Course Title and Course Number
COMM 446 Sec 1 (#20985) Communication and Rhetorical Movements – Fall 2015
Course Information
Class Days: MW
Class Times: 2:00 pm to 3:15 pm
Class Location: LSN-134
Instructor: Dr. Luke Winslow
E-mail: lwinslow@mail.sdsu.edu
Phone: (909) 472-1313
Course Overview
Office Hours Times: MW, 3:45 pm to 5 pm, and by
Professor:
Contact Information:
appointment
Office Hours Days:
Location: COMM 202
“If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom yet deprecate agitation
are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning.
They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters . . . Power concedes nothing without a demand.
It never did and it never will.”
Frederick Douglass
Welcome to Communication and Rhetorical Movements! Our course will examine a wide range of social
movements from the nineteenth century to present day protests in Ferguson, Missouri, including abolition
movements, women’s rights movements, labor movements, civil rights movements, LGBTQ movements, global
justice movements, and contemporary social movements on college campuses. Our goal is to become acquainted
with the primary rhetorical documents from each movement and to consider the theoretical and critical issues in the
study of social movements and their rhetorics. Our course is organized into three units: 1) Characteristics of Social
Movements; 2) Communication and Rhetoric in Social Movements; and 3) Social Movement Case Studies.
Student learning objectives:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Identify communicative strategies in movement and establishment activity. This objective aligns with the
School of Communication’s desire to graduate students with a working knowledge of the core concepts
definitions, and assumptions of the communication discipline.
Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between social, political, and historical contexts and
social movements. This objective aligns with the School of Communication’s desire to graduate students
who can demonstrate an awareness of the role of communication and rhetorical movements in specific
contexts.
Analyze the ways in which social movements have influenced our understanding of rhetoric and the larger
discipline of communication studies. This objective aligns with the School of Communication’s desire to
graduate students with an awareness of the history, nature, scope, and evolution of social movement
rhetoric in our discipline.
Analyze and evaluate the rhetorical strategies that influence the effectiveness of social movements. This
objective aligns with the School of Communication’s desire to graduate students who can diagnose the
relevance and implications of communication and rhetorical movements in hypothetical and actual
contexts.
Analyze a social movement in a way that illustrates how the larger conceptual rhetorical strategies and
tactics covered in the course have been or are being applied in practice. This objective aligns with the
School of Communication’s desire to graduate students who can extemporaneously and proactively
generate and competently present sound arguments in communicative performance contexts.
Become a more effective social actor in the movements that matter to you. This objective aligns with the
School of Communication’s desire to gradate more competent “citizen” communicators who can contribute
to improve public deliberation.
Blackboard and e-mail: We will be utilizing the University Blackboard system extensively throughout the semester.
If you are not already familiar with this system, I encourage you to peruse the Blackboard site. Log into the system
with your Red ID and PIN at https://blackboard.sdsu.edu/webapps/login
You will automatically be entered on the COMM 446 course. I will communicate with the class through Blackboard
announcements and e-mail sent from the Blackboard site, so make sure you have your current e-mail address on file
with the University. Also, you should be in the habit of checking your e-mail daily in order to insure that you do not
miss any class messages.
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Enrollment Information
Prerequisites: Communication 300 and 350. Admission to a major or minor in the School of Communication.
Course Materials
Persuasion and Social Movements (6th edition) by Charles J. Stewart, Craig Allen Smith, and Robert E. Denton.
Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.
The Rhetoric of Agitation and Control (3rd edition) by John W. Bowers, Donovan J. Ochs, Richard J. Jensen, and
David P. Schultz. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.
Other course materials will be made available on Blackboard.
Course Structure and Conduct
Our class will proceed on a lecture/discussion model. Typically, the readings will supplement class subject matter.
I strongly encourage you to do the readings as assigned below. Doing so will insure you will not have to cram in
your reading before the exams. And because this is a discussion-intensive course, I ask you to keep up with
assigned readings and come to class prepared to talk about them. The success of this course depends upon your
active participation. I will provide lectures in order to help guide our discussions, but I hope that we can spend most
of our time actively talking together about what we will read and see in our course and in our world.
Our class will engage a wide range of philosophical, political, and ethical questions that cut to the very core of what
it means to be a citizen, even a human. I am committed to ensuring that our classroom is a hospitable environment
where we can respectfully discuss and debate a wide range of relevant issues. Everyone should feel comfortable to
speak their minds, but must do so in a way that enables others to do the same. You should also prepare to be held
accountable for anything you say in class.
Course Assessment and Grading
Required assignments:
1.
Exams: Three written exams will be given in the course. The exams will consist of short answer and short
essay questions. I will go over in class and post to Blackboard sample exam questions to guide your
preparation. Exams 2 and 3 are cumulative and will cover material from the entire semester. Each of the
exams will be worth 250 points. No make-up exams will be given in this course. If an exam is missed, the
only way to recoup points is by completing the optional paper.
2.
Optional paper: You may also complete a short paper (10 double-spaced pages) and the score on this paper
can be used to make up for the lowest-grade received on one of the exams. If you complete an optional
paper, you will generate four grades in the course; we will base your semester grade on the three highest
grades you receive. You will turn this assignment in through turnitin.com. More thorough information on
the paper will be posted to our class Blackboard site after the first exam.
3.
In-class group presentation on a movement and its rhetoric: For this assignment, you will give the class a
handout that details a movement’s timeline and historical overview, as well as deliver an oral presentation
covering the movement and how it relates to the central themes of our class. I will assign your groups.
Reports should be timed, professional, rehearsed, and formally delivered with appropriate handouts and
audio-visual aids. I will give you a more detailed grading rubric in class. Both the presentation and the
handout will be evaluated. There will be a 100-point group presentation grade, and a 25-point individual
grade based on your personal performance during the presentation.
Possible topics for case study presentations are included below. Please let me know by the assigned date in
class if you would like to work on a specific topic. While this is a fairly exhaustive list, you may select a
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topic not include below. You must, however, consult with me if you choose to do so. Appropriate topics
must have significant social impact. If you do not have a preference, I will assign you a topic.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
American Temperance Movement (1851- 1920)
Death Penalty Abolition Movement (1976- Present)
Anti-Abortion/Pro-Life Movement (1973- Present)
Black Power Movement (1966-1972)
Gay Liberation Movement (1969-1981)
Gun Rights Movement (1994-Present)
Anti-Vietnam War Movement (1964-1975)
American Socialist Movement (1901-1936)
Women’s Suffrage Movement (1848-1920)
Animal Rights Movement (1965-Present)
Modern Anti-War Movement (2003-Present)
Marriage Equality Movement (1989-Present)
Tea Party Movement (2008-Present)
Immigrant Rights Movement (2006-Present)
American Anarchist Movement (1905-1950)
Men’s Movement (1970-Present)
Catholic Worker Movement (1933-Present)
Anti-Police Brutality Movement (1966- Present)
Liberation Theology (1955-Present)
American Indian Movement (1968-1978)
Prison Abolition Movement (1970-Present)
Farm Workers Rights Movement (1962-1972)
Second Wave Feminist Movement (1963- 1979)
Modern U.S. Labor Movement (1981- Present)
9-11 Truth Movement (2001-Present)
Rape Culture Movement (2012-Present)
NCAA Athlete/labor movement (2002 – Present)
Environmental Movement (1960 – Present)
Fight for 15 (2014 – Present)
4.
Case study reflection essay: You will complete a short reflection essay covering your experience during the
case study group presentation. In this essay, you will describe what you learned during the project, how
you might apply what you learned to your life, and areas of improvement for you and the group if you were
to complete the assignment over again. I will give you a more detailed grading rubric for this assignment
in class. The essay will be due one week after you present your case study presentation. You will turn this
assignment in through turnitin.com. This assignment will be worth 50 points.
5.
Participation: Participation will be based on a number of important factors including engagement with
course material, ability to refrain from using technology to disengage from the class, willingness to discuss
material, and willingness to participate in in-class activities. I encourage you to consider your views of
identity and power from (possibly) new perspectives. There is no partisan or party line to follow in this
course, and no student will ever be penalized for respectfully disagreeing with the course material or class
discussion. We will be discussing issues about which people feel strongly. Vigorous, yet collegial, debate
is encouraged. Early in the semester we will establish ground rules for discussion in hopes that we can find
ways to debate and disagree without offense. Know in advance that all ideas are equally subject to debate,
including my own. You will not be graded on your level of agreement with my opinions, but on your
willingness and ability to make an argument and defend it soundly. Participation is worth 75 points.
Extra credit: Students may obtain extra credit from participation in departmental research if research opportunities
are made available. Extra credit cannot be guaranteed, as it is dependent on the need of research participants in
departmental research. If extra credit opportunities are made available, students can receive five points for each
half-hour of research participation (max. ten points). Research opportunities are presented on the SONA Research
Recruitment System which can be accessed through the School of Communication Research Participation website,
https://sites.google.com/site/commsdsuresearch
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The following assignments will comprise your grade in the class:
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
In-class group presentations
Case study reflection essay
Participation
Total:
250 points
250 points
250 points
125 points (100 group grade; 25 individual grade)
50 points
75 points (Week 1- Week 5 = 25 points; Week 6 – Week 10 = 25 points;
Week 11-6 = 25 points))
/1000 points
The following scale will be used to determine final course grades:
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
93% and above - 930 – 1000
90-92.9% - 900 – 929
87-89.9% - 870 - 899
83-86.9% - 830 - 869
80-82.9% - 800 - 829
77-79.9% – 770 - 799
73-76.9% - 730 - 769
70-72.9% - 700 - 729
67-69.9% - 670 - 699
63-66.9% - 630 - 669
60-62.9% - 600 - 629
59.9% and below – 599 - 0
A curve is not used in this course.
Other Course Policies
No electronic devices in class (notebooks, laptops, cell phones, iPods, etc).
If you have questions about your grade on an assignment, please see me within 5 business days of receiving the
grade (day 1 is the day the assignment is returned). After 5 days, a graded assignment is not eligible for review.
Graded assignments submitted for review may be re-graded in their entirety.
If you have questions about a grade or any other aspect of the course, please see me after class or during office
hours. If your schedule conflicts with my office hours, I will be glad to schedule additional office time to meet with
you.
Your participation grade is not assumed. It must be earned. Participation includes your punctuality, participation in
class discussions and think-pair-share activities, and asking questions of your peers after their presentations.
This syllabus does not bind the instructor to specific details; the instructor reserves the right to adjust the course
design.
The School of Communication website can be found at http://communication.sdsu.edu/
We will be using APA format for citation. See the Purdue Owl website for assistance:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/
Also see this APA tutorial for assistance: http://flash1r.apa.org/apastyle/basics/index.htm
Syllabus statement for students with disabilities: If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need
accommodations for this class, it is your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To
avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability Services as soon as
possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and that accommodations based upon disability
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cannot be provided until you have presented your instructor with an accommodation letter from Student Disability
Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
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.
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.
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. Text that is identical with another source but without quotation marks
constitutes plagiarism, regardless of whether you included the original source.
Specific exemplary infractions and consequences:
a.
b.
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.
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. Repeated or
serious cases will result in assignment of an “F” in the course, and a report to Student Rights and
Responsibilities.
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-andpastes’ 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-for-word 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
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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; © 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.
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.
TurnItIn.com
The papers in this course may be submitted electronically in Word (preferably .docx) on the due dates assigned, and
will require verification of submission to Turnitin.com.
“Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity
review to TurnItIn.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in
the TurnItIn.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. You may submit
your papers in such a way that no identifying information about you is included. Another option is that you may
request, in writing, that your papers not be submitted to TurnItIn.com. However, if you choose this option you will
be required to provide documentation to substantiate that the papers are your original work and do not include any
plagiarized material” (source: language suggested by the CSU General Counsel and approved by the Center for
Student’s Rights and Responsibilities at SDSU)
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, or solicitation of a ghost writer, 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
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
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.
Tentative Daily Schedule
Although every effort will be made to follow the proposed schedule as closely as possible, the instructor reserves the
right to make changes in the order in which certain topics are presented. I will do my best to inform students of
schedule changes as far in advance as possible.
UNIT ONE: Characteristics of Social Movements
1.
Week 1
a. Monday, 8/24
i. Course introduction
b. Wednesday, 8/26
i. Fundamental assumptions of a social movement
ii. Syllabus and classroom expectations
iii. Readings:
1. Persuasion and Social Movements: chapters 1, 2, and 14
2. The Rhetoric of Agitation and Control, chapters 1
2.
Week 2
a. Monday, 8/31
i. Essential characteristics of social movements, continued
ii. What is a social movement?
b. Wednesday, 9/2
i. Power and social movements
ii. Agitation and control
3.
Week 3
a. Monday, 9/7 – Labor Day
b. Wednesday, 9/9
i. Power and social movements
ii. Agitation and control
Week 4
a. Monday, 9/14
i. Stages of social movements
ii. Readings:
1. Persuasion and Social Movements: chapter 4
2. The Rhetoric of Agitation and Control: chapters 2 and 3
b. Wednesday, 9/16
i. Stages of social movements
Week 5
a. Monday, 9/21
i. Violence in social movements: justifying divisive tactics
ii. Readings:
1. Persuasion and Social Movements: chapter 12
b. Wednesday, 9/23
i. Violence in social movements: Terrorism
ii. Readings: Persuasion and Social Movements: chapter 13
iii. Exam 1 prep
4.
5.
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6.
Week 6
a. Monday, 9/28
i. Exam 1
UNIT TWO: Communication and Rhetoric in Social Movements
b.
7.
8.
9.
Wednesday, 9/30
i. Communication and social movements
ii. Readings: Persuasion and Social Movements: chapter 6
Week 7
a. Monday, 10/5
i. The persuasive functions of social movements
ii. Readings: Persuasion and Social Movements: chapter 3
b. Wednesday, 10/7
i. The persuasive functions of social movements, cont.
ii. Readings: Persuasion and Social Movements: chapter 3
Week 8
a. Monday, 10/12
i. Leadership and social movements
ii. Readings: Persuasion and Social Movements: chapter 5
b. Wednesday, 10/14
i. Narrative and social movements
ii. Readings: Persuasion and Social Movements: chapter 9, 11
Week 9
a. Monday, 10/19
i. Rhetorical foundations of economic justice
b. Wednesday, 10/21
i. Communication and rhetoric in the Occupy movement
10. Week 10
a. Monday, 10/26
i. Conspiracy theories
ii. Readings: Persuasion and Social Movements: chapters 9 and 11
iii. Exam 2 prep day
b. Wednesday, 10/28
i. Exam 2
UNIT THREE: Social Movement Case Studies
11. Week 11
a. Monday, 11/2
i. Case study presentation:
b. Wednesday, 11/4
i. Case study presentation:
12. Week 12
a. Monday 11/9
i. Case study presentation:
b. Wednesday, 11/11 – Veteran’s Day
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13. Week 13
a. Monday, 11/16
i. Case study presentation:
b. Wednesday, 118 – National Communication Association annual convention, Las Vegas NV
14. Week 14
a. Monday 11/23
i. Case study presentation:
b. Wednesday, 11/25 – Thanksgiving break
15. Week 15
a. Monday, 11/30
i. Case study presentation:
b. Wednesday, 12/2
i. Case study presentation:
16. Week 16
a. Monday, 12/7
i. Case study presentation:
b. Wednesday, 12/9
i. Course summary: Rhetorical movements and social justice
ii. Howard Zinn chapter: “The Coming Revolt of the Guards” (posted on Blackboard)
Exam 3: Monday, December 14, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in our regular classroom (two hours only for Exam 3)
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