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RhetoricRHET:1030:0083
4:30-6:20 p.m. MW 3 EPBFall 2012
The University of IowaThe College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of Rhetoricclas.uiowa.edu/rhetoric
Instructor: Benjamin KirbachOffice Hours: 1:00-2:00 p.m. MWF, and by appointment, 403 EPBEmail: [email protected] Department Chair: Steve Duck, 164 EPB. Call 319-335-0186 or email [email protected] Department Main Office: 171 EPB. Call 319-335-0178 or email [email protected] Course Supervisor: Megan Knight. 158 EPB, 11:00-11:30 & 2:30-3:30 MW. [email protected]. 319-335-0182.
Department Goals
Rhetoric is the study and art of persuasion: understanding how we are influenced by texts around us, and knowing how to compose successful writing and presentations ourselves. In Rhetoric, we consider just about everything a “rhetorical act” that attempts to persuade a specific audience to think or feel a certain way: speeches and essays for sure, but also ads, films, products, art, graffiti, and even spaces. Our curriculum focuses on controversies, and I will lead you through a sequence that asks you to analyze and describe the argumentation and persuasiveness of different perspectives on the same topic, and eventually advocate positions of your own in a way that skillfully takes into account the interests and concerns of your audience. A controversy is not just a single yes/no issue: there are always complex points to evaluate, and our job in this course is to find those nuances.
So why do we expect you to study Rhetoric at The University of Iowa? Because we want you to learn how to think at an advanced level suitable for university education. We want you to learn how to contribute more usefully to discussions and social debates. We want you to create the best essays and presentations you can in college and beyond. Your future professors expect you to master Rhetoric as a foundation for college-level learning, writing, and presenting in your chosen field of study, whether it is Engineering or English. Critical thinking, sound argumentation, and effective writing and presentation processes are essential to academic success in any discipline or field.
Course Topics & Goals
Stories are everywhere, and not just in things like movies, TV, books, and videogames. We also tell stories about ourselves, about our lives, our pasts. In a way, we’re told by stories as much as we tell them. And the telling of a story has to do with power—who’s telling it, and importantly, why. In this course, we will explore how telling a story from one perspective can prevent its telling from another perspective. Stories are therefore a kind of argument. Even watching Mad Men or reading Harry Potter, getting caught up in the characters or excited by the plot means that we’ve somehow been convinced. Persuaded. The audience is an integral part of how stories work, and the audience is never merely passive. This means that controversial issues are never as simple as they may seem. Whether it’s hot-button political topics like same-sex marriage, drug laws, the death penalty, economics, or the things we will address specifically in our reading—the food industry and animal rights, the internet and social media—we will hopefully come to recognize that while it’s easy and comfortable in think in binaries, these issues are extremely complex, involving multiple narratives from multiple points-of-view. While I will try my hardest to be non-partisan and not to proselytize, the goal of this course is to get everyone to recognize complexity, even if it doesn’t change your mind. In other words, you should learn different skills for how to think, not what to think. Once you have honed these cognitive and analytical abilities, you should eventually be able to advocate for a position, to stake a claim you can defend as honest, informed, and active citizens.
Course Texts
Required texts or materials (available at the University Bookstore): Everything’s an Argument without Readings, by Andrea Lunsford, John Ruszkiewicz,
and Keith Walters Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer The Shallows, by Nicholas Carr
Grading
Assignments and Activities: In this course, you will receive four major, formal assignments (two speeches and two papers), as well as plenty of informal assignments and in-class activities.
Attendance & Participation: Attendance is required and is therefore not rewarded. Points may be deducted for absences or lack of participation in class. Students are expected to attend every meeting (unless you have an excused absence). It is impossible to participate if you do not regularly attend class as you will be asked to engage in many in-class activities.
Needless to say, participation is a very significant part of your grade. Participation is also defined as active, thoughtful, and conscientious contribution to class discussion. I do not wish to penalize anyone for being shy (although you need to talk at some point, small group activities will offer many opportunities to participate), nor do I wish to reward anyone for simply occupying the class’s time. We will discuss many controversial topics in this course, and while we certainly need to tease out the complexities of these controversies, we also need to be respectful of other people’s opinions and beliefs.
Assignments, attendance, and participation will count as the following percentage of your final grade:
Speech 1: 15% Paper 1: 15% Speech 2: 20% Paper 2: 20% Informal assignments: 15% Participation: 15%
Also:
Grades for the four major assignments will be made available on ICON Your final grade will be determined on the University’s A-F grade scale. There is no final examination in this course.
Excused Absences and Late Work: According to University policy, absences from class are excused in the following circumstances:
Illness or injury. Family emergencies. Mandatory religious obligations—must be documented and arranged in advance. Authorized University activities—must be documented and arranged in advance. If you have a conscientious objection to course material covered that day, you may chose
not to come, and may be asked to complete an alternate assignment or activity. See UI Operations Manual III.15.2f). Must be arranged in advance: I always give warning for content or activities that might fall under this category.
In all cases, I require documentation. I may ask you to complete the Registrar's “Explanatory Statement for Absence from Class” form, which is available at http://www.registrar.uiowa.edu/Student/FormsforStudents/tabid/79/Default.aspx
The Registrar’s “Explanatory Statement for Absence from Class” form does not, however, constitute documentation on its own.
Late work is acceptable only by arrangement with me, and it may not always be logistically possible for you to make up a public oral presentation even if an absence is excused. I will try to accommodate you but if class is unable to accommodate an audience for your speech, you may not be able to meet the requirement for public presentation of the speech. Work missed during excused absences (those caused by documented illnesses, family emergencies, religious obligations, or authorized University activities) can be made up; if possible, contact me in advance to make arrangements regarding such absences. Students are responsible for providing documentation for excused absences, and for finding out about work missed during absences. I generally do not accept unexcused late assignments. In addition, you may be penalized for work missed during unexcused absences, including participation in discussion and other class activities. A pattern of arriving late to class or missing deadlines is also likely to hurt your participation grade.
Course Policies
Check ICON and your University of Iowa email account on a regular basis. Email is considered an official means of communication. If your university email is routed through a third-party, I am not responsible for any lost or distorted information. If you need help with either of these web-based services, let me know.
Plagiarism, according to the CLAS Code of Academic Honesty, is “claiming the words, sentences, arguments, rhetorical structures, or ideas of another as your own.” It can be intentional (you deliberately took credit for someone else’s work) or, perhaps more commonly, unintentional (you failed to properly cite a source, for example). The University of Iowa takes plagiarism very seriously. Do not plagiarize. Further definitions of plagiarism, cheating, academic fraud, etc.—and the consequences thereof—can be found in the CLAS Code of Academic Honesty here: http://clas.uiowa.edu/students/handbook/academic-fraud-honor-code
We will be reading at a fairly brisk pace this semester. You need to have the reading done by the date indicated (you can, of course, read ahead), and you need to bring your book to class. You do not need to bring your book on days when reading has not been assigned.
Technology use. Cell phones need to be silenced/turned off and put away. There is no reason to check your phone during class. I do not mind if you wish to take notes on a laptop, but the volume needs to be muted, and if I catch you on the internet or playing games, I’m liable to ban laptop use for everyone (and further consequences may be warranted).
Adds/Drops & Transfers
All section changes are handled in the Department Office, 171 EPB. Add/drop slips are valid only if signed by the DEO of the Rhetoric Department: I have no authority to sign them. No Adds are permitted after 4:00 p.m. on the first Friday of semester. Transfer students are placed in this course based on your transcript. If you have questions, contact the Rhetoric Office.
Calendar of Course Assignments and Exams
This is a tentative calendar and is subject to change. Updates will be shared in class and often posted to ICON and/or emailed. You are responsible for tracking course activities, readings, and assignments as the semester progresses.
WEEK ONE
Monday, August 20th:Introduction to the course, review syllabus, get acquaintedPersonal Interviews
Wednesday, August 22nd:Personal InterviewsEverything’s an Argument, Chapter 1, “Everything Is an Argument”
WEEK TWO
Monday, August 27th:Everything’s an Argument, Chapter 2, “Arguments Based on Emotion: Pathos”
Wednesday, August 29th:Everything’s an Argument, Chapter 3, “Arguments Based on Character: Ethos”
WEEK THREE
Monday, September 3rd:NO CLASS—Labor Day
Wednesday, September 5th:Everything’s an Argument, Chapter 4, “Arguments Based on Facts and Reason: Logos”
WEEK FOUR
Monday, September 10th:Assign Paper 1In-class activity/discussion
Wednesday, September 12th:Paper 1 Proposal DUE TO ICON DROPBOX by 1:00 p.m.In-class activity/discussion
WEEK FIVE
Monday, September 17th:Paper 1 Draft DUEWorkshop Paper 1Eating Animals, Chapter 1, “Storytelling”
Wednesday, September 19th:Eating Animals, Chapter 2, “All or Nothing or Something Else”
WEEK SIX
Monday, September 24th:Paper 1 DUEEating Animals, Chapter 3, “Words/Meaning”Assign Speech 1
Wednesday, September 26th:Eating Animals, Chapter 4, “Hiding/Seeking”
WEEK SEVEN
Monday, October 1st:
Eating Animals, Chapter 5, “Influence/Speechlessness”
Wednesday, October 3rd:Eating Animals, Chapter 6, “Slices of Paradise/Pieces of Shit”Speech 1 Draft DUEWorkshop Speech 1
WEEK EIGHT
Monday, October 8th:Speech 1
Wednesday, October 10th:Speech 1
WEEK NINE
Monday, October 15th:Eating Animals, Chapter 7, “I Do”
Wednesday, October 17th:Eating Animals, Chapter8, “Storytelling”
WEEK TEN
Monday, October 22nd:The Shallows, Prologue, “The Watchdog and the Thief,” and Chapter 1, “Hal and Me”Assign Paper 2
Wednesday, October 24th:The Shallows, Chapter 2, “The Vital Paths”
Friday, October 26th:Paper 2 Proposal DUE TO ICON DROPBOX by 1:00 p.m.
WEEK ELEVEN
Monday, October 29th:The Shallows, Chapter 3, “Tools of the Mind”
Wednesday, October 31st:The Shallows, Chapter 4, “The Deepening Page”Paper 2 Draft DUE
Workshop Paper 2
WEEK TWELVE
Monday, November 5th:The Shallows, Chapter 5, “A Medium of the Most General Nature”
Wednesday, November 7th:The Shallows, Chapter 6, “The Very Image of a Book”Paper 2 DUE
WEEK THIRTEEN
Monday, November 12th:The Shallows, Chapter 7, “The Juggler’s Brain”Assign Speech 2
Wednesday, November 14th:The Shallows, Chapter 8, “The Church of Google”
WEEK FOURTEEN
Monday, November 19th, through Friday, November 23rd:NO CLASS—Thanksgiving Break
WEEK FIFTEEN
Monday, November 26th:The Shallows, Chapter 9, “Search, Memory”
Wednesday, November 28th:The Shallows, Chapter 10, “A Thing Like Me,” Epilogue, “Human Elements,” and Afterword to the Paperback Edition
Speech 2 Draft DUEWorkshop Speech 2
WEEK SIXTEEN
Monday, December 3rd:Speech 2
Wednesday, December 5th:Speech 2
UI Policies and Procedures
Administrative Home The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the administrative home for Rhetoric. Different colleges may have different policies. See the CLAS Academic Handbook.
Diversity & InclusionThe University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment or in its educational programs and activities on the basis of race, national origin, color, creed, religion, sex, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or associational preference. No acts of discrimination will be tolerated in this class.
Understanding Sexual HarassmentSexual harassment subverts the mission of the University and threatens the wellbeing of students, faculty, and staff. We share a responsibility to uphold this mission and to contribute to a safe environment that enhances learning. Incidents of sexual harassment should be reported immediately. See www.uiowa.edu/~eod/policies/sexual-harassment-guide/index.html for assistance, definitions, and the full University policy.
Accommodations for Disabilities A student seeking academic accommodations must register with Student Disability Services and meet with me privately to make particular arrangements. http://www.uiowa.edu/~sds/
Electronic Communication Students are responsible for all official correspondences sent to their standard University of Iowa e-mail address (@uiowa.edu). Students should check their account frequently.
Academic FraudAny instance of a student falsely presenting work that is not their own (e.g. plagiarism, cheating) is academic fraud and taken seriously by the College. The instructor reports any suspicion of fraud to the department and follows procedures outlined in the CLAS Academic Handbook. Consequences may include failure of the assignment or course, suspension, or expulsion.
Making a Suggestion or a ComplaintWe may not always see eye to eye. If there is a problem, please speak to me first. Often we can resolve the issue without need for further action. I may consult with the course supervisor for advice. If matters are still unresolved, feel free to speak with Carol Severino ([email protected]), the department officer charged with dealing with student concerns. If she cannot resolve the issue, then it goes to Steve Duck, the DEO. Complaints must be made within six months of the incident. See the CLAS Academic Handbook.
Reacting Safely to Severe StormsIn severe weather, the class members should seek shelter in the lowest, innermost part of the building, away from windows. The class will continue if possible when the event is over. (Operations Manual, IV. 16.14) Sign up for http://hawkalert.uiowa.edu/
