ENG 353 Rhetorical Histories and Traditions:
Rhetors, Pedagogues, and Power in the Context of Education
Dr. Jim Bowman, Spring 2010, St. John Fisher College
Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:45-3:05 in Basil Hall 118
Instructor’s Office:
Basil 115, directly above Cyber Café
Email:
jbowman@sjfc.edu
Office Phone:
(585) 899-3791
Office Hours:
Mondays 1-2 p.m. and Wednesdays 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
If these hours do not fit your schedule, please contact me to arrange another time to meet.
To study rhetoric becomes a way of studying humans. Rhetoric becomes for me the
complete study of language, the study of the ways in which peoples have
accomplished all that has been accomplished beyond the instinctual. There were the
ancient greats saying that there was political import to the use of language. There
were the modern greats saying that how one comes to know is at least mediated by
language, maybe even constituted in language. There were the pragmatic
applications. There was the possibility that in teaching writing and in teaching
rhetoric as conscious considerations of language use I could help others like myself:
players with language, victims of the language of failure (Villanueva 77)
Course Overview
This course studies texts from the ancient and modern traditions of rhetoric to understand how key
concepts—like invention, organization, style, appeals, ethos, and purpose—have been defined by
rhetoricians and deployed as educational practice. For the purposes of this course, education refers
to any sustained discussion of teaching or learning that falls within the purview of our readings. As
we will soon see, that is a lot of territory. The readings selected in the classical and modern eras may
cover topics like the ethics of teaching (Plato and Isocrates), the relationship of love to education
(Plato, hooks) ideal child-rearing and language-training practices (Quintilian), the training of
preachers (Augustine), peasant literacy (Freire), curriculum design for a humanities course (Vico),
the role of race in rhetoric and education (Villanueva, Jones-Royster) and how to effect social
transformation (Gramsci), to name just a few.
For the first several weeks of the course, we will examine well-known rhetorical works from the
ancient world to gather a sense of the deep roots in the relationship between rhetoric and education.
In addition to regular short-writing assignments in response to readings, we will complete one
critical analysis essay about a text of your choice from antiquity. In the following unit, our focus will
shift to more contemporary rhetorical theories of education, covering a range of issues. Whether we
are examining the training of dancers, warriors, peace activists, lawyers, poets, bloggers, or social
networkers, an overarching concern will be the ethics of education: who gets taught what and why?
What does this reveal about the material inequality in access to education on local, national, and
global levels?
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COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
Assignments
Weekly Reader
Response Blogs
on Assigned
Topics/Texts
Discussion Leader
on Assigned
Topics/Texts
Brief Explanation
In order to demonstrate your understanding of the assigned texts
and topics, we will blog to respond to course readings and other
prompts. These will function as required homework assignments
and will be graded for their thoroughness, depth, and quality.
Blog entries should be the equivalent of one single-spaced page
of text, so approximately 300-500 words. We should have about
5 blog entries total, but this number may vary.
This assignment serves multiple purposes. First, it gives you each
practice in presenting in front of peers and facilitating a
discussion—a valuable skill for those with majors or minors in a
communications-based discipline. You will work with partners to
present material and lead a discussion on a given topic and/or
text, so you and a partner will have about 20-30 minutes of class
time to prep for.
This essay explores an idea from one of the texts we will cover
Critical Analysis of from the ancient traditions of rhetoric. By “critical analysis,” I
an Educational
mean for you to write an essay that explain how the idea has
Topic (Ancient
been constructed in the text and makes an argument about the
Rhetoric)
value of this idea, the effectiveness of its presentation, or its
continuing applicability to today’s students of rhetorical theory.
The essay needs to be a minimum of 5 pages, double-spaced.
Critical Analysis of
an Educational
Topic
(Contemporary
Rhetoric)
15%
150 points
total
5%
50 points
10%
100 points
See above, but you will be writing about a text and/or topic from
the modern era, where the focus becomes communication,
15%
identification, and interaction rather than the classically-defined
150 points
orator-audience relationship. The essay needs to be a minimum
of 5 pages, double-spaced.
Term Project on
Student-Selected
Educational
Topics
See description below of rhetorical engagement with an
educational site. Using course readings and some research, you
will write an essay applying ancient and modern ideas about the
rhetoric and education to the context of an educational site of
your choosing. Students will collaborate on research and writing.
(8-10 pages, double-spaced)
Oral Report on
Term Projects
Pairs will present their research to classmates in the closing
weeks of the term.
Final Exam
Value
A short answer and essay exam synthesizing ideas from the
ancient and modern eras of rhetoric and from our application of
these ideas to contemporary sites of learning.
25%
250 points
10%
100 points
20%
200 points
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Term Project: Rhetorical Engagement with Education
You will work collaboratively (groups of 2-3) on a term project that examines an educational
program, movement, institution, or learning environment. You will research and analyze a social site
where education and learning happens regularly—an adult literacy center, a jobs training program,
athletic camps, graduate school programs, driving school, a writers’ workshop in a prison, a modern
dance class. After selecting a site to focus on, you should form several research questions related to
course themes, ideally emerging from your study of rhetorical theories relevant to this particular
group. Finally, you should make contact with the group and arrange an on-site visit and an interview
with one or more members of the organization to discover more about the way they use language to
create an identity and achieve the goals of their organization. Each student will write a reflective
report about what they learned through the process and how rhetoric informed their study and
participation.
Required Text and Materials
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Villanueva, Victor. Bootstraps: From An American Academic of Color. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1993.
Available at Bookstore for $18.95 new, some copies used for less.
Select readings made available through Blackboard at the beginning of each unit.
Regular internet access for research and to follow course developments via Blackboard.
Requirements for Assignments
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In- and out-of-class writing and other work will be assigned throughout the course. Students not
in class when writing is assigned are still responsible for meeting specified deadlines.
Late work will not be accepted without penalty unless students make arrangements for an
extension before the due date. Papers and missed presentations will be marked down one
letter grade for each day they are late.
Students must keep copies of all drafts and assignments until after semester’s end—electronic
copies are fine, but do make back-ups of your work. Posting your drafts to Blackboard, as
required, takes care of most of this concern.
Drafts should show significant changes in purpose, audience, organization, or evidence.
All drafts of major assignments must be typed and double-spaced with numbered pages and a
title. Other formatting requirements will be explained on assignment sheets for specific tasks. As
a general rule, you will need to use a standard font size (Times New Roman, 12-point font) and
one-inch margins for each document.
Blackboard and Instructional Technology
Assignments, daily notes, homework tasks, most course readings, and other material will be posted
regularly on Blackboard. All drafts of major assignments will be submitted on Blackboard rather
than as hard copies, although you may be asked to print drafts of major assignments for purposes of
peer review. Peer reviews will often be conducted entirely through Blackboard. In the case of
absence, please first refer to Blackboard for homework assignments. I also recommend contacting a
peer from class to explain any items you are not clear about; if you still need assistance contact me
via email or office hours for further clarification.
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Attendance
Attendance is mandatory. Writing courses are workshop classes that include in-class writing, peer
group work, and conferences. Therefore, students should not be late and should not miss classes.
Any class work missed as a result of tardiness or absence is the student’s responsibility to make up.
Students who miss more than four classes on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule may fail the
course, according to College policy. Late papers will not be accepted without a valid excuse. Illness,
family emergencies, religious holidays, and athletics (with a note specifying which event the student
must participate in on a certain date) constitute valid excuses. All holidays or special events observed
by organized religions will be honored for students who show affiliation with that particular religion.
Academic Honesty and Plagiarism
St. John Fisher College has a firm policy concerning academic dishonesty that includes, but is not
limited to, cheating, plagiarism, or any other action that misrepresents academic work as being one’s
own. Students are expected to demonstrate academic honesty in all coursework, whether completed
in class or not, individually, or as part of a group project. Violations of academic honesty include,
but are not limited to, cheating and plagiarism. Submitting an item of academic work that has
previously been submitted without fair citation of the original work or authorization by the faculty
member supervising the work is prohibited. All students are expected to be familiar with the details
of the Policy on Academic Honesty, which are found in the online Student Handbook at
http://www.sjfc.edu/global/pdf/StudentHandbook.pdf.
Extra Help with Writing
I encourage all students to take advantage of the SJFC Writing Center. When you visit,
consultants—other students with skill in writing and training on how to help you write better—
assist you with writing tasks from all disciplines and during all stages of the writing process.
Individualized service and extensive writer participation during tutorials enable students to become
more skillful writers. Resources include a lending library of style manuals, handbooks, dictionaries,
and workbooks. Computers and printers are also available for use during regular operating hours.
Hours vary by semester. Writing center services are free of charge to all Fisher students. To make an
appointment, visit https://tutortrac.sjfc.edu and follow the instructions. “Walk-ins” are welcome
but subject to consultant availability. The Writing Center is located on the top floor of the Academic
Gateway. Contact the Writing Center at 585-385-8151 for more information about this service.
Policy on Disabilities
In compliance with St. John Fisher College policy and applicable laws, appropriate academic
accommodations are available to you if you are a student with a disability. All requests for
accommodations must be supported by appropriate documentation/diagnosis and determined
reasonable by SJFC. Students with documented disabilities (physical, learning, psychological) and
who may need academic accommodations are advised to make an appointment with the
Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities in the Student Development Center, K211.
Late notification will delay requested accommodations.
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