University of Waterloo
Department of English Language and Literature
ENGL104
Rhetoric in Popular Culture
Winter 2019
Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:00-2:20, EV3 4412
Instructor and T.A. Information
Instructor: David Shakespeare
Office: HH369
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:30-3:30; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00-12:00
Email: rdshakespeare@uwaterloo.ca
Office location subject to change; you will be notified…office hours also available by appointment
Course Description
This course explores the role that rhetoric plays in contemporary culture, as evidenced through its artifacts or “mediated texts.” These texts will include an autobiographical graphic novel; two movies; advertising in various forms; and music and music videos; with other potential objects for investigation such as social media, video games, television shows, and material culture. Although the instructor provides the core set of artifacts, students will be asked to be aware of these kinds of texts in their everyday lives and to be prepared to share their findings with the class. Throughout the term, we will analyse the persuasive role that popular media plays in our lives by influencing our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours. This analysis will derive from a number of foundational concepts in modern rhetorical theory.
Course Goals and Learning Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course, successful students should be able to
- identify and describe various theories of and approaches to rhetoric
- understand some of the workings of popular culture: its purposes and affects
- apply rhetorical theories to artifacts of popular culture
- increase your critical vocabulary through learning and applying rhetorical terminology
- think critically and communicate effectively, especially about rhetoric and popular culture
- develop your abilities to write for an academic audience through a test, an essay, a presentation, and an exam
- engage with your peers through discussion to develop a sophisticated response to popular culture
Required Texts
- Sellnow, Deanna D. The Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture: Considering Mediated Texts. 3rd Ed. Sage Publishing, 2018.
- Satrapi, Marjane. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. Pantheon, 2003.
- Fight Club (dir. David Fincher) and A Hard Day’s Night (dir. Richard Lester)—both films to be viewed in class; links to film reviews for these movies will be posted to Learn
- other texts to be discussed as appropriate: students are encouraged to be prepared to share their interests and artifacts with the class
Course Requirements and Assessment
| Assessment | Date of Evaluation (if known) | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| In-Class Test | 6 February | 15% |
| Essay | 4 March | 25% |
| Presentation | t.b.d. 25 March – 1 April | 15% |
| Participation | ongoing | 10% |
| Peer Evaluations | t.b.d. 25 March – 1 April | 5 % |
| Final Examination | t.b.d. 10 – 27 April | 30% |
| Total | 100% |
Brief descriptions of the assignments/assessments follows; more details will be provided as we approach the deadlines.
In-Class Test
The test will require you to answer short answer questions and compose an essay about the material covered in the opening weeks of the course. It will be an opportunity for you to see how you are comprehending the course concepts and prepare you for writing in a timed setting, which will be useful for the final examination.
Essay
You will write a short essay applying theories from the textbook to an artifact of popular culture in an argumentative essay of approximately 1700 words, or 5 double-spaced, typed pages. You will be asked to develop a topic from a given list and argue your interpretation of the texts in question. You will be required to integrate at least two secondary sources into your argument; you may use the material in the course textbook for these. We will have a class devoted to finding and using academic sources in the English discipline on 4 February. Essay topics will be distributed closer to that due date, but if you would like to develop your own topic, you must first have instructor approval.
Presentation
With one or two other students, you will design and develop a 6-minute presentation for the class on a music video (or advertisement) chosen by you and your partner(s). You will select one of the rhetorical theories/approaches to your artifact and illuminate the class on the meanings and purposes of the production.
Peer Evaluation
You will complete a short evaluation form to judge the merits of your peers’ presentations and offer constructive feedback on how they might improve on presentations in the future.
Final Examination
An examination to be written during the examination period will be the final component of the course and will cover all material from the course, with emphasis on the final, pre-presentation clases. Without official, often medical, documentation, there will be no possibility of a deferral or a make-up; you need to take this into consider when making any travel plans.
Participation
Here is how I grade participation marks: at the end of every class, I mark down whether you said one or more significant things in class (i.e. beyond answering “yes” or “no”). If you said one thing, I award you one point; if you say more than one thing, I award you two points. At the end of the term, I add up all of the points for the class. Assuming that there is robust class participation throughout the semester, the person with the most points will be awarded 10 out of 10 for participation. Students with fewer points than that get marked down incrementally by half marks. Note that this is not a competition: I am perfectly willing to award all students in the course 10 out of 10, provided that everyone participates equally. Also note that attendance is not counted, but you will not be able to participate in discussions if you are not here, and there may be some days in which we do group work where everyone present would receive some participation.
Course Outline
Throughout Sellnow’s text, she poses questions to readers; you do not have to complete these exercises, but it might be worthwhile to consider your answers to them because they will serve as good discussion points for the class. Also, it might be worth viewing A Charlie Brown Christmas before reading the first chapter, especially if you have not seen it before; Sellnow outlines the textbook with reference to this television special.
| Class | Date | Topic | Readings and Assignments Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 January | Introduction to the Course | |
| 2 | 9 January | Introducing Popular Culture | Sellnow, Chapter 1 |
| 3 | 14 January | Introducing Rhetoric | Sellnow, Chapter 2 |
| 4 | 16 January | A Narrative Perspective | Sellnow, Chapter 3 |
| 5 | 21 January | Persepolis: First Section | Satrapi, start to p. 53 |
| 6 | 23 January | A Dramatistic Perspective | Sellnow, Chapter 4 |
| 7 | 28 January | Film Screening: Fight Club | |
| 8 | 30 January | Film Screening: Fight Club | |
| 9 | 4 February | Discussion: Fight Club; Essay Writing | Online Film Reviews |
| 10 | 6 February | In-Class Test | In-Class Test (15%) |
| 11 | 11 February | A Symbolic Convergence Perspective | Sellnow, Chapter 5 |
| 12 | 13 February | A Neo-Marxist Perspective | Sellnow, Chapter 6 |
| Reading Week: No Class February 18 or 20 | |||
| 13 | 25 February | Persepolis: Second Section | Satrapi, p. 53 to p. 102 |
| 14 | 27 February | Feminist Perspectives | Sellnow, Chapter 7 |
| 15 | 4 March | Visual Perspectives |
Sellnow, Chapter 9 Essay Due (25%) |
| 16 | 6 March | Media-Centred Perspectives | Sellnow, Chapter 10 |
| 17 | 11 March | Persepolis: Third Section | Satrapi, p. 103 to end |
| 18 | 13 March | A Music Perspective | Sellnow, Chapter 8 |
| 19 | 18 March | Film Screening: A Hard Day’s Night | |
| 20 | 20 March | Film Screening and Discussion: A Hard Day’s Night | Online Film Reviews |
| 21 | 25 March | Presentations | Student-Selected Artifacts, Evaluations (5%) |
| 22 | 27 March | Presentations | Student-Selected Artifacts, Evaluations (5%) |
| 23 | 1 April | Presentations | Student-Selected Artifacts, Evaluations (5%) |
| 24 | 3 April | Conclusion; Examination Review | |
Late Work
All assignments are to be submitted on the due date by 1:00. Late work will be penalized at a rate of 3% per day, including weekends. No assignments will be accepted seven (7) days after the deadline. To avoid penalties, prepare your work well in advance. If you have legitimate (often medical) documentation to provide the instructor, you will be exempt from the late penalty, and a new deadline will be set for you if it is a medical emergency. Otherwise, you must notify the instructor in advance; no extensions will be granted after the deadline. If you are granted an extension for legitimate reasons, you and the instructor will decide on a new deadline.
Electronic Device Policy
Your attention and involvement in class discussions, workshops, and lectures is crucial to your success in the course. Should you require a device (e.g. a laptop) to take notes during lectures, you may do so; however, if you are distracting students around you, the instructor will ask you to use an alternative note-taking method. Students should keep all other electronic devices in bags or pockets for the duration of the class. Students found using these will be asked to put them away or to leave the class if they are caught using them.
Attendance Policy
Your participation in class discussions and workshops will be essential to the development of your own ideas and those of your peers. This can only be accomplished if you are on time to and present at all classes and contribute to the class in a significant way. Remember, you cannot be awarded any participation marks if you are absent from class.
Religious and Other Accommodations
Note that any student requiring an accommodation because of a religious observance or other holiday should let the instructor know as soon as possible.
University Policies and/or Faculty Policies
Cross-listed course
Please note that a cross-listed course will count in all respective averages no matter under which rubric it has been taken. For example, a PHIL/PSCI cross-list will count in a Philosophy major average, even if the course was taken under the Political Science rubric.
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Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, 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 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.
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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.
Mental Health Support
All of us need a support system. The faculty and staff in Arts encourage students to seek out mental health support if they are needed.
On Campus
- Counselling Services: counselling.services@uwaterloo.ca / 519-888-4567 ext. 32655
- MATES: one-to-one peer support program offered by Federation of Students (FEDS) and Counselling Services
- Health Services Emergency service: located across the creek form Student Life Centre
Off campus, 24/7
- Good2Talk: Free confidential help line for post-secondary students. Phone: 1-866-925-5454
- Grand River Hospital: Emergency care for mental health crisis. Phone: 519-749-4300 ext. 6880
- Here 24/7: Mental Health and Crisis Service Team. Phone: 1-844-437-3247
- OK2BME: set of support services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning teens in Waterloo. Phone: 519-884-0000 extension 213
Full details can be found online on the Faculty of Arts website
Download UWaterloo and regional mental health resources (PDF)
Territorial Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are living and working on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (also known as Neutral), Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes ten kilometres on each side of the Grand River. For more information about the purpose of territorial acknowledgements, please see the CAUT Guide to Acknowledging Traditional Territory (PDF).
Academic freedom at the University of Waterloo
Policy 33, Ethical Behaviour states, as one of its general principles (Section 1), “The University supports academic freedom for all members of the University community. Academic freedom carries with it the duty to use that freedom in a manner consistent with the scholarly obligation to base teaching and research on an honest and ethical quest for knowledge. In the context of this policy, 'academic freedom' refers to academic activities, including teaching and scholarship, as is articulated in the principles set out in the Memorandum of Agreement between the FAUW and the University of Waterloo, 1998 (Article 6). The academic environment which fosters free debate may from time to time include the presentation or discussion of unpopular opinions or controversial material. Such material shall be dealt with as openly, respectfully and sensitively as possible.” This definition is repeated in Policies 70 and 71, and in the Memorandum of Agreement, Section 6.