Weekly Schedule
Meets Tuesday & Thursday, 4-5:15pm
Office hours by appointment--laoster@ilstu.edu
Week 1
Thursday, August 28
What are techniques of persuasion? what is rhetoric? why do we study
these? why are they interesting
Homework for 9/2: Read Crowley, pages 1-17 (handout)
Week 2
Tuesday, September 2
Homework for 9/4: Herrick (handout) pages 1-15
Thursday, September 4
Homework for 9/9: Read Herrick (handout), pages15 (bottom of page)-25. Writing Exercise: choose one idea from the reading that you find particularily interesting. Why is this idea interesting? What can this idea tell you about how people may be persuaded? Write one page (typed or word processed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12pt. font).
Week 3
Tuesday, September 9
We will discuss and then I will collect your short writing exercise.
Homework for 9/11: Go to the links on this page and find the link dealing with the rhetoric of 9-11. Find a speech (written or spoken and read/listen to that speech a couple of times. As you go through this speech, look to how the speaker is persuading the audience (who is the original audience for this text?) to think, feel, or act in a particular way. Analyze the speaker's approach to this event. What is s/he attempting to do in speaking? How does the speaker construct the world before and after this event, and why? Write a single page analysis of the speech (typed or word processed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12pt. font).
Thursday, September 11
Examining the rhetoric of 9-11 (memorials, speeches, commemorations,
buildings and monuments, actions)
I will collect your short writing exercise about the rhetoric of 9-11
Homework for 9-16: Start working on ideas for your short paper and/or find an issue that you will write about and analyze all semester.
Week 4
Tuesday, September 16
Ethos. Homework for 9-18: begin working on Short paper #1. Read handout on ethos;
Thursday, September 18
Ethos (continued). Homework for 9-23: continue working on Short paper #1
Week 5
Tuesday, September 23
Ethos (continued). Homework for 9-25: finish refining Short paper #1, bring a copy to give to me to class, and come prepared to discuss your paper with the class on Thursday.
Thursday, September 25
Ethos (continued). We will begin class by discussing the short papers
and then I will collect those assignments.
Homework for 9-30: Read handout. Read Cialdini (textbook) pages 143-161.Short
paper #2.
Week 6
Tuesday, September 30
No Class. I have a professional obligation that I cannot get out of.
Thursday, October 2
Pathos (continued). Homework for 10-7: Continue working on Short paper #2. Writing Exercise: choose one idea from the reading that you find particularily interesting. Why is this idea interesting? What can this idea tell you about how people may be persuaded? Write one page (typed or word processed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12pt. font).
Week 7
Tuesday, October 7
Pathos (continued). We will discuss what you wrote for your writing exercise
and then I will collect these.
Homework for 10-14: Finish your Short paper #2, bring a copy to class
for me to collect, come prepared to discuss what you wrote for this paper
Thursday, October 9
Fall Break.
Week 8
Tuesday, October 14
Pathos (continued). We will discuss what you wrote for Short paper #2
and then I will collect them.
Homework for 10-16: Read handout.
Thursday, October 16
Logos and Logical Appeals.
Homework for 10-21: Begin working on Short paper #3
Week 9
Tuesday, October 21
Logos (continued). Logical Appeals... preparing for debate
Homework for 10-23: continue reparing/researching/rehearsing/strategizing your part in the debate. Writing Exercise: write a single page (typed or word processed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12pt. font) in which you describe the rhetorical strategies you and your debate team will use. Bring a copy of this to class on Thursday for me to collect.
Thursday, October 23
Logos (continued). I will collect the writing exercise at the beginning of class.
Homework for 10-28: Prepare your timed remarks and begin brainstorming possible rebuttals to remarks the other team might make.
Updated Schedule 11/03/03
Week 10
Tuesday, October 28
Bowling for Columbine--Michael Moore, the rhetor.
Thursday, October 30
Bowling for Columbine--continued.
Homework for 11/4: Read handout. Write 1-2 pages answering the following questions: how does Moore establish his ethos with his audience? How does he effect how we view the ethos of others in the movie? What kinds of pathetic appeals does he make? What kinds of logical appeals does he make?
Week 11
Tuesday, November 4
Kairos & Prepping the Class Debate(s).
Homework for 11/11: Begin working on Paper #4. Prep your part of the debate and be prepared to discuss your role and strategies with your team.
Thursday, November 6
NO CLASS!
Please make a note that we will not meet in class tonight, but you will want to email your team over the weekend to discuss the debate and what you anticipate the opposition arguing.
Week 12
Tuesday, November 11
Kairos. Turn in Short Paper #3. I will also give you time to meet with your team in class.
Homework for 11/13: Be prepared to debate on Thursday.
Thursday, November 13
Class Debate(s) Today.
Homework for 11/18: Continue working on Paper #4. Read Handout.
Week 13
Tuesday, November 18
Two Links: A short definition & A longer one.
Homework for 11/20: Read handout (Jeff Boring and Annette Potter Papers). Be prepared to talk about how these author's approach their analyses, including opening strategies (how they introduce the topic), ratio of description of the text(s) to analysis of those works, ratio of information from the readings to the use of that information, organization, and closing strategies (how they conclude). We will be using these works to discuss how to approach writing the final project.
Thursday, November 20
Reading rhetorically. Short paper #4 has been cancelled so that you can spend more time working on your final projects...
Homework for 11/25: Before break I'd like to get a feel for what your final project might look like. Bring in a 3-5 page draft of your project (two copies, please). Please be aware that failure to produce a draft and/or attend the peer review on Tuesday may seriously affect your grade on the final project.
Week 14
Tuesday, November 25
Peer Review of Final Projects. In class you will peer review one another's work, offering constructive comments for how your classmates might revise/refine/improve their projects. I will also collect a copy of your work to respond to, so make sure you bring in 2 copies of your text. Note: failure to participate in peer reviews and/or hand in early drafts of your work may jeopardize the grade you earn on the final project.
Thursday, November 27
No Class--Thanksgiving Break.
Week 15
Tuesday, December 2
Reading rhetorically.
Homework for 12-4: TBA
Thursday, December 4
Reading rhetorically, discussing portfolio requirements, and the analytical cover letter. Sign up for a day to present on your final project.
Homework for 12-9: Prepare a presentation on your final project. You do not need to have all of this project completed, but you should be able to speak for 5 minutes about what you are working on, what you have discovered thus far, what rhetorical strategies people who discuss your issue use in their discussion. Have some of the texts you're analyzing in class to pass around. This is a speech class, afterall, so be prepared to lecture us about your project; however, since the context of this speech is a classroom, you may dress casually, sit while you present, and teach (rather than preach to) us.
Week 16
Tuesday, December 9
Class Presentations & optional grade conferences
Homework for 12/18: Look back over the semester and over the enormous
amount of work you have done thus far. It's not over yet, but I'd like
you to begin preparing the coverletter
that you will include with your final project. In that cover letter you
should answer (thoroughly and analytically) the questions from the link
above.
Thursday, December 11
Class Presentations--conference sign up day.
Week 17
Tuesday, December 16
Conference Day (sign up for an optional conference to discuss your project or your portfolio)
Thursday, December 18
Last Day of Classes & last day to hand in final projects and coverletters (Drop off your work from 4:00-4:30).
