Graduate Curriculum Committee Course Proposal Form
for Courses Numbered 5000 and Higher
Note: Before completing this form, please carefully read the accompanying instructions.
Submission guidelines are posted to the GCC Web site: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/gcc/index.cfm
1. Course prefix and number:
ENGL 8630
2. Date:
11/01/2012
3. Requested action:
New Course
X
Revision of Active Course
Revision & Unbanking of a Banked Course
Renumbering of an Existing Course from
from
to
#
X
Required
#
Elective
4. Method(s) of delivery (check all boxes that apply for both current/proposed and expected
future delivery methods within the next three years):
Current or
Proposed Delivery
Method(s):
X
On-campus (face to face)
Expected
Future Delivery
Method(s):
X
Distance Course (face to face off campus)
Online (delivery of 50% or more of the instruction is offered online)
5. Justification. Identify the committee or group (e.g., Graduate faculty of the Department of
English) that conducted the assessment of curriculum and student learning. Explain why the
unit wishes to offer or revise the course. Include specific results from the unit assessment that
led to the development or modification of the course. If applicable, cite any accrediting
agency/ies and reference the specific standard/s.
After a comprehensive review of the curriculum and required courses in the PhD
program, along with assessment data related to the placement of graduates and the
program's applicant pool, the graduate faculty involved in the PhD program determined
the need to revise several of the program's required courses and create several new
courses that would make us competitive and in alignment with other PhD programs
similar to our own.
This assessment process revealed, among other things, a need to more clearly distinguish
the 8000-level PhD seminars from the 7000-level similarly named courses in the
program. While English 7630: Cultural Rhetoric and Writing and English 8630:
Advanced Cultural Rhetoric and Writing have, to date, shared a very similar name and
Approved by GCC April 2012; posted summer of 2012
the same course description—“Study of how cultural values and assumptions affect
writing practices through genre, style, and conventions of arguments”--faculty recognize
the need to ensure that the 8000-level doctoral seminars effectively familiarize doctoral
candidates with the focused, in-depth research practices that are essential to
understanding the complex relationships between rhetorical practices and the cultures and
communities that produce and are effected by those practices. The proposed revision to
ENGL 8630 will better enable faculty to assist students in acquiring the abilities to, as
stated in the PhD program outcomes, “Articulate how cultures and cultural factors
influence discourse, rhetoric, and communication” and “Design and conduct an original
long-term research project of substantial scope, synthesize information resulting from
that project, and report the results of that project to other members of the academic
community.” The focus (texts/topics) of this seminar course will change depending on
instructor/semester, but the learning objectives will stay the same.
The Doctoral Program Steering Committee, the Graduate Committee, and the Graduate
Faculty approved this course on November 25, 2012 and December 3, 2012.
6. Course description exactly as it should appear in the next catalog:
8630. Seminar in Community and Cultural Rhetorics (3) May be repeated for maximum
of 6 s.h. P: Admission to the PhD program or consent of program director. Study of
rhetorical practices within specific cultures and communities.
7. If this is a course revision, briefly describe the requested change:
This course revision includes a change in title, course description, and course content.
8. Course credit:
Lecture Hours
3
3
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
Lab
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Studio
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Practicum
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Internship
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Other (e.g., independent study) Please explain.
9. Anticipated annual student enrollment:
10. Changes in degree hours of your programs:
Degree(s)/Program(s)
Changes in Degree Hours
N/A
N/A
11. Affected degrees or academic programs, other than your programs:
Approved by GCC April 2012; posted summer of 2012
s.h.
3
Total Credit Hours
s.h.
8-10
s.h.
Degree(s)/Program(s)
Changes in Degree Hours
12. Overlapping or duplication with affected units or programs:
X Not applicable
Documentation of notification to the affected academic degree programs is
attached.
13. Council for Teacher Education (CTE) approval (for courses affecting teacher education):
X Not applicable
Applicable and CTE has given their approval.
14. University Service-Learning Committee (USLC) approval:
X Not applicable
Applicable and USLC has given their approval.
15. Statements of support:
a. Staff
X Current staff is adequate
Additional staff is needed (describe needs in the box below):
b. Facilities
X Current facilities are adequate
Additional facilities are needed (describe needs in the box below):
c. Library
X
Initial library resources are adequate
Initial resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief explanation and an
estimate for the cost of acquisition of required initial resources):
d. Unit computer resources
X
Unit computer resources are adequate
Additional unit computer resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief
explanation and an estimate for the cost of acquisition):
e. ITCS resources
X
ITCS resources are not needed
The following ITCS resources are needed (put a check beside each need):
Mainframe computer system
Statistical services
Network connections
Computer lab for students
Approved by GCC April 2012; posted summer of 2012
Software
Approval from the Director of ITCS attached
16. Course information (see: Graduate Curriculum and Program Development Manual for
instructions):
a. Textbook(s) and/or readings: author(s), name, publication date, publisher, and
city/state/country. Include ISBN (when applicable).
(Textbooks for an offering of the course themed on “Place and American
Community/Cultural Rhetoric”)
Cintron, Ralph. Angels’ Town: Chero Ways, Gang Life, and Rhetorics of the
Everyday. Boston: Beacon Press, 1997. ISBN: 978-0807046371
Donahower, Kim, et. al. Rural Literacies. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2007.
ISBN: 978-0809327492
Duffy, John. Writing from These Roots: Literacy in a Hmong-American Community.
Honolulu: U of Hawaii P, 2007. ISBN: 978-0824836153
Kinloch, Valerie. Harlem on Our Minds: Place, Race, and Literacies of Urban Youth.
New York: Teacher’s College P, 2009. ISBN: 978-0807750230
Nunley, Vorris. Keepin' It Hushed: The Barbershop and African American Hush
Harbor Rhetoric. Detroit: Wayne State UP, 2010. ISBN: 978-0814333488
Sohn, Katherine Kelleher. Whistlin and Crowin’ Women of Appalachia: Literacy
Practices Since College. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois UP, 2006. ISBN:
978-0809326815
Plus selected primary readings and articles from secondary sources.
b. Course objectives for the course (student – centered, behavioral focus)
If this is a 5000-level course that is populated by undergraduate and graduate students,
there must be differentiation in the learning objectives expected.
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Recognize and identify rhetorical patterns/strategies at work in communities
and cultural groups.
2. Examine the ways in which political/linguistic agents make use of community
and cultural rhetorics for their own ends.
3. Investigate the intersections of cultural and community rhetorics with
transcultural and cross-community rhetorics (e.g., class, gender, sexuality).
4. Locate, evaluate, summarize, and synthesize existing research on rhetorical
practices within specific cultures and communities.
5. Identify appropriate methods for researching community and cultural rhetorics.
6. Propose and conduct an original research project that investigates how
rhetorical practices develop out of and influence the structure of specific
communities and cultures.
Approved by GCC April 2012; posted summer of 2012
c. Course topic outline
The list of topics should reflect the stated objectives.
Sample Units (for an offering of the course themed on “Place and American
Community/Cultural Rhetoric”)
Week 1: Introduction
Week 2 -8: “Rural” Communities and Cultural Rhetoric
Donahower, Kim, et. al. Rural Literacies. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP,
2007.
Duffy, John. Writing from These Roots: Literacy in a Hmong-American
Community. Honolulu: U of Hawaii P, 2007.
Sohn, Katherine Kelleher. Whistlin and Crowin’ Women of Appalachia:
Literacy Practices Since College. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois UP,
2006.
Selected articles
Weeks 9 - 13: “Urban” Communities and Cultural Rhetorics
Cintron, Ralph. Angels’ Town: Chero Ways, Gang Life, and Rhetorics of the
Everyday. Boston: Beacon Press, 1997.
Kinloch, Valerie. Harlem on Our Minds: Place, Race, and Literacies of Urban
Youth. New York: Teacher’s College P, 2009.
Nunley, Vorris. Keepin' It Hushed: The Barbershop and African American
Hush Harbor Rhetoric. Detroit: Wayne State UP, 2010.
Selected articles
Week 14-15: Presentations and Peer Review of Major Research Projects
d. List of course assignments, weighting of each assignment, and grading/evaluation system
for determining a grade
Assignments
Annotated Bibliography & Proposal
Reading Analyses and Responses
Leading class discussion (2 @ 10% each)
Presentation of Research-in-progress
Major Research Project
Grading Scale
A = 90 – 100
B = 80 – 89
C = 70 – 79
F = 69 or lower
Approved by GCC April 2012; posted summer of 2012
20%
20%
20%
10%
30%
Approved by GCC April 2012; posted summer of 2012