Upper-division Writing Requirement Review Form (12/1/08)
I. General Education Review – Upper-division Writing Requirement
Dept/Program
Course # (i.e. ANTH
455
COMM
Subject
455) or sequence
Course(s) Title
Rhetorical Criticism and Theory
Description of the requirement if it is not a single course
One of several courses that fulfill the COMM UD writing requirement
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office.
Please type / print name Signature
Instructor
Sara Hayden
sara.hayden@mso.umt.edu
Phone / Email
Program Chair
Betsy Bach
III Overview of the Course Purpose/ Description
Date
02/05/09
The study of rhetorical criticism and theory begins with the understanding that as human
beings, we use language and other symbols to shape the world in which we live. Rhetorical
theory allows us to explore how symbols function and rhetorical criticism is one of the
processes through which we assess specific symbolic acts. This course is designed to introduce
students to contemporary approaches in rhetorical criticism and theory and to apply what they
have learned in the form of formal academic essays. Required readings include a textbook that
offers methodological instruction and scholarly essays that incorporate the methods under
study.
IV Learning Outcomes: Explain how each of the following learning outcomes will be achieved.
Over the course of the semester, students are
Student learning outcomes :
introduced to several methodological
Identify and pursue more sophisticated
approaches to rhetorical criticism. Students
questions for academic inquiry
are required to utilize at least two of those
methods in the analysis of an artifact of their
choosing. The final assignment involves
extending a single method and/or integrating
two or more methods to produce a piece of
original criticism.
A library session designed to teach students to
Find, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize
find original artifacts (primary documents) and
information effectively from diverse sources
(see http://www.lib.umt.edu/informationliteracy/) contextual material is scheduled early in the
semester. A second session designed to help
students find theoretical and methodological
material is scheduled mid-semester. Class
sessions are devoted to a discussion of
methodological and theoretical issues and to the
analysis of primary sources.
Manage multiple perspectives as appropriate
Recognize the purposes and needs of
discipline-specific audiences and adopt the
academic voice necessary for the chosen
discipline
Use multiple drafts, revision, and editing in
conducting inquiry and preparing written work
Follow the conventions of citation,
documentation, and formal presentation
appropriate to that discipline
Develop competence in information
technology and digital literacy
Students work with a single artifact over the
course of the semester; they apply different
methodological and theoretical approaches to
their artifact.
Students read and discuss pieces of rhetorical
criticism written from numerous perspectives.
Class discussions address both the quality and
the form of the essays. Students are asked to
use these pieces of criticism as models for their
own writing. Students’ writing is assessed, in
part, on their ability to utilize an appropriate
academic voice.
Students’ first two essays serve as drafts of
their final research project. I provide extensive
feedback on those papers, addressing the
quality of their writing as well as the quality of
their arguments.
Students are required to purchase Lundford’s
The Everyday Writer. Course sessions are set
aside to discuss APA style and students’ grades
reflect their ability to use the style correctly.
Two library sessions focused on locating and
evaluating sources via information technology
are scheduled over the course of the semester.
V. Writing Course Requirements Check list
Is enrollment capped at 25 students?
If not, list maximum course enrollment.
Explain how outcomes will be adequately met
for this number of students. Justify the request
for variance.
Are outcomes listed in the course syllabus? If
not, how will students be informed of course
expectations?
X Yes † No
X Yes † No
Are detailed requirements for all written
assignments including criteria for evaluation in the
course syllabus? If not how and when will students
be informed of written assignments?
† Yes X No Several weeks before each
assignment is due I provide handouts that offer
detailed descriptions of the assignments including
criteria for evaluation. The handouts are
discussed at length.
Briefly explain how students are provided with
tools and strategies for effective writing and editing
in the major.
Will written assignments include an opportunity for
revision? If not, then explain how students will
receive and use feedback to improve their writing
ability.
Are expectations for Information Literacy listed in
the course syllabus? If not, how will students be
informed of course expectations?
The course includes several writing
workshops.
XYes † No Final paper is both a revision and an
extension of earlier papers.
X Yes † No
VI. Writing Assignments: Please describe course assignments. Students should be required to
individually compose at least 20 pages of writing for assessment. At least 50% of the course grade
should be based on students’ performance on writing assignments. Clear expression, quality, and
accuracy of content are considered an integral part of the grade on any writing assignment.
Formal Graded Assignments
Papers One and Two: Papers One and Two
each offers an analysis of the student’s
chosen artifact using one of several
methodological approaches. Each Paper is
worth approximately 22% of the final grade.
For their Final Research Project students
submit a complete piece of rhetorical
criticism. Each essay must use one or more
of the critical methods introduced over the
course of the semester. Students are asked to
provide significant insights into the artifact
under study and to address the ways that the
chosen method(s) facilitate those insights.
This is worth 44% of the final grade.
Quizzes/Participation Questions: Students
complete several quizzes/participation
questions over the course of the semester.
Quizzes/Questions constitute approximately
11% of the grade.
Informal Ungraded Assignments
Students submit a paper proposal early in the
semester and are asked to participate
regularly in class discussions.
VII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form. ⇓ The syllabus
should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus preparation
see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
Paste syllabus here.
Communication Studies 455
Rhetorical Criticism and Theory
Professor:
Office:
Office Phone:
Email:
Office Hours:
appointment.
Sara Hayden, Ph.D.
LA 346
243-4333
sara.hayden@mso.umt.edu
11:00 – 12:00 Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and by
Course Description
The study of rhetorical criticism and theory begins with the understanding that as human
beings, we use language and other symbols to shape the world in which we live.
Rhetorical theory allows us to explore how symbols function and rhetorical criticism is
one of the processes through which we assess specific symbolic acts. In this course you
will learn about contemporary approaches to rhetorical criticism and theory. Specific
methods to be covered include Neo-Aristotelian, cluster, pentadic, metaphoric, narrative,
generic, feminist and generative criticism. You will be required to participate in class
discussions, write two relatively short papers, one substantive essay, and present your
research to the class. Preliminary criteria for each are outlined below. Because of the
emphasis on writing throughout the course, COMM majors can use this course to fulfill
their upper-division writing requirement.
Course Objectives
By the end of the semester students will be able to:
1) Identify the eight methods of rhetorical criticism identified above.
2) Apply at least two of the eight methods in the analysis of rhetorical artifacts.
3) Explain the potentials and limitations of each method for developing insights
into rhetorical artifacts.
Students also should achieve the following learning outcomes for upper-division writing
courses:
• Identify and pursue more sophisticated questions for academic inquiry
• Find, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize information effectively from diverse
sources
• Manage multiple perspectives as appropriate
• Recognize the purposes and needs of discipline-specific audiences and adopt the
academic voice necessary for the chosen discipline
• Use multiple drafts, revision, and editing in conducting inquiry and preparing
written work
• Follow the conventions of citation, documentation, and formal presentation
appropriate to that discipline
• Develop competence in information technology and digital literacy
Required Reading
Foss, S. K. (1996) Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration & Practice, (2nd Edition). Prospect
Heights, IL: Waveland.
Lunsford, A. A. (2005). The Everyday Writer, (3rd Edition). Boston: Bedford/St.
Martin’s.
A note about The Everyday Writer: Although I do not assign readings from this
book you will be held accountable for much of the material contained in it,
including the sections titled “Usage and Style” and “APA Style.”
Packet available at the UC Bookstore.
Academic Misconduct
Academic misconduct includes cheating, plagiarizing, and deliberately interfering with
the work of others. Plagiarizing means representing the work of someone else (such as
another student or an author of a book or an article) as your own. If you use the ideas or
words of someone else on an exam or in a paper, you must cite the source of the original
information. See Lunsford’s The Everyday Writer for a thorough discussion of
plagiarism and how to avoid it. Following university regulations, cheating and
plagiarism will be penalized with a failing grade in this course.
Grades
Grades will be based on evaluation of student performance on the following assignments:
Quizzes/Participation Questions/Participation
Paper 1:
Paper 2:
Research Project:
50 points
100 points
100 points
200 points
Total:
450 points
A=92% and up; A- = 91-90%; B+ = 88-89%; B = 82–87%; B- = 80 - 81%; C+ = 78 –79
%; C = 72 – 77%; C- = 70 – 71%; D+ = 68 – 69%; D = 62 – 67%; D- = 60 – 61%; F 59%
and below.
Description of Assignments:
Quizzes and Participation Questions
Completing the assigned readings will be key to your success in the course. As such,
although I will not be giving formal exams, I will sometimes administer quizzes or short
participation questions designed to test your understanding of the assigned readings. The
quizzes, along with your overall participation, will count for 50 points in the class. You
should be prepared to complete quizzes/participation questions on a regular basis. Dates
of quizzes/questions will not be announced.
Participation
This course will be run as a seminar, as such, students will be expected to come to class
ready to discuss the assigned readings. In good seminars, student questions and insights
direct group discussions so the quality of the class discussions rests largely on your
participation skills. To be good participants, it is essential that you read the assigned
material critically and actively.
Project Proposal
On September 24 you will submit your project proposal. This will include a discussion
of the artifact you will use for analysis in both papers and your research project. In the
proposal you should describe you artifact, justify your choice (e.g., why is this an
appropriate artifact for analysis? What do you hope to learn through examining it?), and
provide contextual information (e.g., when and where did the artifact appear? Who
observed/heard/read it? Who delivered/wrote/created it?).
Papers
Over the course of the semester you will write and submit two critiques of your chosen
artifact. Your first paper will utilize neo-Aristotelian, cluster, pentadic, or narrative
analysis; your second paper will utilize metaphoric, ideographic, generic, or feminist
analysis. Ideally, one or both of these critiques will serve as the basis for your final
research project. Several weeks before each paper is due I will provide a handout that
describes how the paper should be structured, offers guidelines for arguments and
evidence, and provides criteria for evaluation.
Research project
Your final research project will constitute a complete piece of rhetorical criticism,
including an introduction, theoretical overview, contextual section, rhetorical analysis,
and conclusions. Your essay must utilize one or more of the critical methods introduced
over the course of the semester. Your goal will be to offer significant insights into the
artifact under study and to address the ways that your chosen method(s) facilitate those
insights. This, in turn, will provide you with the opportunity to contribute to rhetorical
theory. Each student will present her or his research to the class during the final week of
classes or during our scheduled finals period. I will provide handouts describing
guidelines for producing and criteria for evaluating both the paper and the presentation.
As part of the “information technology and digital literacy” learning outcome, students
will b expected to acquire and evaluate both primary and secondary sources via digital
means for both papers and their final research project.
Schedule
M 8-27
Introduction to the Course
W 8-29
The Nature of Rhetorical Criticism
Read Text, Chapter 1
F 8-31
Doing Rhetorical Criticism
Read Text, Chapter 2; Packet, Campbell, “The Rhetorical Act”
M 9-3
Labor Day Holiday – no class
W 9-5
Doing Rhetorical Criticism
Library Session; meet in Lib. SLC, 2nd floor
F 9-7
Doing Rhetorical Criticism
Writing Workshop; please bring your copy of The Everyday Writer.
M 9-10
Neo-Aristotelian Criticism
Text, Chapter 3; Hill, “Conventional Wisdom – Traditional Form – The
President’s Message of November 3, 1969;” Nixon, “Vietnamization”
Packet, Campbell, “Critique, an Exercise in the Rhetoric of Mythical
America;”
W 9-12
Neo-Aristotelian Criticism, continued
F 9-14
Neo-Aristotelian Criticism, continued
M 9-17
Cluster Criticism
Read Text, Chapter 4, Sample Essay: “Elliott, “A Cluster Analysis of
Enron’s Code of Ethics”
W 9-19
Cluster Criticism, continued
F 9-21
Pentadic Criticism
Text, Chapter 11, Ling, “A Pentadic Analysis of Senator Edward
Kennedy’s Address to the People of Massachusetts July 25, 1969”
Packet, Tonn, Endress, and Diamond, “Hunting and Heritage on Trial: A
Dramatistic Debate Over Tragedy, Tradition, and Territory”
M 9-24
Pentadic Criticism, continued
Read Packet, Kennedy, “Speech to Greater Houston Ministerial
Association”
Project Proposals Due!
W 9-26
Pentadic Criticism, continued
F 9-28
Cluster and Pentadic Criticism, continued
M 10-1
Narrative Criticism
Text, Chapter 10; Sample Essay: Holihan & Riley, “A Critique of a
‘Toughlove’ Parental Support Group
Packet, Lewis, “Telling America’s Story: Narrative Form and the Reagan
Presidency”
W 10-3
Narrative Criticism, continued
Packet, Nixon, “The ‘Checkers’ Speech”
F 10-5
Narrative Criticism
M 10-8
Narrative Criticism
W 10-10
Metaphoric Criticism
Text, Chapter 9
Packet, Osborn, “Archetypal Metaphor in Rhetoric: The Light-Dark
Family”
First Paper Due!
F 10-12
Metaphoric Criticism
Packet, Cuomo, “Keynote Address”
M 10-15
Metaphoric Criticism
W 10-17
Library Session; meet in Lib. SLC, 2nd floor
F 10-19
Ideographic Criticism
Packet, McGee, “The Ideograph: A Link Between Rhetoric and Ideology”
Packet, Cloud, “The Rhetoric of <Family Values>: Scapegoating, Utopia,
and the Privatization of Social Responsibility
M 10-22
Ideographic Criticism
W 10-24
Ideographic Criticism
F 10-26
Ideographic Criticism
M 10-29
Feminist Criticism
Foss, Chapter 6
Packet, Campbell, “The Discursive Performance of Femininity: Hating
Hillary”
Packet, Anderson, “Hillary Rodham Clinton as ‘Madonna’: The Role of
Metaphor and Oxymoron in Image Restoration”
W 10-31
Feminist Criticism
F 11-2
Feminist Criticism
M 11-5
Feminist Criticism
W 11-7
Generic Criticism
Text, Chapter 7 and sample essays
Packet, Bush, “Commencement Address at Wellesley College”
F 11-9
Generic Criticism
M 11-12
Veteran’s Day – No Class
W 11-4
No Class -- NCA
F 11-16
No Class -- NCA
M 11-19
Generative Criticism
Text, Chapter 12 and sample essay
Second Paper Due!
W 11-21
Thanksgiving Holiday
F 11-23
Thanksgiving Holiday
M 11-26
Writing Workshop – Bring your work in progress!
W 11-28
Writing Workshop – Bring your work in progress!
F 11-30
Writing Workshop – Bring your work in progress!
M 12-3
Paper Presentations
W 12-5
Paper Presentations
F 12-7
Paper Presentations
Monday, December 10 Paper Presentations (Final period – 8:00 – 10:00)
Final papers due at the beginning of the class period!
Please Note: The deadline to drop classes is October 8. After that date you may drop
this class only if you meet certain criteria (see your university catalog). Incompletes will
be given only in emergencies and only with my prior consent. If you foresee having
difficulty finishing the course, come speak with me immediately