Africana Studies 140: Oral Communication
Monday/Wednesday
2 – 3:15pm
Storm Hall 316
Professor Ajani Brown
Office: AL – 360
aabrown@mail.sdsu.edu
Office Hours: By Appointment
Required Texts:
Young Kathryn Sue & Howard, Paul Travis. Oral Communications: Skills, Choices and
Consequences (3rd Edition).
Catalog Description
Practice in speaking, crucial listening, reasoning and organizing, using communication theory
and techniques to evaluate the effect of oral communication on the lives of Blacks and others.
Course Description
This is an oral communication course, which emphasizes African American rhetorical public
speaking dynamics and performance in a variety of socio-cultural contexts.
This course is one of the three courses you will take in the General Education are of
Communication and Critical Thinking. Upon completion, this area of our General Education
program, you will be able to:
(1) Craft well-reasoned arguments for specific audiences.
(2) Analyze texts/media commonly encountered in the academic setting.
(3) Situate discourse within social, generic, cultural and historic contexts.
(4) Assess the relative strengths of arguments and supporting evidence.
Course Goals and Objectives:
Students will develop oral communication skills and critical thinking competencies applied in an
oral and written context through guided speaking exercises, readings, and use of concepts from
throughout the African Diaspora, including Western culture.
By completing AFRAS 140, students will be able to:
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Identify, describe and apply Western oral communication rhetorical techniques through
impromptu speeches, interviews, group and panel discussions.
Choose and apply a specific effective oral communication technique to improve skill
level in guided class performance, based on evaluations and feedback from prior speech
events.
Analyze, compare and discuss a speech in oral and written form by an orator and situate
the speech occasion in its social, cultural and historic context.
Analyze relative strengths and weakness of an oral arguments key points – during guided
debates, persuasion speeches, group discussions, etc. – in student guided evaluation
feedback sessions.
Analyze and critique orators and others utilization of rhetorical strategies and ideas
presented in four different speeches, the socio-cultural contexts of the times during which
the speeches were presented and formality/informality of the venues in which the
speeches were presented.
Present and speak with confidence and in a variety of oral communication contexts while
presenting cogent arguments or main ideas with supporting detail and illustration.
Write, document and present rigorous research sources in an organizational outline to
support claims in information, persuasion and argumentation speeches.
Develop strategies to quote and paraphrase from primary sources and secondary sources.
Understand, critique and implement the formal and informal mechanisms of oral
communication.
This is an interactive course that will include lecture, discussion and presentations. This
course is designed to engage students in a critical manner through understanding
communication through public speaking skills. Students will have an opportunity to grow
academically through attending events, brainstorming, critiquing media and developing
speeches.
Class Participation and Attendance:
Class Participation
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Post speeches on Blackboard and constructively comment on two or more fellow
classmates in the discussion thread.
Critically read the assigned text prior to class.
Preparation for and participate in class discussion and activities.
Attentive, consistent effort, and willingness to participate in activities.
Complete individual and group assignments.
Actively participating in class through discussion of texts.
Being respectful of their peers and on campus guest speakers.
Check Blackboard for posts in discussion threads.
Attendance
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Regular attendance is expected of all students.
Excused absences are to be submitted to the professor in advance of the class
meeting.
If class is missed it is recommended that students go to peers for lecture/discussion
notes.
Events Requirement
Students are expected to attend events outside of class in order to observe communication
behavior, techniques, etc. at play in environments the classroom does not provide. I will only
post on campus opportunities to observe speakers. If students would like to observe speakers off
campus that will suffice, but it’s not required.
Office Hours
Office hours are by appointment. However, I am available at 12pm-12:50pm on Mondays and
Wednesdays before class.
Email
Questions/concerns about class that weren’t answered in class can be emailed.
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 cannot be provide until you have presented your instructor with an
accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Before making an appointment to see
me, please contact Student Disability Services at (619)594-6473. Their office is located in
Calpulli Center, Third Floor, Suite 3101.
Assignments and Grading
All assignments will be graded using point system.
Attendance/Participation
20
Speech Observance (3 x 5 points)
15
Speeches
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Impromptu
Persuasive/Informative
Media
Passion/Career
Scholarly
Social Justice
5
10
10
10
10
10
Grade Scale
90-100
A
80-89
B
70-79
C
60-69
D
00-59
F
Grading Explanation:
All speeches range from 3-5 minutes. They will be graded on perceived preparation, confidence
of the speaker and fluidity of delivery. Additionally, speakers will be graded on eye contact, tact
and perceived connection with the audience.