English 353: The History of Rhetoric--Teaching and Learning

• Dr. Stephanie Kerschbaum
• email: kerschbaum@tamu.edu
• office: Blocker 221A
• office phone: Dial the Texas Relay at 711 and ask to be connected to my office phone, 845-2587
• office hours: M 9 a.m.-12 p.m.; W 2-4 p.m. and very cheerfully by appointment!
• If my office hours are not convenient to you, please don’t hesitate to contact me in person or via email or phone to set up another time that is mutually convenient.


• About this Course
• Prerequisite: ENGL 104
• Rhetoric as a course of study has had a profound impact on the landscape of literacy teaching and learning, from the Greek Sophists, who saw rhetoric as a way of shaping social reality, to Aristotle’s systematization of rhetorical theory, to Roman educators’ emphasis on rhetoric and the development of moral character, to the delicate linkage between rhetoric and Christian theology after St. Augustine, and to the more recent growth of rhetoric’s relationship with composition during the last two centuries. This class will investigate the rich and varied traditions of rhetorical study over the last three thousand years, focusing on the following questions:
  • • How was rhetoric conceived as a course of study, at different times, by different thinkers?
  • • What does a rhetorical curriculum look like?
  • • What methods were used to teach and study rhetoric?
  • • What was the importance of rhetorical study as it was defined by particular speakers?
  • and finally:
  • • Why study rhetoric?
  
  
• To investigate these questions, our semester will be divided into three units. In each unit, we will engage sets of rhetorical thinkers from the classical period up through the late nineteenth century, and we will reflect upon our own experiences learning rhetoric and writing. The first two units both culminate in a writing assignment that leads up to a research project that you will conduct in the final unit. The third unit builds on the first two by asking you to use the writing tools we are developing to conduct your own investigation on the practices of teaching and learning writing and rhetoric during a particular time period.



• Course Objectives
• Through your involvement in this course, you will:
• • discuss key developments in the history of rhetoric
• • locate rhetorical texts in their historical and social context(s)
• • situate diverging—even conflicting—rhetorical theories alongside one another
• • recognize strengths and limitations of any single approach to studying or teaching rhetoric
• • use rhetorical theory to engage issues around writing, teaching, and learning to write


• Required Text
• Patricia Bizzell & Bruce Herzberg, eds. The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from Classical Times to the Present. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001.



• Course Requirements & Grading
• Daily work (includes attendance, participation, homework assignments & quizzes) = 100 points
• Critical Summaries of each reading (300-500 words each) = 60 points
• Unit 1: Comparative Analysis Paper (750-1000 words) = 100 points
• Unit 2: Analysis of Saved! (750-1000 words) = 100 points
• Unit 3: Research Project on Teaching and Learning Rhetoric (2000 words) = 200 points
• Final Exam: “Why Study Rhetoric” Poster = 40 points


• TOTAL: 600 points
• A = 540-600
• B = 480-549
• C = 420-479
• D = 360-419
• F = 0-359



• Absence Policy
• More than two unexcused absences will affect your final participation grade by one point (out of 25) for each absence. That is, on your third absence, your participation grade will drop by 1 point; on your fourth, it will drop by 2 points, etc. See Student Rule 7 (student-rules.tamu.edu/rule7.htm) for information on what counts as an excused absence. I will expect your written absence excuse (doctor’s note, etc.) within a week of your return to class.



• Student Learning
• Your success in this class is important to me. If there are circumstances which may affect your performance in this class, let me know as soon as possible so that we can work together to develop strategies for adapting assignments to meet both your needs and the requirements of the course.



• Students With Disabilities
• "The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal antidiscrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Department of Student Life, Services for Students with Disabilities, in B-118 Cain Hall, or call 845-1637." (Student Rules publication).



• Honor Code
• This course, like all courses at A&M, is bound by the Aggie Code of Honor: “An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do.” (For more, see the Honor Council Rules and Procedures on the web at www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor.)