 12th
Gender: Part 2
Required reading: Crenshaw, “Mapping the Margins”
Tuesday, April 17th
Gender: Part 3
Required reading: Girshick and Green, Transgender Voices: Beyond Women and MenChapter 5
Thursday, April 19th
Bridging Disability and Gender
Required reading: Tremain, “Introducing Feminist Philosophy of Disability”, Piepmeier et al, “Disability Is a Feminist Issue”
Tuesday, April 24th
Required reading: none
- Share work on final papers
FINAL PAPER MUST BE EMAILED TO ME NO LATER THAN 11:59 PM ON FRIDAY, APRIL 27TH.