Rhetorical Theory and Practice

ENC 3371 Dr. Luke Thominet

Fall 2019 Department of English
Online Office: DM464B
Office Phone: 305-348-2203
Synchronous Office Hours: W 2-3 and by appointment Email: luke.thominet@fiu.edu

WHAT IS THIS COURSE ABOUT?

People have been theorizing about, defining, and re-defining rhetoric for more than two thousand years.
Rhetoric has been praised as a force for enhancing the communal welfare and criticized as a tool for
deceiving the masses. I like to think of rhetoric a means to tap into the most important, interpersonal work of
communications. But part of your job in this course will be to think through which of the many definitions of
(and attitudes toward) rhetoric works best for you. More broadly speaking, rhetoric matters because it is a
powerful force for creating change in the world, and it is important both to consider how rhetoric is used to
create these changes and how to intervene in these processes. Rhetorical theory and practice are closely
intertwined, and in this course we will use theory to improve our rhetorical practice and use practice to better
understand rhetorical theory.

WHAT WILL I LEARN IN THIS COURSE?

By the end of this course, you will be able to:
• Demonstrate knowledge of leading rhetorical principles, ideas, and terminology.
• Analyze rhetorical principles, ideas, and terminology in local discourse practice.
• Evaluate the impact local issues have on professional and public discourse, including those related to
technology.
• Use rhetorical skills to write for various genres, meeting the needs of multiple audiences.
• Use rhetorical theory to inform rhetorical practice (and vice versa) in public and professional writing.

WHAT BOOK DO I NEED?

The required textbook for this course is Rhetorical Theory: An Introduction by Timothy Borchers and Heather
Hundley, 2nd edition (Waveland Press 2018: ISBN 978-1-4786-3580-2). There will also be various
supplemental readings available on Canvas.

Please be sure to get the second edition. It has additional content we’ll be using in this course. This is the
cover you’re looking for:

The book should be available at our bookstore, but eText versions are also available for purchase or rent
online. Here is the publisher’s website: https://www.waveland.com/browse.php?t=255&r=a|731
WHAT IS CLASS GOING TO BE LIKE?
Rhetoric can be a difficult and sometimes touchy subject. It looks at how we communicate and how we can
achieve our goals. These difficulties can become even more attenuated online. In order to make the most of
the time we have together, please:
• Keep an open mind toward the ideas and opinions of others, especially when those ideas and opinions
differ from your own.
• Challenge these ideas when you disagree, and allow your own ideas to be challenged in a respectful
(always respectful) but intellectually rigorous manner.
• Actively help each other develop as writers and rhetors, which includes offering constructive feedback on
each other’s writing and rhetorical projects.

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS?

Below are brief descriptions for the major assignments in the course. Full descriptions will be provided in
separate assignment sheets for each item. Many of these assignments have multiple steps to help lead you
through the work and to support your success in the class. These steps are also described in more detail on
the full assignment sheets.

Overall, the course has a lot of small assignments, but most of these will be graded generously. The class is
designed to encourage discussion and to keep you regularly engaged. It may seem like a lot of assignments,
but many of them replace and remediate the discussions and exercises we would be doing during class.

QCC Online Discussions

There is a lot of content in this course, and much of it can be pretty complex at first. One of the best ways to
really learn this content is to write about it and to discuss it with others. To that end, we’ll be using Canvas
discussion boards to post responses to the 10 reading topics. These responses will take the form of a QCC,
which stands for Question, Comment, Connection. The responses will be more extensive than you’re
probably used to in discussion boards (approximately 300 words each). You’ll also be responding to peers’
posts later in each week.

Rhetoric in Everyday Life

You’ll observe how rhetoric operates in our everyday world, even when the people practicing rhetoric are not
conscious of using rhetoric. The project will take the form of 7 annotations, each of which will define a
concept, give an example from the real world, and then explain how that example illustrates the concept.

Group Progymnasmata Workshop

Working in groups, you’ll develop a presentation and exercise that gives class members hands-on practice
with a theme or concept in rhetoric.

Rhetorical Production
You’ll produce an extended digital text that communicates a rhetorical theory in a way that meets the needs of
a specific audience. In short, you’ll be making a website, a video, a game, or some other text that is
customized to a real audience. That digital text will need to demonstrate deep engagement with a rhetorical
theory that expands beyond the textbook’s summaries.

Final Reflection Quiz

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Your final assignment for the semester will be a brief quiz that encourages you to reflect on our work during
the semester. This is an open book, generously graded quiz, so it’s not something that you’ll need to study
intensely for.

HOW WILL I BE GRADED?

Final grades will be determined by the quality and timely completion of all required work. Be aware that you
must do truly outstanding work to receive an A, but clear signs of great effort and commitment are also
rewarded. This is a cooperative classroom, and you will be graded in part on how actively you support your
classmates in developing their ideas and writing.

Many assignments are graded on a pass/no pass scale, where you’ll earn 100% of the possible points for the
assignment by successfully meeting the general content expectations.

Major assignments (individual assignments worth >30 points) will generally be graded on an A (100%)/B
(85%)/C (70%)/F (50%) scale. Each of these assignments will include a brief description of the evaluative
expectations for each step on this scale. Drastically incomplete submissions will typically earn 0% of the
possible points.

Final grades will be calculated in the following way:

Assignment Points
Introduction Week Assignments (2) 20
QCC Discussion Boards 250
Posts (10) 150
Responses (20) 100
Rhetoric in Everyday Life Paper 180
Proposal 20
First Annotation 30
Peer Review Draft and Responses 80
Final Draft 50
Group Progymnasmata Exercise 250
Proposal 20
Draft 30
Final Draft and Peer Evaluation 120
Exercises and Reflection 80
Midterm Survey 20
Rhetorical Production 240
Proposal 30
Annotated Bibliography 30
Peer Review Draft and Responses 80
Final Draft 100
Final Reflection Quiz 40
Total 1000

Late Work Policy

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All assignments will be due by 5 p.m. on the date listed on the assignment sheet. If there are conflicting
deadlines listed for assignments (this sometimes happens with the numerous documents created for a class),
assume that the earlier deadline is the correct one. (Also, please notify me so I can correct the information.)

Assignments received after the deadline will be marked down by 1/3 of a letter grade (i.e., 3.33%). This late
penalty will increase by 1/3 of a letter grade for each subsequent 24 hours the assignment is late.

After 5 days, you will receive no credit for that assignment. For the drafts and peer review responses, you will
receive no credit after 3 days as these are extremely time-sensitive assignments.

Can I get an extension?

Extensions are given rarely, and only if a valid reason (in the form of a genuine emergency) is presented to
justify the need. Any extension must be asked for at least 24 hours before the due date, and new, final due
dates will be created at the time of the extension request. I may also need to ask for documentation evidence
in some situations. Finally, please do not expect to receive multiple extensions during the semester.

Missing Assignments
I want everyone in this course to succeed, but this cannot happen if you do not turn in assignments. If an
issue arises that is affecting your performance, please contact me as soon as possible so that, together, we
can develop strategies to support your success in the course.

Grading scale
B+: 870-890 points C+: 770-790 points
A: 930-1000 points B: 830-860 points C: 700-760 points D: 600-690 points
A-: 900-920 points B-: 800-820 points F: 0-599 points

HOW WILL WE COMMUNICATE IN THIS COURSE?

• Email: You are expected to check their FIU email account regularly, as this is a primary way that I
will communicate with you.
• Canvas: This is our class website, which we will use actively throughout the semester. We will use
forums and peer review assignments to discuss our work throughout the class. Early in the course,
you will be placed into teams on Canvas, and you will communicate with each other through
discussion boards there.
• Google Drive: You will need to collaborate with peers at least once during the semester. I’ll ask you
to use Google Drive with your FIU email accounts for these projects.

PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC HONESTY

Each of you will develop a unique project over the course of the term, one tied to your personal and
intellectual interests in rhetoric. In this case, aside from potentially landing you in academic trouble,
plagiarism would be a foolhardy exercise, for the work of someone else’s project will not harmonize with
your context. Nevertheless, I still must emphasize that you may neither try to pass off the work of others as
your own, nor may you recycle material you yourself have written in other contexts without significantly
revising it. You should also review the Student Handbook on academic honesty. The handbook is available
here: https://studentaffairs.fiu.edu/about/student-handbook/index.php

ACCOMMODATIONS AND RESOURCES

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All of us learn differently, and I will do my best to accommodate our collective differences. I also encourage
you to visit the Disability Resource Center (DRC) http://studentaffairs.fiu.edu/get-support/disability-
resource-center/ to determine how you could improve your learning. If you need official accommodations,
you have a right to have these met. The DRC strongly encourages students to make the determination of
accommodation request at the beginning of the semester. To register, contact the DRC to schedule an intake
appointment. Appointments are offered at both the MMC or BBC locations.

There are also various other resources on campus, including the Center for Excellence in Writing
http://writingcenter.fiu.edu,the University Learning Center http://undergrad.fiu.edu/cas/learning-center/,
and Counseling and Psychological Services http://caps.fiu.edu/.

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COURSE SCHEDULE (SUBJECT TO CHANGE AS NECESSARY):
B&H = Borchers and Hundley (our textbook)

Week 1 – Introduction
• Readings:
o What is rhetoric? Mere Rhetoric Podcast. https://mererhetoric.libsyn.com/what-is-rhetoric-
new-and-improved
o Definitions of rhetoric sheet (on Canvas)
• Friday: Student Survey
• Sunday: Introduction Post

Week 2 – Defining Rhetoric

• Readings:
o B&H Ch. 1
o Booth. How many rhetorics? (pdf on Canvas)
• Wednesday: QCC 1
• Friday: QCC 1 Responses
• Sunday: Everyday Rhetoric Proposal

Week 3 – Rhetoric as Persuasion

• Readings:
o B&H Ch. 2
o Saving Persuasion. Mere Rhetoric Podcast. https://mererhetoric.libsyn.com/saving-
persuasion-new-and-improved
• Wednesday: QCC 2
• Friday: QCC 2 Responses
• Sunday: Everyday Rhetoric First Annotation

Week 4 – Everyday Rhetoric Peer Review

• Readings:
o Peer Review: Commenting Strategies. UMN.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlSCMx9-fGA
• Wednesday: Everyday Rhetoric Peer Review Draft
• Friday: Nothing
• Sunday: Everyday Rhetoric Peer Review Responses

Week 5 – Rhetoric as Style and as Argument

• Readings:
o B&H Ch. 3 (focus on pp. 57-63, 68-80)
o B&H Ch. 4 (focus on pp. 87-97, 100 – 107)
• Wednesday: QCC 3
• Friday: QCC 3 Responses
• Sunday: Everyday Rhetoric Final Draft

Week 6 – Mediation of Rhetoric

• Readings:
o B&H Ch. 5 (focus on pp. 113-129)
o Ways of Knowing and Doing in Digital Rhetoric. http://enculturation.net/ways-of-
knowing-and-doing-in-digital-rhetoric

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 o Progymnasmata. Mere Rhetoric Podcast. https://mererhetoric.libsyn.com/progymnasmata-
new-and-improved
o Optional: Lauer. “What’s in a name?” Explore the anatomy of a name section:
http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/17.1/inventio/lauer/anatomy.html
• Wednesday: QCC 4
• Friday: QCC 4 Responses
• Sunday: Group Progymnasmata Workshop Proposal

Week 7 – Rhetoric and Meaning

• Readings:
o B&H Ch. 6
o Richard Weaver. Mere Rhetoric Podcast. https://mererhetoric.libsyn.com/richard-weaver
o Brummett. Three meanings of epistemic rhetoric.
http://comstudies2008.pbworks.com/f/Brummett.pdf
• Wednesday: QCC 5
• Friday: QCC 5 Responses
• Sunday: Group Progymnasmata Workshop Draft

Week 8 – Progymnasmata Assignment

• Readings: None
• Wednesday: Nothing Due
• Friday: Midterm Reflection Survey
• Sunday: Group Progymnasmata Workshop Final & Peer Evaluation

Week 9 – Dramatism
• Readings:
o B&H, Ch. 7
o Kenneth Burke. Mere Rhetoric Podcast. https://mererhetoric.libsyn.com/kenneth-burke-
new-and-improved
o Optional: Burke’s Pentad Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRsJf6dPiUo
• Wednesday: QCC 6
• Friday: QCC 6 Responses
• Sunday: Progymnasmata Workshop Exercise 1

Week 10 – Feminist Rhetoric

• Readings:
o “A Gathering of Rhetorics.” Available Means. (pdf available on Canvas)
o B&H, Ch. 8 (focus on pp. 212-232)
o “The waves of feminism.” Vox. https://www.vox.com/2018/3/20/16955588/feminism-
waves-explained-first-second-third-fourth
o Optional: Aspasia. Mere Rhetoric Podcast. https://mererhetoric.libsyn.com/aspasia-new-
and-improved
• Wednesday: QCC 7
• Friday: QCC 7 Responses
• Sunday: Progymnasmata Workshop Exercise 2

Week 11 – Non-Western Rhetorics

• Readings:
o B&H, Ch. 8 (focus on pp. 238-249 on Afrocentric Rhetoric)

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 o Rhetoric before and beyond the Greeks. Mere Rhetoric Podcast.
https://mererhetoric.libsyn.com/rhetoric-before-and-beyond-the-greeks
o Introduction. American Indian Rhetorics of Survivance: Word Medicine, Word Magic. (pdf on
Canvas)
o Rhetoric and Intercultural Communication. International Encyclopedia of Communication. (pdf on
Canvas)
o Optional: An Annotated Bibliography of the History of Non-Western Rhetorical Theory
before 1900. (pdf on Canvas)
• Wednesday: QCC 8
• Friday: QCC 8 Responses
• Sunday: Final Project Proposal

Week 12 – Critical and Postmodern Rhetorics

• Readings:
o B&H, Ch. 10 (focus on pp. 264-282)
o B&H, Ch. 12 (focus on pp. 318-323, 333-336)
o Postmodern rhetorics. TCBOK. https://www.tcbok.org/wiki/postmodern-rhetorics/
• Wednesday: QCC 9
• Friday: QCC 9 Responses
• Sunday: Final Project Annotated Bibliography

Week 13 – Cultural Rhetorics

• Readings:
o B&H, Ch. 11
o Chicano movement rhetoric: An ideographic interpretation. (pdf on Canvas)
• Wednesday: QCC 10
• Friday: QCC 10 Responses
• Sunday: Final Project Peer Review Draft

Week 14 – Final Project Peer Review

• Readings: None
• Thursday: Thanksgiving
• Sunday: Peer Review Responses

Week 15 – Final Project

• Readings: None
• Wednesday:
• Friday:
• Sunday: Final Project Final Draft

Finals Week – Reflective Letter on Rhetoric

• Readings:
o Optional: A brief overview of rhetoric.
http://www.delfimsantos.net/fds/retorica/imagens/Petraglia-
Bahri_ABriefOverviewofRhetoric.pdf
o Optional: Basis of Metacognition.
http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/3.1/features/english/metacog.html
• Saturday: Reflective Letter