Modern & Contemporary Rhetorical Theory

Course:

Spring 2013

English 8150 / Section 005 / Tues. & Thurs. 9:30 10:45 AM / Sparks 310 http://eng8150sp13.wordpress.com/ (schedule, assignments, blogs) & Desire 2 Learn (D2L) http://d2l.gsu.edu (course readings, grades) Dr. Ashley J. Holmes / GCB 915 / aholmes@gsu.edu / 404-413-5831 Tues. & Thurs. 1:00 3:00 & by appointment During office hours, I am also available by phone or email. The best method of reaching me outside office hours is via email.

Course Websites:

Instructor: Office Hours: Availability:

Please note that the course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary. Course Description & Objectives English 8150 invites students to consider the ways in which theory intersects with the work of rhetoric and rhetorical analysis. In this course, we will read scholarship by theorists in fields ranging from rhetoric and composition to philosophy, from communication studies to geography. A primary goal of the course is to familiarize you with some of the foundational scholars and concepts that are central to modern and contemporary rhetorical theory, particularly as they relate to rhetoric and composition studies. However, I have also included contemporary conversations that offer applications of these foundational theories and that highlight current debates and trends relating to rhetorical theory. I hope through the progression of the course to offer you my own experiences using rhetorical theories as we investigate research possibilities that might turn into your own theses and dissertations. The readings in this course focus on rhetorical theory and applications of theory from the mid20th century through the early 21st century, with a focus on developments and applications within the last twenty-five years. Through course assignments and experiences, students will do the following: Read critically and analyze a variety of essays, articles, books, and other sources concerned with modern and contemporary rhetoric, Identify and discuss influences and applications of rhetorical theory in culture, language, literary theory, popular culture, and education, Facilitate and lead class discussions, Write weekly journal entries that summarize and offer a response to the course readings, Conduct outside research and complete an annotated bibliography, and Write and revise an academic paper concerning issues of contemporary rhetoric theory and/or practice. Required Texts & Digital Access Foss, Sonja K., Karen A. Foss, and Robert Trapp, eds. Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric. 3rd ed. Long Grove: Waveland Press, 2002. Print. Holmes / ENGL 8150 / 1

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The majority of your course readings will be digital, and I will post them to our course D2L site. You will need to be able to access readings from D2L, and you will need consistent access to a computer and email outside of class. Course Assignments & Grading Scale Weekly Reading Journal: 25% Learning how to concisely articulate a writers argument and offer your brief response is an important skill that you should hone during your graduate studies. To that end, you will submit a weekly reading journal. I hope that this journal will serve you in this course and in your scholarly work (thesis, comprehensive exams, dissertation, conference presentations, and/or publications) beyond this course. Class Facilitation & Annotated Bibliography 25% Each student will have the opportunity to facilitate discussion and application of the assigned material for one scheduled class session. This assignment is meant to give you an opportunity to more fully engage with the course reading, delving deeper into your selected topic, and to give you experience leading a graduate-level class discussion. You will conduct additional research on your selected topic, submitting an annotated bibliography of your findings on the date of your facilitation. Final Project 50% Your final project in this course will be an academic paper of 15-22 pages that offers your argument and/or theoretical application of an issue related to contemporary rhetoric. The grading scale for this class is as follows: A+ 97100%, A 9396%, A- 9092%, B+ 87 89%, B 8386%, B- 8082%, C+ 7779%, C 7376%, C- 7072%, D+ 6769%, D 6366%, D- 6062%, F 59%0%. Course Policies Attendance Policy & Expectations for Participation Daily attendance and participation are essential to your success in this course, and I expect you to attend all class sessions, arrive prepared, and be on time. I will take attendance daily at the start of class. However, in the event that you cannot make it to class, please be sure you understand my attendance policy as follows. If a student misses more than 4 classes (2 weeks), he or she may risk failing the course. The midpoint for the semester is March 5th. Students wishing to withdraw should do so before this date in order to receive a grade of W for the course. Late Work Course assignments are due at the specified time on the date stated on each assignment sheet. After that, the grade drops one third of a letter grade per calendar day, which includes days that Holmes / ENGL 8150 / 2

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we do not meet for class. If there are extenuating circumstances that warrant an extension, you must ask for approval from me in advance of the due date. I do not accept late submissions for weekly reading journal assignments. Submission Policies Assignments are due at the start of class, unless otherwise noted, and will be considered late if submitted after the start of class. You may be asked to submit your work in print or electronic forms (through D2L or email). Please follow all stated instructions for how, when, and where to submit your assignments for this course. Make-Up Examination Policy Students are required to attend the university-scheduled exam period for this course. I will allow make-up examinations only for students who have more than two university-scheduled exams within a 24-hour period. If this applies to you, you need to let me know as soon as possible, and no later than one week prior to the final examination date, so that we can make the necessary arrangements. Academic Honesty As members of the academic community, students are expected to recognize and uphold standards of intellectual and academic integrity. The university assumes as a basic and minimum standard of conduct in academic matters that students be honest and that they submit for credit only the products of their own efforts. According to GSUs handbook, dishonorable conduct includes plagiarism, cheating, unauthorized collaboration, falsification, and multiple submissions of your academic work. For specific examples and definitions of each of these forms of conduct, please see the Policy on Academic Honesty, section 409 in the Faculty Handbook: http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfhb/fhb.html. Course Assessment Your constructive assessment of this course plays an indispensable role in shaping education at Georgia State. Upon completing the course, please take time to fill out the online course evaluation. Accommodations Students who wish to request accommodation for a disability may do so by registering with the Office of Disability Services. Students may only be accommodated upon issuance by the Office of Disability Services of a signed Accommodation Plan and are responsible for providing a copy of that plan to instructors of all classes in which accommodations are sought. Campus Resources The Writing Studio GCB 976, Phone # 404-413-5840, http://www.writingstudio.gsu.edu/ The purpose of the Writing Studio is to enhance the writing instruction that happens in academic classrooms, by providing undergraduate and graduate students with an experienced reader who engages them in conversation about their writing assignments and ideas, and familiarizes them with audience expectations and academic genre conventions. We focus on the rhetorical aspects Holmes / ENGL 8150 / 3

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of texts, and provide one-on-one, student-centered teaching that corresponds to each writers composing process, especially invention and revising. We do not provide editing or proofreading services. We aim to create better writers, not perfect papers, so we address works-inprogress in tutorials, and not finished texts. Course Schedule This course schedule is subject to changes. Please check the calendar on the course website for the most up-to-date version of the schedule of readings, assignments, and due dates. Contemporary Perspectives = Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric by Foss, Foss, & Trapp Jan. 15 Jan. 17 Introduce class members, course goals, assignments, and course websites. Contemporary Conversations: The Octalog Agnew, Lois, Laurie Gries, Zosha Stuckey, Vicki Tolar Burton, Jay Dolmage, Jessica Enoch, Ronald L. Jackson II, LuMing Zao, Malea Powell, Arthur E. Walzer, Ralph Cintron, and Victor Vitanza. Octalog III: The Politics of Historiography in 2010. Rhetoric Review 30.2 (2011): 109-134. Optional Readings/To Skim: Octalog. The Politics of Historiography. Rhetoric Review 7.1 (1988): 5-49. Octalog. Octalog II: The (Continued) Politics of Historiography. Rhetoric Review 16.1 (1997): 22-44. Email your blog address to aholmes@gsu.edu. Jan. 22 Foundational Scholars: Burke Kenneth Burke, in Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric, pgs. 187-218 Excerpts from A Rhetoric of Motives, by Kenneth Burke Suggested Reading: Excerpts from A Grammar of Motives, by Kenneth Burke Select dates for course facilitation and review assignment expectations. Jan. 24 Contemporary Conversations: Burke Ratcliffe, Krista. Identifying Places of Rhetorical Listening: Identification, Disidentification, and Non-Identification. Rhetorical Listening: Identification, Holmes / ENGL 8150 / 4

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Gender, and Whiteness. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois UP, 2006. Print. 4777. Crable, Bryan. Symbolizing Motion: Burkes Dialectic and Rhetoric of the Body. Rhetoric Review 22.2 (2003): 121-37. Jan. 29 Foundational Scholars & Contemporary Conversations: Perelman & OlbrechtsTyteca Chaim Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca, in Contemporary Perspectives, pgs. 81-109 Excerpts from The New Rhetoric, by Chaim Perelman and Lucie OlbrechtsTyteca Condit, Celeste Michelle. Chaim Perelmans Prolegomenon to a New Rhetoric: How Should We Feel? A Response to Chaim Perelmans The New Rhetoric. Reengaging the Prospects of Rhetoric: Current Conversations and Contemporary Challenges. Ed. Mark J. Porrovecchio. New York: Routledge, 2010. 96-111. Print. Optional Reading: Excerpts from The New Rhetoric: A Theory of Practical Reasoning, by Chaim Perelman Jan. 31 Foundational Concepts & Contemporary Conversations: Invention Wallace, Karl R. Topoi and the Problem of Invention. Quarterly Journal of Speech 58.4 (1972): 387-95. Crowley, Sharon. The Evolution of Invention in Current-Traditional Rhetoric. Rhetoric Review 3.2 (1985): 146-62. Phelps, Louise Wetherbee. Institutional Invention: (How) Is It Possible? Perspectives on Rhetorical Invention. Ed. Janet M. Atwill and Jancie M. Lauer. Tennessee Studies in Literature. Vol. 39. Knoxville: U of Tennessee P, 2002. 64-95. Print. Feb. 5 Foundational Scholars & Contemporary Conversations: Corbett Corbett, Edward P. J. Rhetoric in Search of a Past, Present, and Future. The Prospect of Rhetoric. Report of the National Development Project, Sponsored by Speech Communication Association. Ed. Lloyd Bitzer and Edwin Black. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1971. Print. 166-78. Mailloux, Steven. Reading the Past Into the Future: Changing Disciplinary Holmes / ENGL 8150 / 5

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Identities in Rhetorical Studies. A Response to Edward P. J. Corbetts Rhetoric in Search of a Past, Present, and Future. Reengaging the Prospects of Rhetoric: Current Conversations and Contemporary Challenges. Ed. Mark J. Porrovecchio. New York: Routledge, 2010. Print. 175-81. Myers, Nancy. Relocating Knowledge: The Textual Authority of Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. The Locations of Composition. Ed. Christopher J. Keller and Christian R. Weisser. New York: State U of New York P, 2007. Print. 229-50. Feb. 7 Contemporary Conversations: Rereading & Regendering Rhetoric Excerpts from Jarratt, Susan. Rereading the Sophists: Classical Rhetoric Refigrured. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1998. Print. Excerpts from Glenn, Cheryl. Rhetoric Retold: Regendering the Tradition from Antiquity through the Renaissance. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1997. Print. Feb. 12 Foundational Concepts: Rhetorical Situation Bitzer, Lloyd F. The Rhetorical Situation. Philosophy and Rhetoric 1 (1968): 1-14. Rpt. in Contemporary Rhetorical Theory. Ed. John Louis Lucaites, Celeste Michelle Condit, and Sally Caudill. New York: Guilford Press, 1999. Print. 217-25. Vatz, Richard E. The Myth of the Rhetorical Situation. Philosophy and Rhetoric 6 (1973): 154-57. Rpt. in Contemporary Rhetorical Theory. Ed. John Louis Lucaites, Celeste Michelle Condit, and Sally Caudill. New York: Guilford Press, 1999. Print. 226-31. Biesecker, Barbara. Rethinking the Rhetorical Situation from within the Thematic of Differnce. Philosophy and Rhetoric 22 (1989): 110-30. Rpt. in Contemporary Rhetorical Theory. Ed. John Louis Lucaites, Celeste Michelle Condit, and Sally Caudill. New York: Guilford Press, 1999. Print. 232-46. Feb. 14 Foundational Concepts & Contemporary Conversations: Genre Miller, Carolyn R. Genre as Social Action. The Quarterly Journal of Speech 70 (1984): 151-67. Rpt. in Landmark Essays on Contemporary Rhetoric. Ed. Thomas B. Farrell. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1998. Print. 123-42. Devitt, Amy J., Anis Bawarshi, and Mary Jo Reiff. Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities. College English 65.5 (2003): 541-58. Suggested Reading: Holmes / ENGL 8150 / 6

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Miller, Carolyn R., and Dawn Shepherd. Blogging as Social Action: A Genre Analysis of the Weblog. Into the Blogosphere: Rhetoric, Community, and Culture of Weblogs. Ed. Laura J. Gurak, Smiljana Antonijevic, Laurie Johnson, Clancy Ratliff, and Jessica Reyman. June 2004. Web. 1 Jan. 2013. < http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/blogging_as_social_action.html>. Feb. 19 Foundational Concepts & Contemporary Conversations: Materialist Rhetorics McGee, Michael Calvin. The Ideograph: A Link Between Rhetoric and Ideology. The Quarterly Journal of Speech 66 (1980): 1-16. Rpt. in Landmark Essays on Contemporary Rhetoric. Ed. Thomas B. Farrell. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1998. Print. 85-102. Coogan, David. Service Learning and Social Change: The Case for Materialist Rhetoric. College Composition and Communication 57.4 (2006): 667-93. Dickson, Barbara. Reading Maternity Materially: The Case of Demi Moore. Rhetorical Bodies. Ed. Jack Selzer and Sharon Crowley. Madison, U of Wisconsin P, 1999. Print. 297-313. Feb. 21 Contemporary Conversations: Ideology & Social-Epistemic Rhetoric Berlin, James A. Social-Epistemic Rhetoric, Ideology, and English Studies. Rhetorics, Poetics, and Cultures: Refiguring College English Studies. Urbana: NCTE, 1996. 77-94. Print. Olson, Gary A. Ideological Critique in Rhetoric and Composition. Rhetoric and Composition as Intellectual Work. Ed. Gary A. Olson. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2002. 81-90. Print. Feb. 26 Foundational Concepts: Public Sphere Jurgen Habermas, in Contemporary Perspectives, pages 233-54 Fraser, Nancy. Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy. Social Text 25/26 (1990): 56-80. Sign-up for Mar. 12th conferences. Feb. 28 Contemporary Conversations: Public Rhetorics Cintron, Ralph. Gangs and Their Walls. Angels Town: Chero Ways, Gang Life, and Rhetorics of the Everyday. Boston: Beacon Press, 1997. Print. 163-96. Higgins, Lorraine, Elenore Long, and Linda Flower. Community Literacy: A Holmes / ENGL 8150 / 7

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Rhetorical Model for Personal and Public Inquiry. Community Literacy Journal 1.1 (2006): 9-43. Mar. 5 (midpoint) Contemporary Conversations: Agency Reynolds, Nedra. Interrupting Our Way to Agency: Feminist Cultural Studies and Composition. Feminism and Composition Studies: In Other Words. Ed. Susan C. Jarratt and Lynn Worsham. Rpt. In The Norton Book of Composition Studies. Ed. Susan Miller. New York: Norton, 2009. Print. 897-907. Cooper, Marilyn M. Rhetorical Agency as Emergent and Enacted. CCC 62.3 (2011): 420-49. Mar. 7 Contemporary Conversations: Agency (continued) & Kairos Herndl, Carl G., and Adela C. Licona. Shifting Agency: Agency, Kairos, and the Possibilities of Social Action. Communicative Practices in Workplaces and the Profession. Ed. Mark Zachary and Charlotte Thralls. Amityville: Baywood, 2007. Print. 133-53. Myers, Kelly A. Metanoia and the Transformation of Opportunity. Rhetoric Society Quarterly 41.1 (2011): 1-18. Mar. 12 Conferences Meet with me during your scheduled conference time on Mon. Mar. 11th or Tues. Mar. 12th to discuss your proposal for your seminar paper. Your proposal is due at this conference. Mar. 14 Out of town for CCCCs

Spring Break Mar. 26 Contemporary Conversations: Rhetorical Action & Neoliberalism Giroux, Henry A. Cultural Studies, Public Pedagogy, and the Responsibility of Intellectuals. Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies 1.1 (2004): 59-79. Riedner, Rachel, and Kevin Mahoney. Articulating Action in a Neoliberal World. Democracies to Come: Rhetorical Action, Neoliberalism, and Communities of Resistance. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2008. Print. 17-38. Mar. 28 Foundational Scholars: Foucault & Althusser

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Michel Foucault, in Contemporary Perspectives, pages 339-68

Spring 2013

Foucault, Michel. Panopticism. Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Trans. Alan Sheridan. New York: Vintage Books, 1995. (original 1975) Print. Althusser, Louis. Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses: Notes Towards an Investigation. Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. Trans. Ben Brewster. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2001. Print. 85-126. Optional Reading: Excerpts from The Archaeology of Knowledge, by Foucault Contemporary Conversations: Institutional Rhetoric Porter, James E., Patricia Sullivan, Stuart Blythe, Jeffrey T. Grabill, and Libby Miles. Institutional Critique: A Rhetorical Methodology for Change. College Composition and Communication 51.4 (June 2000): 610 642. Chaput, Catherine. The Rhetoric of University Missions: Globalizing Economic Consent, Commodifying Multiculturalism, and Privatizing the Social Good. Inside the Teaching Machine: Rhetoric and the Globalization of the U.S. Public Research University. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 2008. Print. 174-224. Apr. 4 Foundational Scholars & Contemporary Conversations: Baudrillard Jean Baudrillard, in Contemporary Perspectives, 299-329 DAngelo, Frank J. The Rhetoric of Intertextuality. Rhetoric Review 29.1 (2009): 31-47. Excerpts from Baudrillard, Jean. Rethinking Architecture: A Reader in Cultural Theory. Apr. 9 Contemporary Conversations: Visual Rhetorics Foss, Sonya K. A Rhetorical Schema for Evaluation of Visual Imagery. Communication Studies 45 (1994): 213-24. Peterson, Valerie V. The Rhetorical Criticism of Visual Elements: An Alternative to Fosss Schema. Southern Communication Journal 67.1 (2001): 19-32.

Apr. 2

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Excerpts from Dikovitskaya, Margarita. Visual Culture: The Study of the Visual After the Cultural Turn. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2005. Print. Apr. 11 Foundational Scholars: hooks & Haraway hooks, bell, in Contemporary Perspectives, 265-85 hooks, bell. Black Vernacular: Architecture as Cultural Practice. Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World: A Critical Sourcebook. Ed. Carolyn Handa. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 1995. Print. 395-400. Haraway, Donna Situated Knowledges: The Science Question and the Privilege of Partial Perspective. Technology and the Politics of Knowledge. Ed. Andrew Feenberg and Alastair Hannay. Indianapolis: Indiana UP, 1995. Print. 175-94. Apr. 16 Contemporary Conversations: Borderlands & Afrafeminist Rhetorics Licona, Adela C. (B)orderlands Rhetorics and Representations: The Transformative Potential of Feminist Third-Space Scholarship and Zines. NWSA Journal 17.2 (2005): 104-29. Royster, Jacqueline Jones. A View from a Bridge: Afrafeminist Ideologies and Rhetorical Studies. Traces of a Stream: Literacy and Social Change Among African American Women. Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh P, 2000. 251-85. Suggested Reading: Excerpts from Borderlands/La Frontera, by Gloria Anzalda Apr. 18 Contemporary Conversations: Spatial Rhetorics de Certeau, Michel. Walking in the City. The Practice of Everyday Life. Trans. Steven Rendall. Berkeley: U of California P, 1984. Print. 91-110. Mountford, Roxanne. On Gender and Rhetorical Space. Rhetoric Society Quaterly 31.1 (2001): 41-71. Dickinson, Greg. Joes Rhetoric: Finding Authenticity at Starbucks. Rhetoric Society Quarterly 32.4 (2002): 5-27. Apr. 23 Contemporary Conversations: Remixing Rhetoric Prior, Paul, Janine Solberg, Patrick Berry, Hannah Bellwoar, Bill Chewning, Karen J. Lunsford, Liz Rohan, Kevin Roozen, Mary P. Sheridan-Rabideau, Jody Shipka, Derek Van Ittersum, and Joyce R. Walker. Re-situating and ReHolmes / ENGL 8150 / 10

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mediating the Canons: A Cultural-Historical Remapping of Rhetorical Activity. Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric Technology, and Pedagogy 11.3 (2007). < http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/11.3/binder.html?topoi/prior-etal/index.html>. Ridolfo, Jim, and Dnielle Nicole De Voss. Composing for Recomposition: Rhetorical Velocity and Delivery. Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy 13.2 (2009). < http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/13.2/index.html>. Apr. 25 Peer Review & Conferences

May 2nd Exam / Seminar Papers Due University-scheduled exam period. Seminar papers due electronically in the D2L dropbox by 5:00 PM. Late policy applies for all submissions after 5:00 PM.

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