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Comm 441: Foundations in Critical/Cultural Methods
Fall 2013
Class Information:
Location: AL 204
MWF 10:00-10:50
Contact Information:
Dr. Chuck Goehring
Office: Com 235
Office Hours: MW 12:30-2:00 & by appt.
cgoehrin@mail.sdsu.edu
In this class we will explore some of the critical perspectives and methods used to examine the
various forms of rhetoric that exist in our culture. Toward that end we will analyze a number of
different methods of rhetorical criticism spanning a range of ideological assumptions, with the
ultimate goal of understanding how to conduct criticism of a text or artifact.
Learning outcome goals:
- To gain a sense of the various critical methods employed by scholars in our field and the
trends in contemporary rhetorical criticism.
- To develop and articulate coherent definitions of “rhetoric,” “rhetor,” “rhetorical situation,”
“rhetorical problem,” “rhetorical criticism,” as well as other terms useful to the field.
- To read and evaluate a wide range of critical rhetorical projects.
- To understand the manner in which rhetorical criticism is conducted and why it is a
worthwhile endeavor.
- To demonstrate an understanding of the process of critical investigation by completing a
research paper.
- To engage in a process of reviewing the work of your peers and offering meaningful
feedback for revision.
- To comprehend the role of rhetorical criticism as a communication research method.
Books and materials:
In my opinion, no adequate textbook exists. Therefore readings will be made available on
Blackboard or through journal databases available on the SDSU Library website. Please keep in
mind this means the readings may be more difficult than you’ve experienced. The goal of your
reading should be to get through it as best you can, so that class time can be devoted to
understanding and application of the materials we are reading.
Blackboard and email:
We will be utilizing the University Blackboard system extensively throughout the semester.
Discussion questions will be posted there, as well as assignments, grades, etc. If you are not
already familiar with this system, I encourage you to peruse the Blackboard site. You log into
the system with your Red ID and PIN at https://blackboard.sdsu.edu/webapps/login. All of
the students enrolled in this course will automatically be entered on the Comm 441 course. I will
communicate with the class through Blackboard announcements and email sent from the
Blackboard site, so make sure that you have your current email address on file with the
University. Also, you should be in the habit of checking your email daily in order to insure that
you do not miss any class messages.
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Attendance:
You must come to class prepared to engage one another on the material, which means that you
need to have read the material for each class, thought about it critically, and formulated some
opinions and questions. It is not enough to simply show up to class. You earn credit for
discussion both by actively participating and by turning in weekly discussion questions (see
below). Weekly discussion questions will not be accepted late for any reason.
Course grades:
Points can be accumulated on the following assignments:
Weekly Discussion Questions (up to 100 points, 10 each week):
At the end of 10 weeks (starting week 2) each student should present a list at least 3
questions/comments about that week’s reading and lectures. The list will be compiled on a
weekly Blackboard discussion board. Points will be given for completion, but I will be reviewing
questions/comments for quality.
Class Presentation (25 points):
Small groups will be responsible for leading class discussion for one class period. This will entail
engaging a concept within the field of rhetorical studies and, as a group, presenting that concept
to the class. Groups should plan a powerpoint presentation which includes a bibliography, case
studies, movie clips, activities, and/or supplemental readings. Material from these presentations
will be included in tests. More detail will be provided by the instructor.
Exams: (150 points total)
Midterm Exam
50 points
Final Exam
100 points
Genre Analysis (50 points) – Due 10/25
You will be randomly assigned one of the following artifacts:
Obama’s Tucson Memorial Speech
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20028366-503544.html
Remarks by the President at Sandy Hook Interfaith Prayer Vigil
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/12/16/remarks-president-sandy-hook-interfaith-prayervigil
President Obama’s Speech, “A More Perfect Union”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9100.html
President Obama’s Second Inauguration Speech
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/01/21/inaugural-address-president-barack-obama
The text of this essay – not including References and title page should be 4-5 pages, using 12
point font and one inch margins. It should begin with a brief discussion of the “rhetorical
situation” – that is you need to situate the artifact as a response to whatever exigency led to its
creation. Why was this rhetorical artifact created? The next section should provide whatever
background is necessary for understanding your work, including the socio-political conditions in
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which the text was created and the specifics of the situation in which it was presented. Finally,
you should discuss the speech in relation to a particular genre of rhetoric. What genre do you
suggest this speech is part of, and how does understanding that genre help us critique this
speech? Your answer should demonstrate knowledge of the relevant literature concerning the
genre in question. This obviously means that you should support your claims with relevant
source materials and cite them appropriately.
Proposal paper (75 points) - Due 12/5
Your final paper will actually be a proposal for a larger rhetorical criticism. In this proposal you
will have chosen an artifact or text you wish to analyze. After describing the artifact, you will
place it into a scholarly conversation, and make a proposal for a specific method or critical lens
which will best explain the artifact. More details to follow.
Your grade in this class will be based on the total number of points accumulated during the
semester (350 points). I will use the following criteria for determining grades:
A = 94%+
A- = 90-93%
B+ = 87-89%
B = 84-86%
B- = 80-83%
C+=77-79%
C = 74-76%
C- = 70-73%
D+ = 67-69
D = 64-66%
D- = 60-63%
F = <60%
An Incomplete will only be given with written documentation from a physician.
THE ACADEMIC DISHONESTY POLICY OF THE SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
Plagiarism is theft of intellectual property. It is one of the highest forms of academic offense because in
academe, it is a scholar’s words, ideas, and creative products that are the primary measures of identity
and achievement. Whether by ignorance, accident, or intent, theft is still theft, and misrepresentation is
still misrepresentation. Therefore, the offense is still serious, and is treated as such.
Overview:
In any case in which a Professor or Instructor identifies evidence for charging a student with violation of academic
conduct standards or plagiarism, the presumption will be with that instructor’s determination. However, the
faculty/instructor(s) will confer with the director to substantiate the evidence. Once confirmed, the evidence will
be reviewed with the student. If, following the review with the student, the faculty member and director
determine that academic dishonesty has occurred, the evidence will be submitted to the Office of Student Rights
and Responsibilities. The report “identifies the student who was found responsible, the general nature of the
offense, the action taken, and a recommendation as to whether or not additional action should be considered by
the campus judicial affairs office .” (CSSR Website[1]).
[1]
http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/academics1.html
Intellectual Property:
The syllabus, lectures and lecture outlines are personal copyrighted intellectual property of the instructor,
which means that any organized recording for anything other than personal use, duplication, distribution,
or profit is a violation of copyright and fair use laws.
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Proper source attribution
Proper attribution occurs by specifying the source of content or ideas. This is done by (a) providing
quotation marks around text, when directly quoted, and (b) clearly designating the source of the text or
information relied upon in an assignment.
Specific exemplary infractions and consequences:
a. Reproducing a whole paper, paragraph, or large portions of unattributed materials (whether represented by:
(i) multiple sentences, images, or portions of images; or (ii) by percentage of assignment length) without
proper attribution, will result in assignment of an “F” in the course, and a report to Student Rights and
Responsibilities.
b. Reproducing a sentence or sentence fragment with no quotation marks but source citation, or subsets of
visual images without source attribution, will minimally result in an “F” on the assignment.
Self-plagiarism
Students often practice some form of ‘double-dipping,’ in which they write on a given topic across more
than one course assignment. In general, there is nothing wrong with double-dipping topics or sources, but
there is a problem with double-dipping exact and redundant text. It is common for scholars to write on the
same topic across many publication outlets; this is part of developing expertise and the reputation of
being a scholar on a topic. Scholars, however, are not permitted to repeat exact text across papers or
publications except when noted and attributed, as this wastes precious intellectual space with repetition
and does a disservice to the particular source of original presentation by ‘diluting’ the value of the original
presentation. Any time that a writer simply ‘cuts-and-pastes’ exact text from former papers into a new
paper without proper attribution, it is a form of self-plagiarism. Consequently, a given paper should never
be turned in to multiple classes. Entire paragraphs, or even sentences, should not be repeated word-forword across course assignments. Each new writing assignment is precisely that, a new writing
assignment, requiring new composition on the student’s part.
Secondary citations
Secondary citation is not strictly a form of plagiarism, but in blatant forms, it can present similar ethical
challenges. A secondary citation is citing source A, which in turn cites source B, but it is source B’s ideas
or content that provide the basis for the claims the student intends to make in the assignment. For
example, assume that there is an article by Jones (2006) in the student’s hands, in which there is a
discussion or quotation of an article by Smith (1998). Assume further that what Smith seems to be saying
is very important to the student’s analysis. In such a situation, the student should always try to locate the
original Smith source. In general, if an idea is important enough to discuss in an assignment, it is
important enough to locate and cite the original source for that idea. There are several reasons for these
policies: (a) Authors sometimes commit citation errors, which might be replicated without knowing it; (b)
Authors sometimes make interpretation errors, which might be ignorantly reinforced (c) Therefore,
reliability of scholarly activity is made more difficult to assure and enforce; (d) By relying on only a few
sources of review, the learning process is short-circuited, and the student’s own research competencies
are diminished, which are integral to any liberal education; (e) By masking the actual sources of ideas,
readers must second guess which sources come from which citations, making the readers’ own research
more difficult; (f) By masking the origin of the information, the actual source of ideas is misrepresented.
Some suggestions that assist with this principle:

When the ideas Jones discusses are clearly attributed to, or unique to, Smith, then find the Smith
source and citation.

When the ideas Jones is discussing are historically associated more with Smith than with Jones,
then find the Smith source and citation.

In contrast, Jones is sometimes merely using Smith to back up what Jones is saying and
believes, and is independently qualified to claim, whether or not Smith would have also said it; in
such a case, citing Jones is sufficient.

Never simply copy a series of citations at the end of a statement by Jones, and reproduce the
reference list without actually going to look up what those references report—the only guarantee
that claims are valid is for a student to read the original sources of those claims.
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Solicitation for ghost writing:
Any student who solicits any third party to write any portion of an assignment for this class (whether for
pay or not) violates the standards of academic honesty in this course. The penalty for solicitation
(regardless of whether it can be demonstrated the individual solicited wrote any sections of the
assignment) is F in the course.
Specific exemplary infractions and consequences

Course failure: Reproducing a whole paper, paragraph, or large portions of unattributed
materials without proper attribution, whether represented by: (a) multiple sentences, images, or
portions of images; or (b) by percentage of assignment length, will result in assignment of an “F”
in the course in which the infraction occurred, and a report to the Center for Student Rights and
Responsibilities (CSRR2).

Assignment failure: Reproducing a sentence or sentence fragment with no quotation marks, but
with source citation, or subsets of visual images without source attribution, will minimally result in
an “F” on the assignment, and may result in greater penalty, including a report to the CSRR,
depending factors noted below. In this instance, an “F” may mean anything between a zero (0)
and 50%, depending on the extent of infraction.

Exacerbating conditions--Amount: Evidence of infraction, even if fragmentary, is increased
with a greater: (a) number of infractions; (b) distribution of infractions across an assignment; or (c)
proportion of the assignment consisting of infractions.

Exacerbating conditions--Intent: Evidence of foreknowledge and intent to deceive magnifies
the seriousness of the offense and the grounds for official response. Plagiarism, whether ‘by
accident’ or ‘by ignorance,’ still qualifies as plagiarism—it is all students’ responsibility to make
sure their assignments are not committing the offense.

Exceptions: Any exceptions to these policies will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and
only under exceptional circumstances.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE NO EXCUSES ALLOWED BASED ON IGNORANCE OF WHAT
CONSTITUTES PLAGIARISM, OR OF WHAT THIS POLICY IS
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Comm 441 Daily Schedule – Fall 2013
Day Date
Topic
Reading
M
8/26
Syllabus Review/Course best
practices
Read syllabus thoroughly
W
8/28
What is rhetorical criticism? What
are critical/cultural methods?
F
8/30 What is rhetoric?
M
9/2
Labor Day – No class
W
9/4
What does it mean to be critical/be
Susan Sontag – Against Interpretation (pdf)
a critic?
F
9/6
Library Research
M
9/9
Why do rhetorical criticism, or,
what the H-E-double L is the
point?
W
Assignment/Activity
Log into Blackboard
Course overview
Aristotle – On Rhetoric Book 1 chapters 2 and 3
(pdf)
None
Relax
Database Search
Barry Brummet – Rhetorical Methods in Critical
Studies (pdf)
In-class analysis
9/11 Intro to Burke
Kenneth Burke – The Rhetoric of Hitler’s ‘Battle’
(pdf)
Class Discussion
F
9/13 Semiotics – the Study of Signs
Semiotics: The Text in Deconstruction (pdf)
M
9/16 Canons of Rhetoric
Aristotle readings
W
9/18 Neo-Classical Criticism
Sillars – Neoclassical Criticism (pdf)
F
9/20 Rhetorical Situation
Bitzer – Rhetorical Situation (database)
Group Presentation
M
9/23 Close Textual Analysis
Browne – Close Textual Analysis (pdf)
In class analysis
W
9/25 Genre Criticism
Genre entry (pdf)
F
9/27 Genre cont.
Benoit – Generic Elements (pdf)
M
9/30 Specific Forms
Apologia and Jeremiad (pdf)
Group Presentation
W
9/30 Specific Forms
Reading TBD
Group Presentation
F
10/4 Specific Forms
Reading TBD
Group Presentation
M
10/7 Burke on Form
Burke – Psychology of Form (pdf)
W
10/9 Narrative criticism
Sillars – Narrative Criticism (pdf)
F
10/11 Narrative and pop culture
Goehring essay?
Group Presentation
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Day
Date
Topic
Reading
Assignment/Activity
M
10/14 TBD
W
10/16 Midterm Exam Review
F
10/18 Midterm Exam
All readings to date
Bring Scantron F289
M
10/21 What the !@#$ is a trope?
Burke – Four Master Tropes
Group Presentation
W
10/23 Tropes cont.
Reading TBD
Group Presentation
F
10/25 The Power of Metaphor
Burkholder & Henry – Criticism of Metaphor
(pdf)
Genre Criticism Due
M
10/28 Metaphor
Weaponizing Words: Metaphor & War (pdf)
Brummett – Marxist Criticism (pdf)
W
0/30 Marxist Criticism
F
11/1 Marxism and Ideological critique
M
11/4 Marxist critique
Goehring Spongebob Essay
W
11/6 Feminist Criticism
Feminist Analysis (pdf)
Artifact for Proposal
Paper Due
F
11/8 Feminist Criticism
Reading TBD
Group Presentation
M
11/11 Veteran’s Day – No class
None
Relax
W
11/13 Burke on Identification
Burke – Identification (pdf)
Group Presentation
F
11/15 In-class proposal paper time
M
11/18 Psychoanalytic Criticism
W
11/20 No Class - NCA
F
11/22 No Class - NCA
M
11/25 Queer Criticism
W
11/27 Queer Criticism cont.
Group Presentation
F
11/29 Thanksgiving Break – No Class
Eat Leftovers
M
12/2 TBD
Proposal Paper Due
W
12/4 TBD
F
12/6 TBD
M
12/9 Course Wrap-up
W
12/11 Exam Review
F
12/13 Final Exam (10:30 – 12:30)
Cartoon
Sillars & Gronbeck (pdf)
Earnest – Making Gay Sense of the X-Men (pdf)
Cumulative
Movie clip
Bring scantron (F-289)