Rhet 24/LPS 24 William Lewis
Fall 2003 Howard 128
Office Hours: MRF 2-3:30, F 9-11 271-2194
or by appointment william.lewis@drake.edu
"To put it in a single word, I would say that our subject is rhetoric, if by that is meant the study of the ways in which character and communityÑand motive, value, reason, social structure, everything, in short, that makes a cultureÑare defined and made real in performances of language."
James Boyd White, When Words Lose their Meaning: Constitutions and Reconstitutions of Language, Character, and Community, x-xi.
"The history of liberal education is the story of a debate between orators and philosophers."
Bruce A. Kimball, Orators and Philosophers: A History of the Idea of Liberal Education, 2
Plato, Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo
(These dialogues are also available, in somewhat different form, at various places on the web. See suggestions on the Blackboard site.)
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Eloquence in an Electronic Age: The Transformation of Political Speechmaking, Oxford University Press, 1988
Additional readings in reading packet available at Copycat.
Assignments:
The course includes lectures, discussions, group exercises, three papers, and three examinations, all focused on the assigned readings. I expect you to attend all classes.
Each paper 100 points
Each exam 100 points
Total 600 points
The graded assignments follow the conventional A-F system. An "A" denotes work outstanding relative to the basic course requirements, a "B" denotes work significantly above the basic course requirements, a "C" denotes work that meets the basic course requirements in every respect, and a "D" denotes work that does not meet the basic requirements but is worthy of credit. A "CR" grade for the alternative system denotes work that is at least of "C" quality.
An Incomplete (I) will be granted only if the student suffers a medical or familial emergency, requests the grade, and agrees to a plan for completing the course.
Plagiarism means submitting someone elseÕs work as if it were your own. Plagiarizing is one of the worst things that you can do in academic life and it will be treated accordingly.
You may not:
The results of plagiarism will be, at the least, a 0 on the assignment (far worse, you should notice than just getting a failing grade which, unlike a plagiarized paper, can be revised and resubmitted). More likely, it will mean failing the class. Possibly, it could mean expulsion from the University.
Before you cheat, you should think about what it means. Handing in a paper you have not written or copying from someone else on a test violates the basic principle of educationÑbecause you cannot learn anything or give the teacher any indication of your own (and possibly the classÕ) understanding if the work is not yours. Plagiarizing violates a trust between you and your professorÑstudents should not tolerate professors who do not teach and professors cannot tolerate students who refuse to learn. Plagiarizing and cheating are not just abstractions that do not hurt anyone; they are an attempt to gain an advantage over fellow students, many of whom are your friends. And it cheapens your accomplishmentÑeven if you do not get caught, you will still know that your degree was not achieved by your own effort.
Miscellaneous:
I am available by appointment if you cannot use my posted office hours. Email is certainly the quickest and most reliable way to keep in touch You also can leave a message on my phonemail.
Papers:
Each of your papers for this course will be a reasoned response to a question or other task that I will provide. You always will be able to choose the particular problem from among a set of alternatives. Your response should be clear, cogent, and brief: If you cannot state your position clearly in 2-3 pages, you probably need to rethink and rewrite it. Of course, I always am willing to work with longer essays, whether they are the result of erudition, inspiration, obsession, late-night madness, or other extreme conditions, but neither length nor extremity are valuable in themselves.
Each assignment is intended to encourage careful thinking about the
topics and texts of the course. As
you present your analysis, you should discuss the relevant course texts
directlyÑ
particularly the assigned readings, although the lectures and group exercises
also are fair game. You are
welcome to refer to other texts and experiences as long as they are introduced
adequately; a short description of their content and significance should do
(e.g., don't assume that I am familiar with your favorite music or that I can
see why Federalist # 10 is important). I am interested in both how you understand our common
material and how you are weaving your work in this course together with your
other learning to better understand the world.
Each paper should have a title suggesting your basic problem, idea, or theme. You also should follow an appropriate pattern of development. You might write a conventional essay that identifies a problem, proposes a thesis toward the resolution of that problem, offers a series of arguments in support of that thesis, and concludes by addressing the question of action. You might write a more narrative account that follows a character through a series of actions leading to a crisis and resolution (e.g., you as you are trying to understand the Sophists while going about your day). You might write a systematic textual commentary that works through a text paragraph by paragraph or line by line to develop an interpretation of the whole. You might identify a communicative event (e.g., a Senate debate or a family quarrel) and analyze that event using concepts discussed in the course. In any case, the essay should be your best effort to argue about and understand some important set of ideas regarding the role of communication in contemporary life.
Format: : no title page; one-inch margins; double-spacing; page numbers in the upper right corner; 12-point font (I recommend Times or Palatino for laser printing). Use parenthetical citation and, if referring to texts from outside the course, a bibliography.
For questions of meaning, grammar, and bibliography, I have found a
valuable resource in: dictionary.com
Course Schedule
|
T |
Aug 26 |
Introduction |
|
|
R |
Aug 28 |
Plato, Euthyphro |
|
|
T |
Sept 2 |
Plato, Apology |
|
|
R |
Sept 4 |
Plato, Apology, Crito, Phaedo (death scene) |
|
|
T |
Sept 9 |
Backman, "The Roots of Our Sophistication" |
|
|
R |
Sept 13 |
Fragments from the Sophists |
|
|
T |
Sept 16 |
GROUPS: suasoriae
et controversiae |
PAPER #1 |
|
R |
Sept 18 |
Machiavelli I |
|
|
T |
Sept 23 |
Machiavelli II |
|
|
R |
Sept 25 |
GROUPS: Rhetoric and Ethics |
|
|
T |
Sept 30 |
|
EXAM #1 |
|
R |
Oct 2 |
Power of Eloquence: Defining the Situation |
Lakoff & Johnson; Speeches |
|
T |
Oct 7 |
Virtues of Eloquence |
Jamieson, chs 1 & 3 |
|
R |
Oct 9 |
GROUPS: Writing Public Address |
|
|
T |
Oct 14 |
ÒEffeminateÓ Style |
Jamieson, ch. 4 |
|
R |
Oct 16 |
GROUPS: Language and Gender |
|
|
T |
Oct 21 |
|
Fall Break |
|
R |
Oct 23 |
Showing, not Telling |
Jamieson, chs 5, 6 |
|
T |
Oct 28 |
Disclosure, Character, Evidence |
Jamieson, ch. 7 |
|
R |
Oct 30 |
GROUPS: Rhetorical Criticism |
PAPER #2 |
|
T |
Nov 4 |
The Old and the New |
Jamieson, ch 9 |
|
R |
Nov 6 |
|
EXAM #2 |
|
T |
Nov 11 |
Two Models of Trials |
Reike & Stutman |
|
R |
Nov 13 |
Law & Narrative |
OÕBrien |
|
T |
Nov 18 |
Case #1: Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee |
Spence, Closing Statement |
|
R |
Nov 20 |
Movie Showing |
|
|
T |
Nov 25 |
Case #2: Death Penalty |
ÒIn the Face of DeathÓ |
|
R |
Nov 27 |
|
Thanksgiving |
|
T |
Dec 2 |
GROUPS: Law and Lawyers |
|
|
R |
Dec 4 |
Reading Law in Culture |
|
|
T |
Dec 9 |
GROUPS: Law and Popular Culture |
|
|
R |
Dec 11 |
|
EXAM #3 |
|
R |
Dec 18 |
FINAL EXAM PERIOD (9:30-11:20) |
PAPER #3 DUE |