ENGL 206 A: Rhetoric in Everyday Life

M/W 9:30-11:20 | Savery 131

Office Hours: Thursday 9-10:30am (Zoom link)  

Course Description

Welcome to ENGL 206: Rhetoric in Everyday Life! This course offers students an introduction to the art and practice of rhetoric. We will spend the quarter looking at how language—as well as places, objects, and symbols—inform, persuade, and shape social practices in various contexts. The course presumes that our world is richly rhetorical—that is, that the world works by way of persuasion. It contends that texts (be they alphabetic, auditory, visual, digital, or material) enormously inform the world and that skillfully producing and analyzing persuasive texts is a crucial means of taking part in global society. In other words, we will learn in this class to think rhetorically.

Rhetoric is central in understanding the features of civic life and the responsibility we have as social actors. Its connection to a host of different concepts and issues such as science, law, labor, and social relations renders it integral to civic and professional life.  Through the study and practice of rhetoric, we will learn to analyze historical and contemporary public discourse and consider the stylistic and persuasive devices that make particular pieces of rhetoric effective. Additionally, we will develop skills in written and oral composition, learning to craft messages that account for specific audiences in specific rhetorical situations. We will further reflect on the larger implications of rhetoric, considering the relationship between discourse and reality, the cultural and ethical power dynamics of communication, and the ways that any public discourse reflects its historical and social contexts.

The course is designed to critically immerse learners in the contemporary rhetorical practices of a variety of political, cultural, and professional situations. As learners, you will be:

• provided with a set of interpretive tools and strategies
• become a more adept reader of contemporary public discourse
• develop effective argumentation skills for a variety of public contexts
• engage with the kinds of discourses that proliferate in the world

Because rhetoric is boring if studied in a vacuum, we will turn our critical attention to a site familiar to all of us. After an initial overview of rhetoric and an examination of its role in civic life, we will explore the university as a site of rhetorical production. This class takes as a given that universities are richly rhetorical spaces. But how are they rhetorical? How do universities--their spaces, their administrations, their students, their professors--act on us or persuade us in certain ways? How do we talk about higher education in everyday life? And how do counter-rhetorics emerge that propose alternatives to the contemporary university? These will be the questions this class asks; with some curiosity and thoughtful engagement, we will examine these questions together.

Course Objectives

1. Practice critical reading skills that include the ability to critically analyze instances of rhetoric and other texts within their specific social, historical, academic, and cultural contexts. 
2. Engage in collaborative, intellectual, generative discussions with other writers, rhetors, and scholars about topics related to rhetoric. 
3. Form complex, analytical claims supported with textual evidence in writing about theories of rhetoric. 
4. Apply these theories of rhetoric to real-world contexts to achieve generative action in the democratic process or other civic capacities.
   

Course Readings

All readings will be posted on Canvas or, occasionally, printed and passed out.

Instructor

 Jonathan Isaac  

 Assistant Teaching Professor

 Email: jisaac3@uw.edu

 Office: Padelford A-011

How will I learn?

I have tried my best to make each week's readings linked thematically. These readings and related activities contain a combination of the following elements:

• Informal and formal writing assignments
• Reading responses
• Peer review & group work

Successful course completion requires access to and reading the current course resources and materials, actively participating in discussions, group projects, and completing all assignments.

Collaboration. Working with others is a hallmark of civic engagement. Learn and apply strategies for successful teamwork and collaboration, such as:

• responding constructively to peers’ work
• soliciting and using peer feedback effectively
• managing team goals and conflicts constructively

Grade Breakdown

Reading Annotations (15%) 

For each assigned reading you will have an annotation assignment using Hypothesis in Canvas. The full details of the annotation assignment will be in each assignment page, but essentially you will need to complete a certain amount of annotations for each reading to receive credit. These will be graded Complete/Incomplete and will be due by midnight the night before a class session. 

Discussion Leading (10%)

In groups of 4, you will be tasked with reading a scholarly article in the field of Rhetoric and a) presenting its main ideas to the class, and b) engaging your classmates in applying its ideas to everyday life. Your classmates will be in charge of providing additional questions or comments in response to the presentation to help contribute to this conversation.

2 Major Projects (25% and 30%, respectively) 

You will complete two major projects this quarter, one an Op-Ed and another a group-led Walking Tour. Each will draw from class discussions and will be scaffolded and workshopped in-class, making class attendance and participation a vital part of completing the projects satisfactorily. Additionally, these projects will feature Peer Review sessions. Failure to attend these sessions will lead to a lowered grade.

Participation (20%) 

My ethos regarding participation stems from one central question: Are you–through your in-person/online presence, verbal and written contributions, and thoughtful question-asking–contributing to the development, growth, and intellectual journey of our classroom community? Participation is fundamental to this class, and there are a variety of ways in which participation manifests itself.

• Participation during in-class discussions – Speaking in class is the most important way for you to participate in class. Your willingness to enhance the class discussion with thoughtful questions and comments is as important as anything else in this class—the primary determiner in your participation grade is what you bring to each class every day. Not only is it a way to demonstrate your completion of our readings, but is also an opportunity to try out ideas that can be developed into future papers. While this is the most effective way to earn a participation grade, please also realize that the size of the class means that not everyone can or is expected to participate in every single class. The goal here is to be an active participant in the class, but I am not looking for anyone to attempt to dominate the class discussion. 

• On-task communication during group work – Occasionally we will make use of smaller, independent group discussions before our whole-class discussions of material. A failure to complete assigned tasks in group discussions or a consistent lack of contribution will also be a problem for your participation grade.

• Consistent and engaged attendance – Just showing up for the class is the lowest possible bar for participation, and merely being a presence will not do much for your participation grade. An inability to stay on-task during class will adversely impact your participation grade.

A failure to achieve these roles asked of you in the classroom will negatively impact your overall participation grade. If you are a naturally quiet student, there are other opportunities to buffer the impact on your participation grade, but nothing can replace making your voice heard in class. It’s what I want to hear the most (rather than mine), and I will encourage all of you to use my class as a place to conquer your fears of speaking in a respectful, supportive environment—one which may be difficult to find in other classrooms and other places in your life. More than anything, think of participation as a reward for your contribution, not something that you must compete with other students over to get a good grade. 

≥ 95% = 4.0   88 = 3.3 81 = 2.6   74 = 1.9   67 = 1.2  

94 = 3.9   87 = 3.2   80 = 2.5   73 = 1.8   66 = 1.1  

93 = 3.8   86 = 3.1   79 = 2.4 72 = 1.7   65 = 1.0  

92 = 3.7   85 = 3.0   78 = 2.3 71 = 1.6   64 = .9  

91 = 3.6   84 = 2.9   77 = 2.2 70 = 1.5   63 = .8  

90 = 3.5   83 = 2.8   76 = 2.1 69 = 1.4   62 = .7  

89 = 3.4   82 = 2.7   75 = 2.0 68 = 1.3  

Submitting Assignments to Canvas

Assignments are considered to be submitted when they are fully uploaded to Canvas. On Canvas, the due date time is 11:59 pm the night before class, unless otherwise noted. Do not wait until the last minute to submit an assignment, because uploads may take some time and you might miss the submission deadline.

If you cannot submit an assignment to the Canvas dropbox because it is locked, please DO NOT email the assignment to me or submit it as an attachment to a comment. While I can read these, I cannot offer feedback on assignments submitted in this way or use any associated grading rubric, and thus the assignment WILL NOT be graded.

Attendance and Late Work Policy

This class is conducted in person. You are expected to attend class to fully benefit from course activities and meet the course’s learning objectives. You should only register for this class if you are able to attend in person. If you 1) miss class activities often, 2) do not notify me of absences in advance, and 3) fail to meet course deadlines due to not requesting extensions, I may consider giving you an incomplete grade or recommend you contact your academic advisor to consider a hardship withdrawal (known as a Registrar Drop).

It is important that you complete your assigned work on time since it affects both your progress and the progress of others in the course. If you are not able to finish an assignment on time for a compelling reason, please request an extension from me at least 24 hours before the assignment deadline. 

The request for extension should be sent in the form of an email from the Canvas inbox or student’s UW email account and includes: (1) a rationale for the request (i.e. why you are not able to submit on time) and the specific assignment the student is requesting to make up. The final decision associated with the assignments and deadlines is at the discretion of the instructor.

Academic Integrity

The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution. More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu/studentconduct/

Here's what you can do to cover yourself against plagiarism or collusion:

• At any stage of your writing, keep your drafts, notes, papers, and research materials. If a question of plagiarism arises, you'll have a paper trail ( paper trails protect you in a variety of academic, public, and work-related contexts)
• If you need additional help with your writing, contact the University Writing Center, UW Writes, where trained professionals are there to help you without colluding in plagiarism.
• Last but not least, ask me if you have any questions about honesty.

AI Policy 

Quotes that presently inform my thoughts about AI usage:

• “Words are the most subtle symbols which we possess, and our human fabric depends on them. The living and radical nature of language is something which we forget at our peril.” - Iris Murdoch
• "There are people who benefit greatly from convincing you...that you can't make decisions on your own, and I think maybe we owe it to ourselves to at the very least say, "Wait, you know what? I can do this on my own." - Hanif Abdurraqib
• "Attention is just another name for the contact the mind makes with the world. If it is sufficiently attenuated [reduced], our capacity and inclination to care, desire, love, and act also suffer." - L.M. Sacasas
• "Times are hard." - Steely Dan

Background

Writing is integral to thinking and growing intellectually. It is also hard work, and it atrophies without consistent practice. Decades of writing research back this up. 

The advent of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have demonstrated them to be useful tools for helping us improve our writing, research and find sources, and stimulate our thinking. At the same time, you need to be aware of their limitations: 

• Errors: LLMs make mistakes. Don't believe anything that an LLM tells you. If it provides a number or a fact, assume the output is incorrect unless you check the claims with reliable sources. You will be held accountable for any mistakes the tool produces. LLMs fabricate or "hallucinate" seemingly credible data all the time. 

• Bias: LLM output may reflect biases because the data they are trained on reflects bias and likely does not include sufficient data from underrepresented or minoritized groups. While some safeguards have been put in place, the type of information that LLMs “learn” from reflect the dominant culture and its biases and prejudices. 

• Citation: These tools use existing sources without citation, and they cite sources that don’t exist. Therefore, using their outputs puts you at risk of plagiarism.  

Further, the environmental costs of LLMs have been well-documented and are only growing. This leads to ethical concerns about LLM’s contribution to the climate crisis.

Policies:

I want the words you submit to me, from reading annotations to final projects, to be in your voice--clunky, imperfect, or half-baked as that may be--not in the smooth, polished, and lifeless tone of an LLM. We learn by writing, struggling with our thoughts, and revising our ideas. You are ultimately responsible for all content (ideas, facts, citations) that appears in the work you submit for the class.

You are allowed to use an LLM as a learning aid to help you better understand the course materials and assigned readings, though you should work through the content on your own first.

We will occasionally use an LLM as part of an in-class activity. I will guide us through these activities.

If I am concerned that you have used an LLM in ways that extend beyond the approved usage listed above, I will ask you to meet with me to discuss your thinking and writing process. From there, I will determine appropriate steps to take--likely, but not limited to, a new revision of the writing.

Be mindful that different courses and instructors will have different policies regarding the use of LLM tools and services for academic purposes. It is your responsibility to follow the LLM policies for each of the courses in which you are enrolled. 

Access and Accommodations

Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions.  Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS.  It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. 

Religious Accommodations

“Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy.  Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form.

The PWAC's Anti-Racist Pedagogy