INSTRUCTOR: Stephen Owens

OFFICE: JO 4.118 (Just across the hall. Office says "Writing Program")

OFFICE HOURS: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:15 - 1:15 p.m.

E-MAIL: SOwens2203@aol.com

RHETORIC PROGRAM WEBSITE: http://lingua.utdallas.edu/rhetoric

COURSE DESCRIPTION

How could a new definition for "arguing" make a major difference in your life?

How might bickering lovers find a vital new way to communicate?

What skills does a rhetoric course offer essential for career success in the twenty-first century?

If asked to do so, could you explain -- with precision -- what your major assumptions are about life and how you view reality? Could you provide this information regarding other people?

How is a rhetoric course linked to making you more powerful?

Consider this scenario: As a Jew during World War II, you are asked to forgive a Nazi soldier for his Holocaust atrocities. Could you do it? On what factors would you base your decision?

You will examine these questions and many others in this course on critical thinking. Your coursework will take an integrated approach to writing by exploring numerous ways you can understand and dissect both the arguments of others and your own. Strategies explored will include tapping logic and various enriched forms of argument, getting "inside" someone else's head to understand how that person views the world, grasping how we and others argue when we incorporate the whole person, and opening ourselves to shifting paradigms.

You will learn to read texts critically according to key components, such as claims, grounds and implicit assumptions. You will also have the chance to pose recurrent questions to sharpen your ways not only of thinking, but of imagining. Among these recurrent questions: Why do people argue in the first place? Why is it that some disputes seem never to be resolved?

Throughout this course, you will explore several avenues to enhance learning. These include reading essays, participating in class discussions, taking part in peer writing groups, and conferencing with me. You will write and revise four papers based on issues raised in the various texts you will read during the semester, including your own research. The assignments will offer extensive practice in reading and writing with critical skill.

In addition to boosting skills in critical thinking, this course offers a second benefit. This benefit is enhancing your personal power. People who think and argue clearly, write with precision and speak articulately are more able to know themselves, work well with others, and achieve their goals. In this sense, a rhetoric course is the foundation for all of the personal power you can generate through all of the specialized subject courses you may take in college and beyond. Personal power is not power over others. It is the power to control our own destiny.

REQUIRED TEXTS AND OTHER ITEMS

Crusius, Timothy W. and Carolyn E. Channell. The Aims of Argument: A Rhetoric and Reader.

Third Edition.

Hult, Christine A. and Thomas N. Huckin. The New Century Handbook.

Take Note! The Fastest, Smartest Way to Write Research Papers.

Wisenthal, Simon. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness. New York:

Schocken Books, 1998.

Formatted cassette disks, as needed.

ATTENDANCE

Participation is vital to your success in Rhetoric 1302. As a result, you should plan to attend every class. If you miss more than three classes, I will deduct a full letter grade from your overall course grade for each additional class that you miss.

OBLIGATIONS OF STUDENTS

My practice is to start classes on time, so please be aware of this. I will take class attendance each session. If you do arrive late (and I anticipate you will not), remind me of your attendance at the end of class. If you do not remind me, you will likely be listed as absent.

I expect that you will arrive in class with assignments completed, prepared to commit to discussions, and ready to work. If this is not the case, I may give graded spot quizzes.

If you decide to drop this course, you must formally notify the registrar. I do not withdraw students. Consequently, if you simply stop coming to classes you will likely end the semester with a failing grade. If you miss a class, you are responsible for knowing what the assignments are and for completing them on deadline. Please do not expect me to provide you with this information. Take time this class to get the names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of three other students from whom you can obtain this information if necessary. In addition, I may make changes in the syllabus as the semester advances, based on student needs, interests and other factors. I will announce any changes in class, and it is your responsibility to be aware of them.

OFFICE HOURS

I have regularly scheduled office hours ever week, and you can also arrange to see me at other times if necessary. My office hours belong to you just as much as our class time does. Don't hesitate to take advantage of my help.

MANDATORY CONFERENCES

Note that each student in this class is required to have at least two conferences with me during the semester. The purpose of these meetings will be to assess your writing progress. You must attend these meetings and you should come prepared for our discussion. You will not receive additional course points for attending, but I will deduce 100 points from your course total for each conference that you miss. As a result, make careful note of your specific conference times.

GRADES

Your course grade will be determined based on the following model:

A . . . 93 - 100%

B . . . 85 - 92%

C . . . 77 - 84%

D . . . 70 - 76%

F . . . 69% or below

Each of the four major essays you write (arguing to inquire, convince, persuade and negotiate) will be worth 100 points maximum for the first version, and 100 points maximum for the second version.

In addition, I may make additional writing assignments as the course proceeds, including grammar and style quizzes and rewrite exercises.

DUE DATES FOR MAJOR PROJECTS

Arguing to Inquire: Version One: September 14

Version Two: September 21

Essay to Convince: Version One: October 3

Version Two: October 10

Essay to Persuade: Version One: October 26

Version Two: November 7

Essay to Negotiate: Version One: November 28

Version Two: December 5

In addition, you will be required to do a number of reading assignments. Reading and additional writing assignments may take considerable time and you will often have to complete them while you are also working on your major essay projects. As a result, you should plan your time well to avoid the classic college "crunch."

Please submit all major essays by e-mail, unless I ask you to do otherwise. Assignments are due by the start of class on the assignment due date. I will expect you to submit all assignments on time. No assignment may be more than one day late, and the grade for any such assignment will be reduced 15 percent from the score otherwise attained.

CONTACTING ME

Although there are phones in the rhetoric office, they are used by several instructors, and I am not on campus every day. As a result, I ask you not try to reach me by telephone. If you need to talk with me, please contact me by e-mail. Please be patient. I will contact you as soon as possible, but be aware that my schedule is busy.

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is the presentation of another person's work as your own, whether you mean to do this or not. Copying or paraphrasing passages from another writer's work without acknowledging that you have done so constitutes plagiarism. Allowing another writer to write any part of your essay is plagiarism. Downloading an essay from the Internet falls into the same category.

Plagiarism is a serious offense, and may result in your failing this course. If you do it, I will likely know or find out. Yet this problem is easy to avoid. Simply acknowledge the sources of any words, phrases or ideas that you use which are not your own. If you are not sure how to quote or paraphrase a source of if you need help with the format of parenthetical documentation, check with me. While you can (and should) seek the help and advice of friends, classmates, and tutors, be sure that your written work is completely your own.

SYLLABUS

Week One:

Thursday, August 24: Introductions. What is rhetoric? Course syllabus and requirements.

Assignments: Send me an e-mail at SOwens2203@aol.com.; read Aims, chapters 1 and 2.

Week Two:

Tuesday, August 29: Discussion of chapter 1 Aims; in-class reading and discussion of Quindlen

essay.

Assignment: Read Aims, Chapter 3 on Toulmin diagrams, excluding Amber Young essay.

Thursday, August 31: Discuss Toulmin diagrams.

Assignment: Read Amber Young essay, pp. 31-36.

Week Three:

Tuesday, September 5: Discuss Amber Young essay.

Assignments: Read Aims, Chapter 4, up to and including Michael Levin's. Begin thinking

about your topic for your essay to inquire.

Thursday, September 7: Discuss Chapter 4, including Levin's essay.

Assignment: Read Aims, pp. 43-68.

Week Four:

Tuesday, September 12: Discuss Murchison and Tarver essays. Peer group discussion of your

chosen subject for your essay to inquire.

Thursday, September 14: Version One of Essay to Inquire due. Discussion of

paradigm-shifting.

Assignment: Read Aims, Chapter 5, pp. 69-78.

Guideline notes for essay: All four essays must be research-based, on a subject of your choice. The length of each essay should be long enough to provide an informed discussion of your topic.

Be certain to provide an interesting title and to follow this example in naming your file: Inquire1 - Hernandez. Submit your essay by e-mail as an attachment

For this essay only, your claim will appear at the end of your essay. Note that is quite easy to misunderstand the format for an essay to inquire. Consult the guidelines in your text carefully. In addition, be sure to fully examine all the arguments you discuss. Failure to do this is one of the most common mistakes that student writers make.

For any of the four major essays, you do not need to submit a rewrite if your grade on the first version is 93 or above. If you do not submit a rewrite in this situation, your grade for the second version will be the same as for the first. If you do, you have the chance to notch your grade for the second version higher. For students receiving a grade of 92 or below, submitting a second version of these essays is required.

Week Five:

Tuesday, September 19: Essay to inquire returned. Discussion of Chapter 5 reading assignment,

including O'Keefe essay.

Assignment: Read Aims, Chapter 5, pp. 78-102.

Thursday, September 21: Second version of Essay to Inquire due. Further discussion of

Chapter 5.

Assignment: Spidel essay, pp. 102-106.

Note that successful second versions of papers will involve not only rewriting on the technical level, but revising more substantively.

Please name this file as in this example: Inquire2 - Hernandez.

Week Six:

Tuesday, September 26: Discuss Spidel essay.

Assignment: Work on upcoming Essay to Convince.

Thursday, September 28: Student conferences.

Assignment: Read Aims, Chapter 6, 107-125.

Week Seven:

Tuesday, October 3: First version of Essay to Convince due. Student conferences.

Assignments: Read Aims, Chapter 6, pp. 125-142.

Guideline notes for essay: For the other three essays you will write, your claim should appear as the last sentence in your introductory paragraph. This change signals a significant but subtle difference in format between your essay to inquire and your other major assignments. Once again, provide an interesting title for all essays.

Keep in mind your need to give serious consideration to arguments which run counter to your claim. Without your showing the reader that you fully understand counter-arguments and specifically why they do not invalidate your claim, your effort to be convincing will likely fail.

You should keep this caution in mind not only for this essay, but for all the rest of the essays you write during this course.

Please name this file when you e-mail as in this example: Convince1 - Hernandez.

Thursday, October 5: Discuss Chapter 6, including King essay.

Assignment: Read Chapter 6, Joey Shanks essay, pp. 142-146.

Week Eight:

Tuesday, October 10: Second version of Essay to Convince due. Discuss Shanks essay.

Assignment: Read Gomes essay from Aims.

Thursday, October 12: Discuss Gomes essay.

Assignment: Read The Sunflower.

Week Nine:

Tuesday, October 17: Begin discussion of The Sunflower.

Assignment: Finish The Sunflower.

Thursday, October 19: Further discussion of The Sunflower.

Week Ten:

Tuesday, October 24: Further discussion of The Sunflower.

Assignment: Complete first version of Essay to Persuade. Read essay as assigned.

Thursday, October 26: Version One of Essay to Persuade due. Discussion of assigned essay.

Assignment: Read essay as assigned.

Guidelines for this essay: Note particularly that an essay to persuade is intended to appeal to the whole person, which means invoking an emotional appeal as well. You must pay special attention to this in order to complete this assignment successfully.

Please e-mail this assignment as in this example: Persuade1 - Hernandez.

Week Eleven:

Tuesday, October 31: Discuss assigned essay.

Assignment: Read essays by Lame Deer and the Union of Concerned Scientists (handouts).

Thursday, November 2: Discussion of Lame Deer essay and essay by UCS.

Assignment: Essay as assigned.

Week Twelve:

Tuesday, November 7: Version Two of Essay to Persuade due. Discussion of assigned

readings.

Assignment: To be determined.

Sample file name for essay: Persuade2 - Hernandez.

Thursday, November 9: Discussion of assigned readings.

Week Twelve-A (but who is superstitious anyway?):

Tuesday, November 14: Student conferences.

Assignment: Read Aims, Chapter 7, including Rosenblatt essay.

Thursday, November 16: Student conferences.

Week Fourteen:

Tuesday, November 21: Discussion of Chapter 7 and of Rosenblatt essay. Peer discussion of

your planned project for Essay to Negotiate.

Assignment: Read Aims, Chapter 8, pp. 191-220.

Thursday, November 23: Thanksgiving. Eat hearty!

Week Fifteen:

Tuesday, November 28: First version of Essay to Negotiate due. Discussion of visual rhetoric.

Assignment: Write an analysis of an ad or editorial cartoon.

Guidelines for this essay: Note that an essay to negotiate or to mediate has specific format requirements. In addition, it is essential, once again, that you convincingly present all sides of an issue, if your proposed solution is to be convincing to readers.

Please name this file as in this example: Negotiate1 - Hernandez.

Thursday, November 30: Discussion of ad/cartoon analyses. Course evaluations.

Note: Final version of Essay to Negotiate due at classtime on Tuesday, December 5.

Sample file name: Negotiate2 - Hernandez.

Have a wonderful, powerful, enjoyable semester!