Course description:
Purpose: To engage students in indentifying rhetorical choices, as well as means of persuasion,
in research and writing, as well as interpreting the information from a performative perspective.
Goals:
To define what a “text” is
To read and interpret a variety of texts based on their performance
To question the rhetorical effectiveness of a text
To engage in class discussions about the texts we will be covering in class
To address the five canons of rhetoric in the various texts we read
To understand how the elements and principles of design function within various images
and pictures
To understand how to research and write within the APA format
To create a multimedia presentation
Objectives:
Students are expected to read, watch, and listen to all of the texts we will be covering in
class
Students are excepted not only participate in class discussion, but also ask questions
about the various texts we read, as well as identify any arguments
Students are expected to write an essay that shows them thinking-out one of more of the
texts we cover in class
Students are expected to conduct primary and secondary over one of the various texts we
cover in class (or one of their own choice) research that will culminate in a research essay
Students are expected to create a multimedia presentation over their research essay
Questions we will address this semester:
What is the performance of a text?
What are the means of persuasion?
What is a “text (written, video, image, etc.)?”
How invention, tone, voice, style, arrangement, memory, and delivery are used in a text
(written, video, or image)?
How the elements and principles of design are are used to convey meaning or emphasize
importance in an image, picture, or written text?
Structure of the semester: Three cantos
Canto 1 – Six weeks
Canto 2 – Five weeks
Canto 3 – Five weeks
When seeking out if a text performs as an argument or makes an argument, we will be using
stasis theory:
Questions to find Stasis
Did s-he do it?
Kind of
Question
of Fact
What did s-he do?
of Definition
Was it just/expedient?
of Quality
Is this the right venue for this
issue?
of Jurisdiction
Kind of Stasis
Conjectural
Stasis
Definitional
Stasis
Qualitative
Stasis
Translative
Stasis
Canto 1 (Six weeks):
Elements we will cover in this canto:
Invention (Questions we will ask: what does the author say, not how they say it in the
text)
Tone and voice (Questions we will ask: how does the text perform? What does it do for
you? What is the author saying or doing [in the narrative or through the characters]?)
Style (Questions we will ask: semantics, what kinds of sentence structures does the
author use, and syntax, what kinds of grammar and words does the author use?)
Arrangement (Questions we will ask: does the author arrange information in the narrative
to make an argument? How does the argument perform in the text?)
Ethos, pathos, and logos (Questions we will ask: which of these three does the author or
text address to the audience? How effective is the text in portraying these elements?)
Rhetoric and argumentation (handout)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------For all of these short stories, we will be focusing on these elements during the in-class
discussions:
Time and setting – where and when
Circumstances – conditions
Relationships – between ideas, characters
Means of persuasion – is there an argument being made here by the author? How?
Who is the audience?
Short Story 1: Ambrose Bierce “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (1890)
Short Story 2: Sarah Perkins Gilman “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1899)
Short Story 3: Shirley Jackson “The Lottery” (1948)
Short Story 4: Harlan Ellison “„Repent, Harlequin!‟ said the Ticktockman” (1965)
Short Story 5: H.G. Wells “The Moth” (1895)
Short Story 6: “Wrong Channel” by Roberto Fernandez
AND…
Students will create a reading list at the beginning of the semester, which can include books,
poems, videos, movies, pictures, etc. and each week we will have 4-5 different students bring in
their “show and tell” and explain or interpret it for the class. The class will then ask useful
questions of the student‟s interpretation (this will count for 15 points out of 100)
Technical elements will cover during this canto:
APA citation format (handout)
Research tactics and strategies (handout)
*
Canto 2 (Five weeks):
Elements we will cover in this canto:
Memory (Questions we will ask: Memory is more than just memorization, but also
improvisation by the author and/or characters within a story/narrative. What is the
psychological makeup of the speaker[s]? How do they improvise?
Delivery (Questions we will ask: What appeals do the speakers use? How does the
speaker appeals to the audience? Ethos? Pathos? Logos?)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Videos 1-3: Terence McKenna‟s “Novelty Theory” and Timewave Zero” (NT =
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtnV25LWFQ8&feature=PlayList&p=9A3170BA3B
B6E355&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=23; TWZ =
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-prt5d6m6s) (prepare handouts: pictures, short bio,
main ideas) (Focus on the performance of the speakers, what is being discussed, what is
being asked, answered, and the means of persuasion)
Videos 1-3 (possibly more, time allowing): John Titor Story (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB8liFZvED8&feature=youtubegdata) (prepare
handouts: pictures, short bio, main ideas) (how rhetorically effective is this story? How
effective is/are the speaker(s)?)
Text 1 and Text 2: Ideas (Hitler and Obama) (handout) (how does each text perform?
Similarities/differences? How do they use language?)
Technical elements we will cover during this canto:
APA (OWL and more resources)
Citing sources
Conducting primary and secondary research
*
Canto 3 (Five weeks):
Elements we will cover in this canto:
The elements and principles of design from a rhetorical perspective, meaning that we will
interpret
The elements of design will include:
o Line –linear and non-linear
o Shape –positive and negative forms of shape
o Direction –Horizontal, oblique, or vertical
o Size –relationships between shapes, lines, etc.
o Texture –rough, smooth, hard, soft, etc.
o Color –or lack of color
o Value –light to dark
The principles of design will include:
o Balance –the distance or light/darkness between shapes
o Gradation –the movement from light to dark, or from warm to cool colors
o Repetition –sameness and difference within the sameness
o Contrast –the juxtaposition of opposing elements, such as the colors red and blue
o Harmony –the combining of similar elements, finding similarities within the
chaos
o Discord –the combining of dissimilar elements
o Dominance –of lines, shapes, or patterns
o Unity –the linking of various elements together in an image to give it more effect
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Images: The Colossus of Rhodes and the Statue of Liberty in New York City
(compare/contrast, discuss)
Images: Jackson Pollock‟s “Blue Poles: Number II (1952) and Vincent Van Gough‟s
“Starry Night” (1888) (compare/contrast, discuss)
Images: Vietnam photograph and World War II, marines raising the American flag
(compare/contrast, discuss)
Images: Kenneth Burke‟s “Flowerishes” word-image and Linda Flower and John R.
Hayes (1981) “The Cognitive Process Model of Composing” (the model)
(compare/contrast, discuss)
Technical elements we will cover during this canto:
How to create a multimedia presentation (PowerPoint, other)
*
In-class activities (10 points total):
Reading discussions in class (weekly reading journal, maybe)
Video discussions in class (that we watch and that students bring in)
Interpretation activities (of writing and images) in class
Major assignments (90 points total):
“Show and tell” (15 out of 100 points) 4-5 students every week will bring in books,
poems, videos, movies, pictures, etc. and we will have the bringer explain or interpret it
for the class. The class will then ask useful questions of the student‟s interpretation.
Thinking-it-out-essay (over a short story, film, or video) (15 out of a 100 points)
o This essay will be exploring your thoughts about a certain text that we have covered
in class (or one of your own choosing), no primary or secondary sources are needed,
however, if you choose to cite actual words from the text you are writing about, you
will need to properly cite them, word range = 700-1,300 words.
Option 1: Research essay with credible sources (over chosen topic/text) (20 out of a 100
points)
o This essay will require you to conduct primary and secondary research over one of
the texts covered in class and/or one of your own choosing. You will need between 610 credible sources. All of the sources you use within the essay will need to be cited.
You will also need to pose an argument and/or a hypothesis that it supported by your
sources. APA format.
Option 2: Visual argument (over a chosen topic/text) (20 out of a 100 points)
o This visual argument must be well-thought-out, must cover two or more of the texts
we read for class, interpreting, comparing/contrasting, connecting to other situations
and/or arguments outside of the texts.
PowerPoint or video presentation over research essay topic (20 out of a 100 points)