University of Waterloo
Department
of
English
Language
&
Literature
ENGL
492
Topics
in
the
History
and
Theory
of
Rhetoric
Spring
2021
Online
Course
Instructor Information
Instructor: Dr. Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher
Office: Virtual office for Spring 2021
Office Phone: +1 519 888 4567 x49135
Office Hours: Thursday afternoons 1:30pm-3:30pm, by appointment
Email: ashley.mehlenbacher@uwaterloo.ca
Territorial Acknowledgement
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River.
Course Description
Sociologist Ulrich Beck theorized what he called “risk society” to describe how modern societies respond to hazards and distribute risk. Rhetoricians, especially in subfields or specialized areas of rhetoric, including rhetorics of science, technology, and medicine, have taken up this idea of risk society to investigate the ways that risks are rhetorically constituted. In this course, we will look at the idea of risk society, risk, and attendant rhetorical concepts to understand how risks are defined, managed, and responded to by those at risk.
Course Goals and Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
-
Describe in rhetorical-theoretical terms “risk,” “risk society,” and “world risk society”;
-
Explain some key distinctions between different forms of risk and the staging of risk through rhetorical appeals;
-
Articulate ethical concerns and provide a basic account of ethical theories concerning risk, especially as related to inequitable distribution and attendant injustices; and,
-
Analyze a case study using rhetorical concepts where risk is a key theoretical concern.
Required Text
-
Beck, Ulrich. 2007. World at Risk. Cambridge: Polity, 2009. Ebook: CA$17.99 at W Store; see also library reserves.
Readings Available on LEARN
-
See LEARN for additional reading requirements.
Course Requirements and Assessment
In this course all of your assignments build toward your final project. Please review all of the assignments/assessments for the course before you begin.
Assessment |
Date of Evaluation (if known) |
Weighting |
Proposal review |
Post and comment between June 7th–11th, 2021 |
10% |
Proposal |
June 24th, 2021* |
20% |
Essay outline review |
July 5th–9th, 2021 |
10% |
Essay outline |
July 15th, 2021* |
20% |
Essay |
July 30th, 2021* |
40% |
Total |
100% |
*See course schedule for details on automatic extensions/deadline window. Discussions for peer review activities must be posted within the open window because you are interacting with peers.
Assessment 1: Proposal Review
This
assignment
is
a
peer
review
activity
in
LEARN
discussions.
The
first
assignment
has
two
parts.
The
first
assignment
will
be
to
1)
post
a
rough
draft
of
your
project
proposal
(see
“Assessment
2”)
to
LEARN
for
feedback
from
your
colleagues
in
the
course
and
2)
to
provide
two
colleagues
with
feedback
on
their
proposals.
For
the
purposes
of
the
draft,
please
follow
the
outline
detailed
below
in
“Assessment
2,”
and,
importantly,
be
sure
that
you
include
at
least
a
statement
of
topic,
a
question,
and
a
list
of
2-3
books
or
articles
you
believe
may
be
helpful.
In
addition
to
posting
your
own
proposal,
please
respond
to
two
other
colleagues.
Please
try
to
find
someone
who
has
not
yet
had
feedback
so
we
make
sure
everyone
has
some
constructive
advice.
When
posting,
please
be
constructive,
offer
advice
to
help
narrow
a
topic,
to
help
find
resources
and
readings
on
the
topic,
etc.
Most
often,
projects
are
too
large
in
scope,
so
do
try
to
focus
on
narrowing
rather
than
expanding
projects
when
you
provide
advice.
Aim
for
1-2
substantive
paragraphs,
but
not
less
than
one
lengthy
substantive
paragraph
and
2
recommended
reading/resources.
In
addition
to
your
two
responses,
you
can
certainly
leave
brief
notes
about
readings
you
may
know
of
that
could
be
helpful
to
others.
The
goal,
with
this
assignment,
is
to
provide
a
space
for
discussion
and
exploration
of
our
projects.
Once
you
have
received
feedback,
please
use
this
to
revise
prior
to
submitting
your
assignment
in
LEARN.
Assessment 2: Proposal
Proposals
for
your
essay
are
meant
to
help
you
focus
the
scope
of
your
project
and
allow
for
a
dialogue
with
Prof.
Mehlenbacher.
The
more
detailed
and
focused
your
proposal,
the
better
we
will
be
able
to
develop
a
plan
for
your
project.
To
that
end,
your
proposal
should
include
some
key
features
in
a
brief
1
page
(single
spaced,
12pt
font):
1)
a
statement
of
topic,
a
question
you
want
to
answer,
2)
a
statement
of
why
you
want
to
answer
that
question,
3)
and
a
list
of
about
5
scholarly
books
and
articles
you
think
might
be
helpful;
you
may
also
supplement
with
additional
sources
that
are
not
peer-reviewed.
You
will
develop
a
project
of
about
2,000
words
(or
equivalent)
for
this
course.
Before
beginning
the
project,
however,
you
will
write
a
proposal
outlining
your
topic
and
plan.
As
you
are
now
upper-division
students,
the
expectations
for
your
work
are
higher
and
in
this
course
you
must
produce
a
high
quality
project.
However,
you
likely
still
need
some
help
determining
the
best
way
to
frame
that
project
and
find
resources
to
support
your
efforts.
By
first
drafting
a
proposal,
we
will
have
the
chance
to
refine
your
topic,
questions,
and
sources
for
your
project.
The
exact
nature
of
your
project
is
rather
open
to
your
interests.
We
will
work
together,
in
class,
to
develop
your
project
over
the
first
several
weeks.
You
may
complete
a
traditional
research
paper.
Or
you
may
develop
a
kind
of
portfolio
project
to
showcase
your
own
expertise
as
you
turn
toward
your
future
cultivation
of
expertise
through
your
first
job,
graduate
or
professional
programs,
etc.
Whatever
option
you
choose,
we
will
work
together
to
develop
clear
expectations
for
your
final
project,
and
the
steps
needed
to
get
you
going.
You
should
consult
John
Swales’
"Create
a
Research
Space
Model"
as
you
prepare
your
proposal.
See:
https://www.umass.edu/writingcenter/creating-research-space
In
your
proposal,
you
should
first
outline
the
topic/issue
that
you
want
to
study.
When
you
outline
a
topic
you
are
refining
the
scope
of
your
project.
Then
you
should
identify
a
gap
or
problem
that
you
wish
to
address.
Your
niche
should
be
sufficiently
well
defined
that
you
will
be
able
to
address
it
in
a
short
2,000
word
essay
or
equivalent
project.
Finally,
you
will
outline
how
you
plan
to
“occupy
the
niche,”
again
borrowing
from
Swales,
in
your
research
essay.
In
your
proposal
you
must
also
identify
some
of
the
scholarly
references
you
might
use
to
support
your
arguments.
You
do
not
need
to
have
read
the
articles
in
full
at
this
stage,
but
rather
have
read
some
of
their
introductions
and
findings
to
determine
if
they
are
potentially
helpful
to
your
efforts.
You
should
identify
more
resources
than
you
will
use
for
the
final
project
as
they
may
prove
to
be
less
central
to
your
argument
than
your
initial
assessment
suggests.
You
should
also
provide
a
timeline
detailing
how
you
plan
to
complete
your
work.
Work
backwards
from
the
final
deadline
to
include
your
research
efforts
(how
much
time
will
it
take
you
to
read
an
article),
your
plan
for
outlining
the
draft,
your
first
draft,
and
when
you
will
complete
edits.
Assessment 3: Essay Outline Review
This
assignment
is
a
peer
review
activity
in
LEARN
discussions.
This
assignment
has
two
parts.
The
first
assignment
will
be
to
1)
post
a
rough
draft
of
your
essay
outline
(see
“Assessment
4”)
to
LEARN
for
feedback
from
your
colleagues
in
the
course
and
2)
to
provide
two
colleagues
with
feedback
on
their
outlines.
For
the
purposes
of
the
draft,
please
follow
the
directions
detailed
below
in
“Assessment
4,”
and,
importantly,
be
sure
to
consult
the
example
outline
that
has
been
posted
to
the
Resources
section
of
LEARN.
In
addition
to
posting
your
own
outline,
please
respond
to
two
other
colleagues.
Please
try
to
find
someone
who
has
not
yet
had
feedback
so
we
make
sure
everyone
has
some
constructive
advice.
When
posting,
please
be
constructive,
offer
advice
to
help
structure
the
essay
overall,
to
help
arrange
resources
and
readings,
to
help
identify
where
examples
would
be
useful,
and
to
help
clarify
any
connections
that
do
not
seem
to
be
clear,
etc.
Aim
for
1-2
substantive
paragraphs,
but
not
less
than
one
lengthy
substative
paragraph.
In
addition
to
your
two
responses,
you
can
certainly
leave
brief
notes
that
may
be
helpful
to
others.
The
goal,
with
this
assignment,
is
to
provide
a
space
to
refine
the
structure
of
our
essays
and
arguments
as
we
move
toward
writing
the
full
drafts.
Once
you
have
received
feedback,
please
use
this
to
revise
prior
to
submitting
your
assignment
in
LEARN.
Assessment 4: Essay Outline
Your
essay
outline
should
be
a
detailed
roadmap
of
your
paper
(single
spaced,
12pt
font).
The
goal
of
this
assignment
is
to
help
you
craft
a
plan
for
writing
out
your
ideas
and,
with
the
feedback
from
your
peers,
shape
your
arguments
further.
Your
outline
should
be
detailed,
written
in
full
sentences,
and
be
roughly
two
pages
long.
Examples
have
been
provided
in
the
resources
section
of
LEARN.
In
your
outline
you
will
include
the
overall
structure
for
your
essay,
a
paragraph-by-paragraph
breakdown
of
what
you
will
include,
and
within
those
paragraph
breakdowns,
further
details
on
what
will
be
included
in
each.
For
each
paragraph,
it
is
helpful
to
think
about
what
the
argument
of
the
paragraph
is
and
what
the
relationship
of
that
specific
argument
is
to
the
overall
argument
or
position
taken
in
your
essay.
Then,
consider
what
points
you
want
to
make
in
that
paragraph,
and
what
evidence
or
examples
you
are
going
to
provide.
Please
also
include
your
current
bibliography.
Assignment 5: Essay
Your
essay
project
is
the
largest
percentage
of
your
grade
and
your
efforts
should
reflect
that
weighting.
Your
project
proposal,
which
you
will
have
completed
earlier
in
the
term,
is
your
opportunity
to
refine
your
argument
and
outline
your
project
before
you
begin
writing.
Your
projects
will
take
various
forms.
You
should
choose
an
issue
or
topic
you
wish
to
examine
through
the
lens
of
rhetoric
and
risk.
You
may
choose
from
the
different
areas
of
scholarship
we
are
studying
throughout
the
term,
but
you
will
need
to
draw
from
additional
scholarship,
which
you
will
have
identified
in
your
proposal.
It
is
important
that
your
essay
clearly
identifies
the
area
of
rhetorical
scholarship
in
which
you
wish
to
situate
your
research.
You
will
also
need
to
make
an
argument
for
the
importance
of
the
topic
you
have
chosen
and,
crucially,
why
rhetoric
is
a
useful
framework
to
explore
that
topic
and
matters
of
risk.
Your
essay
should
be
sufficiently
narrow
in
scope
that
you
have
space
to
provide
a
detailed
analysis
of
your
topic
and
draw
some
conclusions
about
the
topic/issue
using
rhetorical
theory.
You
may
use
any
citation
style
(e.g.,
APA,
MLA,
Chicago,
etc.),
but
please
do
provide
full
citational
information
and
consistently
format
based
on
the
style
you
have
chosen
so
it
is
easy
for
readers
to
identify
and
find
the
sources
you
are
using.
Single
spaced,
12pt
font,
2000
words,
excluding
bibliography.
Course Outline
Please see LEARN for readings in addition to Beck.
Week |
Date |
Topic |
Readings/Assignments Due/Holidays |
1 |
May 10-14 |
Risk, rhetoric, and theory: An introduction |
Fan;
see
LEARN |
2 |
May 17-21 |
Risk Society |
Beck, ch. 1 |
3 |
May 24-28 |
Risk Society |
Beck,
ch.
2 |
4 |
May 31-June 4 |
Expertise, Experts, and Ethos |
Mehlenbacher; see LEARN |
5 |
June 7 - 11 |
Ethics, Risk, and Apocalyptic Rhetoric |
Wasserman;
see
LEARN |
6 |
June 14 - 18 |
Project Consultations |
See
LEARN
for
details. |
7 |
June 21 - 25 |
Environmental Justice |
Sackey;
see
LEARN |
8 |
June 28 - July 2 |
Pause |
No
readings.
Built-in
pause
for
you
to
catch
up,
acknowledging
the
pandemic
situation. |
9 |
July 5 - 9 |
World Risk |
Beck,
ch.
3
|
10 |
July 12 - 16 |
World Risk |
|
11 |
July 19 - 23 |
Risk and Rhetorical Action |
Endres & DuPont; see LEARN. |
12 |
July 26 – last day of classes |
Course conclusion |
No
readings;
continue
to
work
on
essay
drafts.
Meetings
with
Prof.
M. |
Late Work
Deadlines in this course are within windows with built-in flexibility.
Attendance Policy
Online, asynchronous course.
Academic Integrity
In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. Check the Office of Academic Integrity webpage for more information.
Discipline
A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for their actions. Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline. For typical penalties check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.
Grievance
A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. When in doubt, please be certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.
Appeals
A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes they have a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72 - Student Appeals.
Note for Students with Disabilities
The AccessAbility Services office, located on the first floor of the Needles Hall extension (NH 1401), collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the AS office at the beginning of each academic term.