Syllabus
Introduction to Rhetorical Studies
(ENGL 101B)
General Information
Lecture Section: 001
Hours: 11:30-12:50 Mondays and Wednesdays
Location: ML 354
Term: Fall 2019
Instructor
Bruce Dadey
Office: Hagey Hall 257
Email: badadey@uwaterloo.ca
Phone: x32416
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 1:00-2:00 p.m., or by appointment
Course Description and Objectives
This course will introduce you to the study and practice of persuasion, including the history and theory of rhetoric, the structures and strategies of arguments, and the analysis of texts and artifacts. The first section of the course will introduce you to the theory, history, and principles of rhetoric, while the later sections of the course will give us an opportunity to briefly explore some aspects of modern rhetorical theory and the role of rhetoric in examining visual texts. In this course you will both examine texts from a rhetorical perspective and create rhetorically effective texts of your own. By the end of the course you will have a thorough knowledge of rhetoric and will be able to use your knowledge for the purposes of both the analysis and production of texts.
Texts
Lundberg, Christian O., and William M. Keith. The Essential Guide to Rhetoric. 2nd ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018.
Assignments
Appeals assignment 20%
Invention assignment 25%
Style Assignment 20%
Rhetorical Analysis 30%
Participation 5%
Full details on the assignments will be distributed during the course.
Course Policies
Assignments and Class Procedures
- Assignments are to be submitted to the appropriate LEARN drop box in .doc or .docx format.
- Assignments which are late without good reason will be penalized at a rate of two percentage points for every week day late (10% per week).
- Class discussion is a prominent part of the course, so students are expected to attend all classes and to come with the readings completed. In my lectures and in my questions to the class and individuals I will assume the assigned readings have been done. Students will lose 1% from the participation mark for each class missed.
- We will often be using email to communicate with one another. All email communication will occur through your Waterloo account, which you should check regularly.
Electronics
Please mute your phones and do not take them out in class unless you are asked to use them for class activities. If you have a genuine emergency for which your phone is needed during a particular class, contact me beforehand. Laptops and tablets are allowed for class-related purposes only. Use of devices for non-class-related purposes (surfing, email, chatting) or in a manner that is distracting to other students will lead to my requesting that you not bring your device to class.
Academic integrity
In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. (Check the Office of Academic Integrity for more information.)
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.
Discipline
A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid committing an academic offence, and to take responsibility for his/her 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 instructor, academic advisor, or the undergraduate associate dean. For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71, Student Discipline. For typical penalties, check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.
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 he/she has a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72, Student Appeals.
Note for students with disabilities:
AccessAbility Services, located in Needles Hall, Room 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 AccessAbility Services at the beginning of each academic term.
Tentative Schedule
EG = The Essential Guide to Rhetoric
L = LEARN
| Week | Topic | Dates | Readings/Assignments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction | Introduction to Class | Sept. 4 | |
|
1 Definition and History |
What is Rhetoric? | Sept. 9 | EG 3-11, 23-25 (“Ethics, Audiences, and Publics”); L: Aristotle |
| The Rhetorical Situation | Sept. 11 | EG 12-19, 26-34 | |
|
2 Appeals 1 |
Framing, Ideology, Commonplaces | Sept. 16 | EG 19-23 |
| Logos: Deduction | Sept. 18 | EG 37-40 | |
|
3 Appeals 2 |
Logos: Induction | Sept. 23 | EG 40-41 (“Examples”) |
| Atechnic proofs, fallacies | Sept. 25 |
EG 50-52 L: Fallacies |
|
|
4 Appeals 3 |
Pathos | Sept. 30 |
EG 42-43 Appeals Project Proposal |
| Ethos | Oct. 2 | EG 41-42 | |
|
5 Appeals 3/ Invention 1 |
Appeals Review | Oct. 7 | L: Virginia Tech Background; Gopnick and Nugent |
| Workshop | Oct. 9 | Appeals Project Draft | |
|
6 Reading Week |
Reading Week | Oct. 14 | |
| Oct. 16 | |||
|
7 Invention 1 |
Stases | Oct. 21 |
EG 46-50 (“Stock Issues”) L: Stases and Commonplaces – Climate Change Appeals Project Due |
| Topics 1 | Oct. 23 |
EG 43-46 L: Topic Examples; Topics Chart – Capital Punishment Invention Project Proposal |
|
| 8 | Topics 2 | Oct. 28 | Practice |
| Arrangement strategies | Oct. 30 | EG 58-64 | |
|
9 Invention 2 |
Elements of Style/Diction | Nov. 4 | L: Style Options Sheet |
| Workshop | Nov. 6 | Invention Project Draft | |
|
10 Arrangement/Style 1 |
Figurative Language | Nov. 11 |
EG 65-73 L: Examples of Figures Style Assignment Proposal |
| Style Practice | Nov. 13 |
L: TBA Invention Project Due |
|
|
11 Style 2 |
Kenneth Burke | Nov. 18 |
EG 52-56 L: Burke |
| Invitational Rhetoric | Nov. 20 | L: Bone, Griffin, and Scholz | |
|
12 Modern Rhetoric 1 |
Workshop | Nov. 25 | Style Assignment draft |
| Introduction | Nov. 27 | L: Foss; Guidelines for Visual Rhetoric | |
|
13 Modern Rhetoric 2 |
Analysis | Dec. 2 |
L: Sample images Style Assignment Due |
| No Class | Dec. 4 |