English 282: Introduction to Rhetorical Theory
Section 0201, Fall 2011
Office Hours: F 11:00 – 12:00
or by appointment
Office Location: Tawes 2101
Instructor: Cameron Mozafari
Email: moz1@umd.edu
Class Hours: MWF 1:00 – 1:50
Classroom: MW – TAWES 0236
F – TAWES 0223
I.
Overview
Course Objectives
Welcome to English 282, Introduction to Rhetorical Theory! As the title of the course suggests, our time
together will center on the theory—or theories—of rhetoric. It should be noted that while we will be
performing some rhetorical analysis and addressing basic methods in rhetorical criticism, these tasks are
secondary to the main scope of this class. In other words, this is not a class designed to help you become
a better writer or a better speaker. There’s a chance that this will happen along the way, as both writing
and speaking are integral to the history of rhetorical theory, but the weight will be on you to draw
connections.
That being said, this course is an attempt to trace out some big questions, questions like: What is
rhetoric? In what ways have rhetoric and politics historically been associated with one another? How does
rhetoric differ from philosophy? From science? What does it mean to think rhetorically or to perform
rhetoric. What’s at stake? Are the theoretical principles of rhetoric relevant to today’s world? Of course,
these questions are all to some extent open-ended—there is no single answer—and, as we will see,
different rhetorical theorists over the 2,500-year tradition find different answers.
Learning Outcomes for Humanities
By the end of the course, everyone should be able to
 Demonstrate familiarity and facility with fundamental terminology and concepts in rhetorical
theory.
 Demonstrate understanding of the methods used by scholars in rhetorical theory.
 Demonstrate critical thinking in the evaluation of sources and arguments in scholarly works in the
field of rhetorical theory and criticism.
 Describe how rhetorical theory, from antiquity to the present, represents cultural values held at
particular historical moments.
 Conduct research on a topic in the field of rhetoric by using a variety of sources and technologies.
 Demonstrate understanding of the creative process and techniques used by practitioners of
rhetorical theory and criticism.
Learning Outcomes for Scholarship in Practice
By the end of this course, everyone should also be able to
• Demonstrate an ability to select, critically evaluate, and apply relevant areas of scholarship.
• Articulate the processes required to bring about a successful outcome from planning,
modeling, and preparing, to critiquing, revising and perfecting.
• Demonstrate an ability to critique existing applications of scholarship, in order to learn
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from past successes and failures.
• Demonstrate an ability to collaborate in order to bring about a successful outcome
• Recognize how an application of scholarship impacts or is impacted by political, social, cultural,
economic or ethical dimensions.
• Produce an original analysis, project, creative work, performance or scholarly work that reflects a
body of knowledge relevant to the course.
• Effectively communicate the application of scholarship through ancillary material (written, oral,
visual and/or all modes combined).
While the nature, scope, and function of rhetoric may be at times mercurial, I hope that this course
provides us with a copia of things to say about it, as well as a means by which we can perform it.
Required Text
 Bizzell, Patricia, and Bruce Herzberg, eds. The Rhetorical Tradition. 2nd ed. Boston:
Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2001. Print.
 Selected texts posted on ELMS. You will be expected to bring these texts with you to class.
Grading
Class participation
Multimedia presentation
300-word reading responses
Rhetoric exercises
Midterm examination
Final examination
Rhetorical analysis
10%
15%
10%
15%
15%
15%
20%
*Note: I will not round grades, and since everyone has the ability to get an A in this class, I should not
hope that I would need to readdress this at the end of the semester.
II.
Expectations and Policies
Regular and Punctual Attendance
While we will be doing a lot of dense and theoretical reading in this class, the important principles and
historic contexts of each reading will be touched upon in class. For this reason, your attendance and
participation will have a direct effect on your familiarity and comfort level with different rhetorical
theories and, thus, a direct effect on your presentations, homework responses and exercises, midterm and
final examinations, and final paper. Chances are that your level of participation and engagement with this
class will be reflected in the quality of your work. In addition to this, you are expected to arrive to class
on time; if you are late, you are being disruptive to me and to your fellow classmates.
Unexcused, or “Discretionary” Absences
Discretionary absences are not “free days” but days where you may need to deal with emergencies. You
may miss two full weeks of class (6 MWF days) without substantial penalty—you will, however, loose
participation points for each of the days that you miss. A general warning, also: We will be moving very
quickly in this class. If you miss more than a week of class, it is very likely that you will fall behind the
class. Also, for each unexcused absence after your two week allotment of discretionary absences, I will
lower your final grade one full letter grade, e.g. if you have an A and have 7 unexcused absences, you will
earn a B in the course, and so on.
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Excused Absences
The University excuses absences for certain reasons (illness, representing the University at certain events,
religious observance, and the death of an immediate family member), provided the cause of absence is
appropriately documented.
Religious Observances
The University’s policy states that students should not be penalized for observances of their
religious beliefs. If you need extra time to make up an assignment because of religious
observance, I will be more than happy to make that accommodation. I will need for you to tell
me if you will be missing class for any absences, preferably with written notification, within the
first two week of the semester. The written notification should include a list of the holiday(s)
observed and date(s) when you will not be in class.
Documentation Requirements to Justify an Excused Absence for Illness
The University’s policy is to excuse class absences that result from a student’s own illness. The
procedure and documentation required for an illness to be an excused absence differs depending
on the frequency of the absence.
For a single class meeting missed: A single class meeting missed because of illness requires you
to submit a self-signed note to me—no note from a health care provider is necessary, and the
Health Center will not provide written excuses for a single absence. Each note submitted must
also contain an acknowledgement that the information provided is true and correct, i.e. it must
follow the Code of Student Conduct. Breaking from the Code of Student Conduct—e.g., me
seeing you around campus on a day when you’re supposedly sick—may result in disciplinary
action. NOTE: You cannot use this documentation to justify absences on exam dates.
For multiple but non-consecutive meetings missed: If you know that you will be missing more
than one class meeting for a medical concern but that these absences will not be consecutive, you
should provide documentation from a health care provider upon returning to class after the first
absence with details on future dates missed. If you can get a note from your doctor with the a
more specific forecast of days you will be missing, that would be nice.
For multiple consecutive meetings missed –or– an absence involving a major grading event: If
you have a prolonged absence, you are required to provide written documentation of the illness
from the Health Center or your health care provider upon returning to class. Make sure you have
documentation of the dates missed and the dates of treatment so that I can get a timeframe of
when you were unable to meet your academic responsibilities due to illness. I don’t need to know
why you missed class (no diagnosis information necessary) only that you missed it and that a
medical professional acknowledges that it was for a good reason.
Absences Due to Participation in a University Event If you are absent due to involvement in an
official University sponsored event, you must provide documentation for this absences prior to
the absence; furthermore, the documentation should be on an official form from the University.
Participation
In order to create an engaging atmosphere where we can all learn, active involvement is an absolute
necessity. Active involvement means not only coming to class prepared with whatever readings are
required for that day, but also asking question, bringing up relevant examples, expressing your opinion,
and engaging with your fellow classmates. I will be keeping a running list of who participates in class,
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and your final participation grade will be reflective of this list. If you do not feel comfortable expressing
an opinion in class, come to my office hours and talk to me then. I’ll keep a running list of who comes to
my office hours, too.
Academic Integrity and Honor Pledge
Plagiarism, whether it is submitting someone else’s work as your own, submitting your own work
completed for another class without my permission, or otherwise violating the University’s code of
Academic Integrity, will not be tolerated. You are expected to understand the University’s policies
regarding academic integrity. These can be found at the website of the Office of Student Conduct,
www.shc.umd.edu. Please visit this website, click on the “students” link, and read the information
carefully.
You will be asked to write and sign The Honor Pledge, a statement of integrity, on the cover sheet of each
formal paper you turn in to this class. The Honor Pledge is as follows: “I pledge on my honor that I have
not given or received any unauthorized (or unacknowledged) assistance on this assignment. Moreover, I
have not taken or ‘borrowed’ the ideas or words of another without properly citing that source.”
The Writing Center
The Writing Center is located in Tawes on the first floor, room 1205. Tutors are there to help you get a
grasp of what you are writing or trying to communicate. Visiting the Writing Center does not in any way
mean that you are remedial writer; if anything, it shows me that you are taking the incentive to talk to
others about improving your writing skills. I recommend that everyone utilize this invaluable resource—
you are paying for it with student fees anyways. Hours and other information about the Writing Center
can be found here: http://www.english.umd.edu/academics/writingcenter
Special Needs
If you have any special needs, please talk to me after class or during my office hours. If you have not yet
registered your disability with the university, please make an appointment to see the Disability Support
Services in the Shoemaker Building (4-7682 or 5-7683 TTY/TDD).
Communication
If you need to get a hold of me for any reason, please send me an e-mail and allow me 24 hours to
respond. I will probably respond within 24 hours, but allow me that time just in case. I will notify you if
I will be away from my e-mail for a prolonged period of time. Also, I encourage students to make use of
office hours. If you cannot make office hours, send me an e-mail requesting a time to meet, and I will see
if I can meet your accommodations. Please do not hesitate to communicate with me in regards to your
projects, homework, classwork, or anything else we are working on.
III.
Papers and Assignments
Multimedia Presentation 15%
Since we will be meeting in the computer lab every Friday, I figured that this would be a great
opportunity for us to engage with technology. Prior installments of this class required oral presentations;
I am requiring you to take oral presentations to the next level by incorporating various media forms in
your presentation.
On certain Fridays throughout the semester, a group of two to three students will present for 15-20
minutes (not including question and answer time after the presentation) on selected topics relevant to
rhetorical theory. The presentation assignment will require you to not only contextualize readings thus far
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in light of your topic but also to go beyond the scope of our readings, draw on contemporary examples,
and conduct outside research.
The multimedia aspect of the presentation assignment refers to the means by which you will be presenting.
Each group will be required to incorporate the following:
 One photograph or digital rendering of a piece of artwork. This visual component is something
I’m asking you to bring into focus and to contextualize in light of your topic. I encourage you to
use other visuals as well, but the photograph or piece of artwork is a thing I am asking you to
contextualize and analyze rhetorically.

One video clip. Find a scene from a movie or a clip from the Web that you think is related to
your topic, and smoothly integrate the video clip into your presentation. The clip can be
something that your group analyzes rhetorically, or it can be something that you think sets up the
stage for addressing your topic. Be creative!

One chart or graph. Charts and graphs are a kind of argument. They argue that the data they
represent is quantifiable and organized enough to show relationships. I want you to make a chart
or graph (pie chart, line graph, bar graph, self-designed creative chart, etc.) and incorporate it
within your presentation.

One handout. Your handout can be your chart, a transcription from your video clip, some lyrics
to a song that you will be addressing in your presentation, or whatever else you want your
audience to have in their hands while you speak.

Appropriate usage of text size, color, space, and empty space. If you are using PowerPoint or
Prezi to make an outline for your presentation, don’t fill your slides with a lot of text. I’m sure
people have said this to you before, and I’m sure that I will not be the last person to say this to
you, either.
The goal of the presentation is not to fill time but to create a multisensory and engaging environment in
which to enlighten me and your classmates of the valences of your particular topic. Each group is
required to meet with me at least twice: once when planning (two weeks before) and once before the
presentation (one class before). Your presentations should not only be informative but have directionality,
i.e. you are required to have a thesis and to perform an argument. Works Cited pages should be handed in
on the date of the presentation. Note: This assignment is weighted as much as your midterm and final.
Take it very seriously!
300-word Reading Responses 10%
Rhetorical theory is complex, drawing from multiple and sometimes contradictory traditions. I will
assign weekly reading responses that ask open-ended questions that require you to express your opinions
on a particular text we read or to draw connections and synthesize multiple readings. I am not asking you
to do any outside research. Responses will be graded in a PASS/FAIL fashion. Without proper
documentation, I will not accept late reading responses. If you do the readings and think critically about
how the connect to rhetorical tradition, these responses should be an easy 10% of your final grade.
Rhetoric Exercises 15%
What I am calling a rhetoric exercise is a homework exercise that is not a reading response. Some of
these exercises may call for you to generate creative writing pieces, e.g. I may ask you to write a 500word response to Francis Bacon in the style and voice of Friedrich Nietzsche. Other exercises may ask
you to observe and analyze specific texts using rhetorical or textual theories discussed in class. Imitatio
(imitation) and analysis are to very important skills in rhetorical theory and rhetorical education, and I
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consider them to be central to understanding rhetoric both as a method of analysis and as a theoretical
view of the world. These exercises will be graded in a PASS/FAIL fashion. Note that I will not accept
late exercises without proper documentation. These assignments collectively weigh as much as your
midterm and final.
Rhetorical Analysis 20%
For the final assignment of the class, I am asking you to perform a rhetorical analysis on a text of your
choice. The only restriction is that the text needs to be non-fiction. You could, for example, perform a
rhetorical analysis of an autobiography or biography you have recently read, an interesting news article,
an essay, a textbook for another course you are taking, of a documentary, of an advertisement on
television, of a blueprint of a city, of your family photo album, of your driver’s license, of your Facebook,
of a series of dictionary entries —of anything, really. By the time we approach the end of this class, we
should all understand that rhetoric—both classical and contemporary—pervades the everyday. As such,
anything and everything can be analyzed rhetorically. In other words, I want you to remember that
rhetoric is the condition, not the content, of your analysis. I’m most interested in seeing how your
thinking, writing, and theoretical knowledge work together to constitute a rhetorical lens from which you
view your object of analysis.
Your papers are to be at least 2500 words in length and should demonstrate control of language and
theory. Papers should be written in proper MLA or Chicago style. You do not need to use any outside
sources aside from texts and theories we have discussed in class. If you decide to go down the avenue of
a rhetorical analysis of a written non-fiction text, you will need to provide me a copy (photocopy is fine)
of that text.
This paper is weighted more than any other assignment in the class, and you will have all semester to do it.
I want to see your best thinking here. Remember to take advantage of office hours and ask a lot of
questions. The more you engage with your thoughts and your writing, the more developed they become
Exams 15% midterm, 15% final
There will be two exams in this course: a midterm and a comprehensive final. The exams will test your
familiarity with the theories we have learned and are learning. They may also ask you to apply the
theories to a given text.
Unless there is valid documentation presented in a timely manner, you may not request a make-up exam.
Please come to class prepared on the days of the midterm and final examinations.
IV.
Schedule of Classes
*The schedule is subject to change with due notice.
Date
W 8/31
Class Topic
Syllabus and
Introductions
Reading Due
Homework Due
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What is rhetoric?
What is theory?
F 9/2
The origins of oratory

Bizzell & Herzburg, “General
6
Reading response
Sign-up for presentations
M 9/5
W 9/7


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Labor Day—No Class
Performatives and the
Sophistic performance of
rhetoric


F 9/9
M 9/12
W 9/14
Austin, “Chapter 1:
Performatives and
Constatives” (ELMS)
Dissoi Logoi
Plato and the founding of
the word ‘rhetoric’


Bizzell & Herzburg, “Plato”
Gorgias (skim, but focus on
96-99, 122-125)
Platonic ideals of rhetoric


Phaedrus (half)
Weaver, “The Phaedrus and
the Nature of Rhetoric”


Phaedrus cont. (the other half)
Weaver, “The Phaedrus and
the Nature of Rhetoric”

Bizzell & Hurzburg,
“Aristotle”
Rhetoric, Book I.i-iii, I.iv-xv
Platonic dialogue, cont.
Last day to drop
without a “W”
F 9/16
Introduction”
---, “Gorgias”
“Encomium to Helen”
Aristotlean definitions,
modes, and occasions

W 9/21
F 9/23
The Aristotlean forms of
argumentation

Rhetoric, Book II.xviii-xix,
II.xx-xxvi
The rhetoric of the
sublime

[Longinus], from On the
Sublime
Cicero and the ideal
orator


Cicero, Quintilian, and
Roman eloquence
---
--Reading Response
Rhetoric exercise
---
Bizzell & Herzburg, “Cicero”
De Oratore, Book I
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Presentation: Rhetorical
education, civic duty,
and the State
M 9/26
Rhetoric exercise
Reading response
Presentation:
Aristotelian rhetoric:
politics, law, and
ceremony
M 9/19
---

De Oratore, Book III, Sect. 1724 (ELMS)
7

W 9/28
Stasis theory

Bizzell & Herzberg,
“Quintilian”
Institutio Oratoria, Book VIII
(selection TBA, ELMS)

Readings TBA on ELMS
Reading response
---
Guest Lecturer:
Martin Camper
F 9/30
Figures of speech

Sign up for figures
presentation

Bizzell & Herzberg,
“Anonymous”
Rhetorica ad Herennium,
Book IV.xiii-xviii
---
Presentation: Figurative
language in poetry &
literature
M 10/3
W 10/5
Figures of speech cont.

In class group
presentations of figures

St. Augustine
& Medieval Rhetoric


F 10/7
Robert de Basevorn and
the form of preaching
Review for Midterm
Bizzell & Herzberg,
“Augustine”
On Christian Doctrine,
Book IV


Forma Praedicanidi
Geoffrey Chaucer, “The
Pardoner’s Tale” (ELMS)

Optional: Eric Gunderson,
“The Rhetoric of Rhetorical
Theory” (ELMS)
Presentation: Rhetoric,
the Bible, and
Hermeneutics
M 10/10
Rhetorica ad Herennium,
Book IV.xxiii-end
Fahnestock, Rhetorical
Figures in Science, “Chapter
1” (ELMS)
Rhetoric exercise to be
presented in class
---
Reading response
---
W 10/12
---
Midterm Exam
F 10/14

Bizzell, "Opportunities for
8
Writing assignment to be
counted as reading
Feminist Research in the History
of Rhetoric” (ELMS)
Review of midterm
response
and performing readings
M 10/17
Erasmus, rhetoric, and
Renaissance humanism

Bizzell & Herzberg,
“Erasmus”
From De Copia
Bizzell & Herzberg, “Thomas
Wilson”
From The Arte of Rhetorique



Bizzell & Herzberg, “Bacon”
From Novum Organum
TBA
John Locke & Empiricist
Philosophy


Presentation:
Empiricism, early
science, and the role of
rhetoric

Bizzell & Herzberg, “Locke”
From Essay Concerning
Human Understanding
Hobbs Peaden,
“Understanding Differently:
Rereading Locke’s Essay
Concerning Human
Understanding” (ELMS)
George Campbell and
empirical rhetoric

In-class writing exercise
W 10/19
Guest Lecture: Andy
Black
on experimental
philosophy and rhetoric
F 10/21
M 10/24





W 10/26
Hume, Blair, and the
rhetoric of taste




F 10/28
19th century
composition-rhetoric



Bizzell & Herzberg,
“Campbell”
From The Philosophy of
Rhetoric
Don DeLillo, “In the Ruins of
the Future” (ELMS)
Bizzell & Herzberg, “David
Hume”
Of the Standard of Taste
“Hugh Blair”
From Lectures on Rhetoric
and Belles Lettres
Robert J. Connors,
Composition Rhetoric,
“Introduction” (ELMS)
Bizzell & Herzberg,
“Alexander Bain and A. S.
Hill”
From English Composition
and Rhetoric
9
(In class rhetoric exercise)
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Reading response
Reading response
---
---
From The Principles of
Rhetoric
M 10/31
Friedrich Nietzsche and
the figurative language of
Truth

“On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense”
---
Presentation: Rhetoric,
philosophy and the
social construction of
Truth
W 11/2
F 11/4
Chiam Perelman, Lucie
Olbrechts-Tyteca, and the
New Rhetoric



Bizzell & Herzberg,
“Perelman”
From The New Rhetoric
“The New Rhetoric: A Theory
of Practical Reasoning”
Kenneth Burke and
symbolic motivation


Bizzell & Herzberg, “Burke”
From Grammar of Motives
Presentation: Theory
and Application of
Burkean Dramatism
and the Pentad
M 11/7
Burkean identification
Rhetoric exercise
---


From Rhetoric of Motives
Burke, “The Rhetoric of
Hitler’s Battle” (ELMS)
---
Yom Kippur
W 11/9
F 11/11
The Rhetorical Situation

Last day to drop with a
“W”

Genre approaches to
rhetoric

Presentation: Genre
Theory and Science
Writing
M 11/14
The Toulmin model




Bitzer, “The Rhetorical
Situation” (ELMS)
Vatz, “The Myth of the
Rhetorical Situation” (ELMS)
Miller, “Genre as Social
Action”
Bazerman, “What Written
Knowledge Does: Three
Examples of Academic
Discourse”
Bizzell & Herzberg,
“Toulmin”
From The Uses of Argument
From Logic and the Criticism
of Arguments
10
---
Reading response
Reading response
W 11/16
The Toulmin model today


F 11/18
M 11/21
Foucauldian discourse

Presentation: Rhetoric,
Discourse, Knowledge,
and Power

Rhetoric in the design of
everyday things



W 11/23
F 11/25
M 11/28
F 12/2
Bizzell & Herzberg,
“Foucault”
From Archeology of
Knowledge
From The Order of Discourse
de Certeau, “Walking in the
City” from The Practice of
Everyday Life (ELMS)
Norman, “The
Psychopathology of Everyday
Things,” from The Design of
Everyday Things (ELMS)
Class Canceled
Thanksgiving Break—
Performatives and
vulnerability


W 11/30
Freeman, “Systemizing
Toulmin’s Warrants”
Hitchcock, “The Toulmin
model today”
---
Rhetoric exercise
---
---
---
---
Judith Butler, “Explanations
and Exonerations, or What We
Can Hear”
“Introduction” From Excitable
Speech
Guest Lecture: Lindsay
Dunn on visual rhetoric

Kress and Von Leeuwan,
“Representation and
Interaction: Designing the
Position of the Viewer”
(ELMS)
Movie: TBA by students

Barthes, “Rhetoric of the
Image” (ELMS)
Presentation: Rhetoric,
free speech, and
rhetorical violence
Rhetoric exercise
Reading response
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Rhetorical Analysis Due
email by 11:50
Sunday (12/4) night
M 12/5
W 12/7
F 12/9
Movie: TBA by students
---
Discussion and rhetorical
analysis of film

TBA
TBA

TBA
11
---
Reading response
---
Presentation: Rhetoric
and the formation of
discourse communities
M 12/12
Review for Final Exam
Fill out course evals
F 12/16

Wayne Booth, “How Many
‘Rhetorics’?”, From The
Rhetoric of Rhetoric (ELMS)
Final Exam. 1:30 – 3:30
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12
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