Rhetorical Communication
SPC 3230-U01
Fall, 2012
MWF 12:00 – 12:50
Chem & Physics 101
Professor: Nick Temple, Ph.D.
Office: VH 207
Email: ntemple@fiu.edu
Office hours: MWF 2pm to 3pm, TR 1:30 to 2:30, and By Appointment– There are many times
that I am free, so I want to be open to fit around your schedule. Do not hesitate to let me know if
you need to meet for anything, bad OR good or just because. I’m here for you and because I love
interacting with people like you.
Required Reading
Dues, Michael & Brown, Mary, (2004). Boxing Plato’s Shadow: An Introduction to the
Study of Human Communication. Boston: McGraw Hill. (ISBN 0077662016)
Course URL: http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/class/n_temple_spc_3230_u01_fall12
(Your ebook and pdfs will be located here. I will also be setting up a Blackboard account
to upload your pdfs as well.)
Aristotle’s Rhetoric found at: http://www2.iastate.edu/~honeyl/Rhetoric/index.html
Plato’s Phaedrus found at: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/phaedrus.html
There will be many scanned PDF that will be the bulk of our reading for this course as
well. I will either send them out via email or post them online for you to access.
Recommended Reading
Herrick, James A., (2009). The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction, 5th
Edition. New York: Pearson, Allyn, & Bacon.
I will be lecturing a lot from Herrick’s book because it is very comprehensive. However, it
is not required for you to buy or even check out of the library. If you wish to, it will likely
give you greater insight into the course material. Do note that quiz material can come from
the lectures, the Dues & Brown book, AND the canon readings. If you miss class, you
WILL miss material that cannot necessarily be found in the required texts. Make a friend
who takes good notes. 
Graded Assignments
Paper 1: Classical Rhetoric
Paper 2: Medieval Rhetoric
Paper 3: Contemporary Rhetoric
Quiz 1: Classical Rhetoric Definitions
Quiz 2: Medieval Rhetoric Definitions
Quiz 3: Modern Rhetoric Definitions
Homework
Canon Presentation x2
Participation
15% (150 pts)
15% (150 pts)
15% (150 pts)
10% (100 pts)
10 % (100 pts)
10% (100 pts)
10% (100 pts)
10% (100 pts)
5% (50 pts)
Criteria for Grading
A+ = 980-1000
A = 930-979
A- = 900-929
B+ = 870-899
B = 830-869
B- = 800-829
C+
C
CD+
D
DF
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
770-799
730-769
700-729
670-699
630-669
600-629
599 and below
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students will learn the history of rhetorical theory including rhetorical concepts from Plato
up to the current day and be able to apply them to past and current rhetorical situations,
examples, and problems.
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
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Identify trends in rhetorical theory throughout history
Explain why those trends were important in their historical contexts
Utilize rhetorical theory to analyze current rhetorical situations and thus be a more
informed and critical citizen of our democracy
Write clearly and succinctly about rhetoric in a way that brings understanding about
it’s use in various contexts
Develop a familiarity with many important rhetorical theorists throughout history
Participation: This class is based heavily around discussion. As such, participation is
particularly important. The class is divided between days that I lecture and days that people
present on primary readings. I can certainly lecture for the whole time if need be, but it is
usually more interesting if a good conversation picks up. Be sure to jump in on class
discussions if you want it to be more than just me talking at you! Either way, these are the
days that will set you up to better understand the significance of the primary source material
you will be reading for the following class(es).
On the days that we discuss the primary (canon) readings that you receive online, groups of
your fellow classmates will be presenting on the material (see Canon Presentations below).
They will be stimulating discussion with summaries of the material, valuable insights, and
most importantly, discussion questions. On these days, I will be checking off whether or not
you speak. If you participate in the discussion, you get participation points. If you do not,
then you do not. Feel free to offer your own insights and/or discussion questions. It is very
difficult to make this like a seminar with so many people, but we can at least have a decent
conversation about the material. (Should discussions prove to be good enough, I may no
longer need to manually check off participation.) Some of this material is difficult, and a
good conversation will really help to make sense of it and apply it to your own experience.
You will sign up for the day you are to present within the first week of class.
Homework
Homework only applies to the primary readings, not the textbook readings. Homework from
the primary readings will consist of you turning in one discussion question (that you may or
may not contribute to the discussion – it is a great way to get your participation points in if it
is relevant!) and two key quotes/ideas that you pull from the reading. If you pull a quote,
briefly (in a sentence or two) define why this particular quote is of interest. (Again, this will
generally help you contribute to the discussion.)
Canon Presentation
Within the first week of class, you will sign up to be in a group of around 3 people. Once that
is accomplished, your group will sign up for two days to do your canon presentation. The one
exception will be the group that signs up for the Phaedrus – this group will be bigger and will
be responsible for the three days we cover the Phaedrus. With your canon presentation, you
are to participate in a group to lead the class in a discussion of the readings due for those
days. Your group will be responsible for several things:
Summary Outline: You will turn in a detailed outline of your presentation. This should
include what you have to say about the work before you start the discussion. With this
summary, you will provide a relevant background for the work and the author of the work
(for example, talk a bit about Aristotle and why he wrote the Rhetoric and the significance of
it). For this, you may rehash some of what we’ve gone over from Herrick, but you should go
beyond that to a more in depth discussion of the author and the work. (Presentation should
last roughly 10-15 minutes NOT including discussion time from discussion questions) The
group that does the Phaedrus will only need one outline for the three days, but it should cover
all three days.
At least ONE outside source: To aid you in your discussion, find at least one (perhaps more,
if you have the time and inclination) outside source that discusses the work and/or the author.
This may be online or in print, but should not be Wikipedia. I will definitely be judging the
credibility of your source(s) and your grade may reflect this. Bring this source up within your
presentation to support your thoughts. Cite it on your outline using APA or MLA. The group
that does the Phaedrus only needs one source for the three days.
At least SIX Discussion Questions: To lead the discussion, you need questions! You may ask
them after your initial summary, or you may incorporate them into your summary at key
points. Either way, you should turn in a list of your six discussion questions. It will be your
job to transition from your formal presentation to your job as discussion leaders, and you
should note that it is the discussion that will take up the majority of the class meeting! You
will be leading the discussion for about an hour, but that is really not as intimidating as it
sounds. You are more participating in the discussion for the most part, but it is your job (and
yes, I will help where need be) to keep the conversation going when it slows down. Feel free
to be creative as you lead the discussion – for example, you may choose to introduce some
kind of brief activity where you divide people into groups to wrestle with particularly
interesting concepts before bringing the class back together to discuss the results of those
group meetings. The group that does the Phaedrus may opt to only do FOUR questions per
day for each of the three days.
Remember that the purpose of this assignment is to get you actively engaging these classic
pieces of rhetorical theory literature. Anything you do to encourage all of our better
understanding and interest in your chosen piece(s) will only better your grade both directly
and indirectly, as you will likely use at least some of these canon pieces in your papers and
you will have to know critical concepts from them for your quizzes.
Important note! – On the day you present, you do NOT have to turn in homework for the
reading. You presentation is your homework.
Quizzes
The quizzes will be short answer in format. They will be composed of key definitions and/or
concepts that you will have to define in a sentence or two. These quizzes are not meant to trip
you up, so don’t expect any trick questions. I merely want to make sure that you have a clear
grasp on the most important concepts from the lectures and the canon readings.
Papers
This course is naturally divided into three segments. For each of these segments, you will be
required to write a 4-5 page double spaced paper. There are a few options for how approach
this.
The Conversations Paper – Take two of the major theorists and compare and contrast their
ideas. Ask yourself, for example, “What would Aristotle have to say about Cicero’s notion of
the perfect orator?” A question like that could define the whole paper. For this, you can
approach each author equally, or you could, as this example question would lead to, view one
author through the lens of another. In other words, you could use the ideas of one author to
critique the other author’s idea(s).
A Dialectic between Great Minds – You could write two or more authors engaged in a
dialectic regarding a major rhetorical concept, much like Plato’s Phaedrus. This is not a
simple play, however. You are to represent each author’s thoughts and character as well as
you are able to and in detail. Since this takes a different format from a traditional paper, the
word count will be the same as a 4-5 page paper, even if it runs a bit longer (or shorter, if you
single space each author’s words). For reference, 4-5 pages is 1000-1250 words.
A Criticism – You may find a current piece of rhetoric (say, a Presidential speech or the
discourse surrounding a controversial issue like Chick Fil A’s stance on gay marriage), and
apply the major rhetorical concepts and ideas of one of the authors to that piece of rhetoric to
critique it. What would Plato say about a campaign speech by Obama, for example? An
option with this paper is to do it in the voice of the author – you may address Obama as Plato
OR you can opt to just use Plato’s ideas to critique the piece of rhetoric.
What I will be looking for and grading you on: These papers are to demonstrate your grasp of
the material that we read and to show that you can adequately apply the material to itself
and/or to other pieces of rhetoric. As such, I will be looking for you to demonstrate a strong
understanding of the material. How well do you express the ideas of the author(s) in your
own words? I will also be looking for how you apply these ideas. Is your application
accurate? Are your arguments regarding that application sound?
Also, I will of course be looking to see that your paper is mechanically sound. Is it well
organized? Do you have a clear thesis statement that is your argument? Do you back it up
with several main ideas that you adequately support with examples from the text and
elsewhere, if you use outside sources? Is the paper grammatically sound?
In several cases, we do not read the entirety of a major author’s work(s). You will VERY
likely have to go beyond what you are required to read for class to do well on the paper. A
“B” paper rehashes what we’ve done for class and does a moderately decent job of that.
What separates an “A” paper from a “B” paper is that extra effort above and beyond what’s
already been required for class.
Course Policies
Attendance: I will take attendance at the start of every class. However, there is no set
penalty for missing a certain number of classes. In order to do well in the course, you must
be present and engaged. You CANNOT make up participation in activities and if you miss
too many classes, this will affect your participation grade. Also, you CANNOT make up
missed homework from unexcused absences, and that will count against your grade as well.
If you miss class due to an excused absence as defined by the university, provide the proper
documentation and be prepared to schedule a date to make up any work may have missed.
Note that some class work may be difficult to recreate and it will be your responsibility to get
notes from classmates in an effort to catch up. Excused documentation and make up work
must be in my hands within seven days of the absence.
Academic Integrity
This syllabus is a contract of understanding between professor and student. If the
assignments and grading system are not acceptable, then the student needs to negotiate a
change by midnight Sunday on the second week of class or accept the rules as written.
Code of Academic Integrity
FIU’s Code of Academic Integrity
(http://www2.fiu.edu/~oabp/misconductweb/1acmisconductproc.htm) was adopted by the
Student Government Association on November 28, 2001 and reflects the values articulated in
the Student Code of Standards.
Florida International University is a community dedicated to generating and imparting
knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of
ideas, and community service. All students should respect the right of others to have an
equitable opportunity to learn and honestly to demonstrate the quality of their learning.
Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which
demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of
Florida International University.
As a student of this university:
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I will be honest in my academic endeavors.
I will not represent someone else's work as my own.
I will not cheat, nor will I aid in another's cheating.
All students are deemed by the university to understand that if they are found responsible for
academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Code of Academic Integrity’s procedures
and sanctions, as outlined in the FIU Student Handbook. Students have the right to due
process in all disciplinary situations. For additional information concerning student rights and
responsibilities, please contact FIU’s Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution.
Florida International University Student Code of Standards
A University is a learning community following a tradition more than 1,000 years old.
Florida International University is such a community dedicated to generating and imparting
knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of
ideas, and community service. As a member of this community:
 I will respect the tradition of academic inquiry, the University’s rules of conduct, and
its mission.
 I will respect the opinions and differences of all members of the FIU community.
 I will practice civility and demonstrate conduct that reflects the values of the
institution.
 I will be diligent and honest in my personal and academic endeavors.
The FIU Student Handbook outlines the Student Code of Conduct regarding students with
disruptive behavior.
Website: www.fiu.edu/~sccr/docs/disruptive_brochure.doc
Policy for Assigning and Incomplete “I” Grade
An incomplete grade is a temporary symbol given for work not completed because of serious
interruption not caused by the student's own negligence. An incomplete must be made up as
quickly as possible, but no later than two consecutive semesters after the initial taking of the
course or it will automatically default to an "F" or the grade that the student earned in the course.
There is no extension of the two semester deadline. The student must not register again for the
course to make up the incomplete. Students who have incomplete grades on their records must
remove the incomplete by the end of the fourth week of the term in which they plan to graduate.
Failure to do so will result in a cancellation of graduation.
Incompletes are awarded only if the student has completed most of the course work. If a
student misses a significant portion of the course work, he/she should drop the course. If the
drop period has ended, the student may petition for a withdrawal—this requires the student to
un-enroll in all of their courses for that semester.
Incompletes are not to be used because a student took on too many credits and they cannot
complete everything that is now required of them. In such cases where the course instructor
determines that it appropriate to award a student a grade of "I" (incomplete) the following
steps must be followed.
Using an Official University Form the course instructor will report the following:
1. The grade earned by the student to date
2. The missing work and the percentage of the final grade it represents (this requires
the details of the specific missing assignment)
3. The date the instructor expects the missing work to be submitted or in the case of an
examination made up
4. The justification for awarding the grade of "I"
5. Have the student sign the form
6. Submit this form to the Department Chair and Dean and maintain a copy for instructor
records and provide a copy for the student
7. Upon satisfying the requirements for a grade the instructor will sign off on the form
and attach it to the change of grade form she or he will submit.
Religious Holidays
The University's policy on religious holy days as stated in the University Catalog and Student
Handbook will be followed in this class. Any student may request to be excused from a class
to observe a religious holy day of his or her faith.
Disability Notice
I understand that there is Office of Disability Services available to me should I need it. It is
my responsibility to contact them to process my request to have my needs met. I need to
follow their procedures as to proper notification to the instructor.
Additional Notes

There will be oral presentations of material in this class (specifically, the Canon
Presentation). Thus I must ask that when speaking, you should be especially
conscious of biased language and should avoid references that reflect stereotypes of
gender, race, age, handicap, lifestyle, national origin, or any other quality of
individual and/or group diversity.
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All written assignments are to be typed. I will not accept work that is not typed. All
assignments are due at the beginning of the class period on the day they are to be
turned in. Unexcused late work will be penalized by 1 letter grade per day that it is
late starting with the day it was due at my discretion. If unexcused work is late, I
reserve the right to not accept it. I WILL NOT accept late homework due to an
unexcused absence. A problem with your printer is not an excuse. If this is the case,
there are computer labs in many buildings including the library. Make use of them if
you have to.

Please turn off all cell phones and pagers when in this classroom. This includes
vibrate. If I can hear the phone alerting you that someone is trying to reach you, my
policy is to answer that phone for you. However, to be fair if MY phone rings during
class, one of you will be allowed to answer it. Accidents happen, but on the whole
leaving a cell phone on while in a meeting such as class is rude. In the classroom it
will embarrass you, but in the corporate world it could cost you respect and
credibility.
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Chronic late arrivals (10 minutes late or more) undermine the flow of the course, so
please make sure to arrive on time. If late arrivals persist, they will count against
your participation grade as you are not only participating less yourself, but you are
also inhibiting the participation of others to some degree by your disruption of class.

Firearms and alcohol are not permitted in this classroom. Animals must be cleared by
me.
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This syllabus is our contract. By reading it and opting to remain in the class, you are
agreeing to be bound to it. However, that means that I too am bound to it. I will not
significantly alter the schedule or the assignments without first running it by you.
Final Note
In many of my classes, I work very hard to illustrate how the material from the classroom is
directly applicable to your lives. However, such value here is more ephemeral and less
readily grasped. What you will study in this class is the theory that undergirds much of what
you have already learned and will learn in Communication or English. This is the study of
persuasion as many of the world’s greatest philosophers have considered it over the past
couple thousand years, and as you will learn in the course of this class, that statement only
scratches the surface of what rhetoric is and what it can be. When you finish this class, it is
my hope that you will have a deeper appreciation for the power of the spoken and the written
word and how each works to shape the world we live in, if not our very perception of reality.
This I feel you can carry with you to any class and any life experience – more, I think this
will forever affect how you perceive your communication and the communication of others.
That is the practical application of the course, and it may very well be more applicable than
many other courses you will ever take.
COM 321 Course Schedule
Date
8/20
8/22
8/24
8/27
8/29
8/31
9/3
9/5
9/7
9/10
9/12
9/14
Topic
Introduction, Syllabus
Overview of Rhetoric
The Origins of Rhetoric –and The
Sophists
Relevant Text Reading: 1-7
Gorgias & Isocrates
READ: PDF
Plato vs The Sophists
Relevant Text Reading: 1-7
Plato’s Phaedrus part 1
READ: Beginning to “Phaedr. He is
close at hand, and always at your
service.” (Just before third long speech)
WEBSITE
LABOR DAY
Plato’s Phaedrus part 2
READ: Beginning of third long speech
to “Phaedr. And what are these
arguments, Socrates? Bring them out
that we may examine them.”
Plato’s Phaedrus part 3
READ: Finish the Phaedrus
Aristotle on Rhetoric
Relevant Text Reading: 7-13
Aristotle’s Rhetoric
READ: Book I, Ch 1-4; Book 2, Ch 13; Book 3, Ch 1 from WEBSITE
Rhetoric at Rome
Relevant Text Reading: 15-17
Homework/Assignments
NO CLASS
9/17
9/19
9/21
9/24
9/26
9/28
10/1
10/3
10/5
10/8
10/10
10/12
10/15
10/17
10/19
10/22
10/24
10/26
10/29
10/31
11/2
11/5
11/7
11/9
Cicero’s De Oratore
READP PDF
Quintilian’s Instituio Oratoria
READ: PDF
Paper 1 Rough Draft Day
Quiz 1: Classical Rhetoric Definitions
Rhetoric in Christian Europe
Relevant Text Reading: 21-23
Paper 1 Due
St Augustine
READ: PDF
Renaissance Rhetoric
Christine de Pizan, Margaret Fell
READ: PDF
Peter Ramus
READ: PDF
Enlightenment Rhetorics
Relevant Text Reading: pp 23-32
Richard Whately
READ: PDF
Paper 2 Rough Draft Day
Quiz 2: Medieval Rhetoric
Definitions
Contemporary Rhetoric I
READ: PDF
Relevant Text Reading: Ch 3
Movie: Flock of Dodos
Movie: Flock of Dodos
Movie: Flock of Dodos
Paper 2 Due
Stephen Toulmin
READ: PDF
Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca
READ: PDF
Contemporary Rhetoric II
READ: PDF
Relevant Text Reading: Ch 3
Kenneth Burke: Literary Form
READ: PDF
Kenneth Burke Cont’d: Grammar,
Bring a GOOD working outline
or your rough draft to discuss in
groups. Not having one will
result in a 5% paper grade
penalty.
Informal Paper Presentations
Bring a GOOD working outline
or your rough draft to discuss in
groups. Not having one will
result in a 5% paper grade
penalty.
Informal Paper Presentations
11/12
11/14
11/16
11/19
11/21
11/23
11/26
11/28
11/30
12/7
Rhetoric, Terministic Screens
READ: PDF
VETERAN’S DAY
Contemporary Rhetoric III
READ: PDF
Relevant Text Reading: Ch 3
No Class: Dr. T at NCA
Michel Foucault – The Discourse on
Language
READ: PDF
Paper 3 Rough Draft Day
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Feminist Rhetoric: Cixous
READ: PDF File
Feminist Rhetoric: Campbell
READ: PDF File
Quiz 3: Contemporary Rhetoric
Definitions
Final Exam: Paper 3 Due.
NOTE: You may turn in Paper 3 any
day earlier than this if you wish to get
it out of the way. This is the
scheduled day of what would be our
final exam and thus serves as the
deadline for it.
NO CLASS
Bring a GOOD working outline
or your rough draft to discuss in
groups. Not having one will
result in a 5% paper grade
penalty.
NO CLASS
Optional: Turn Paper 3 in
Informal Paper Presentations