English 472, Fall 2005

This schedule is dynamic and responds to the needs of the classroom situation and students as we move through the course. Some readings may be rearranged, some dropped, others added, as the needs of the situation demands. All changes to the syllabus will be announced in class and made online. The online syllabus is always the final authority on what is due and when, and it is your responsibility to stay current with the changes. And remember: you are accountable for all work, even if you do not attend class. Remember: Always bring to class the text/readings on the assigned day.
Date	Class Discussion	Homework
Week 1	Unit 1: Classical Rhetoric: The Pre-Moderns
T Aug 23	Course Introduction: What is Rhetoric?	Read: Herrick Chapter 1, Course Policies and examine all course web pages
Th Aug 25	Discuss: projects, policy, web pages, and Herrick	Read: Herrick Chapter 2 & Gorgias’ “Encomium on Helen"
Week 2	Historical Roots of Rhetorical Theory: Sophistic Rhetorics
T Aug 30	Discuss: Herrick, the Sophists and “Encomium”	Read: Herrick Chapter 3 & Jarratt,Re-Reading the Sophists 63-79 (on E-Reserve)
Th Sept 1	Discuss: Herrick and Jarratt	Read: Isocrates’ Against the Sophists & Plato’s Gorgias Useful On-line Resources: Isocrates Conceptions of Rhetoric (Lloyd Rohler's useful summary); David Penso, "Philosophy of the Hellenistic Age" & Reading Guide to Gorgias
Week 3	The Platonic Critique of Sophistry
T Sept 6	Discuss: Isocrates, Plato & The Platonic Critique of Sophistry	Read: Plato’s Phaedrus Useful On-line Resources: Reading Guide to Phaedrus & Plan of the Phaedrus
Th Sept 8	Discuss: Phaedrus & Plato’s Ideal Rhetoric	Read: Herrick Chapter 4 & Aristotle’s Rhetoric, Book I Useful Online Resources: Outline of Book I
Week 4	Historical Roots of Rhetorical Theory: Aristotelian Rhetorics
T Sept 13	Discuss: Herrick & Aristotle’s Rhetoric, Book I (powerpoint)	Read: Book II of the Rhetoric Book III as requested.
Th Sept 15	Discuss: Aristotle’s Rhetoric, Book II (powerpoint) Due: brief (3-4 double-spaced, typed pages) description of a rhetorical artifact, event, or text (or intimately related set of texts) or theoretical question(s)	Read: Herrick Chapter 8 & selections from Locke’s Essay On Human Understanding, especially Book III -- Chapter IX -- Of the Imperfection of Words and Chapter X -- Of the Abuse of Words
Week 5	Enlightenment Rhetorics
T Sept 20	Discuss: Roman Rhetoric, Herrick & The Enlightenment	Read: Various pages on Vico: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy; The History Guide's excerpt of The New Science
Th Sept 22	Discuss: Locke & Vico	Read: Herrick Chapter 9 & Perelman’s "The New Rhetoric and the Rhetoricians” (E-Reserve)
Week 6	Unit 2: Modernism
T Sept 27	Discuss: Herrick & modernism	Read: selected discussions of modernism & liberal humanism
Th Sept 29	Discuss: Modernism & Liberal Humanism	Read: Herrick Chapter 10 & Burke’s "Identificationand 'Consubstantiality' " (E-Reserve) Useful Online Resources: Kenneth Burke and the Symbolic Motivation
Week 7	Kenneth Burke & The Nature and Meaning of Symbolic Action
T Oct 4	Discuss: Herrick & Burke	Read: Burke’s “What Are the Sign of What?” (E-Reserve) Useful Online Resources: Virtual Burkean Parlor (an excellent resource); Burke Links
Th Oct 6	Discuss: Burke	Read: Bitzer, Vatz & Biesecker
Week 8	The Rhetorical Situation
T Oct 11	Discuss: Bitzer, Biesecker and Vatz & the Rhetorical Situation	Review: Bitzer, Vatz & Biesecker
Th Oct 13	Discuss: The Rhetorical Situation	Read: Wander, "The Ideological Turn in Modern Criticism" & Crowley, "Reflections on an Argument That Won't Go Away…” (E-Reserve)
Week 9	Rhetoric and Ideology
T Oct 18	Discuss: Crowley & Wanderer	Read: Althusser’s “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” (E-Reserve)
Th Oct 20	Discuss: Althusser & Ideology	Read: Grady & Wells’ “Toward A Rhetoric of Intersubjectivity”
Week 10	Rhetoric and Communication
T Oct 25	Discuss: Grady & Wells, Habermas & Communication	Catch-up on Readings
Th Oct 27	Discuss: Postmodernism Due: description (3-4 pp. double-spaced, typed) of theoretical material	Read: Gill’s "Postmodernism" (E-Reserve) & Herrick Chapter 11
Week 11	Unit 3: Postmodernism
T Nov 1	Discuss: Gill & Herrick	Review: various discussion of postmodernism
Th Nov 3	Discuss: Postmodernism	Read: Foucault’s "The Discourse on Language" on power in The History of Sexuality, "Method" and Sawicki’s"Foucault's Critique of Revolutionary Theory” (E-Reserve) Useful Online Resources: Michel Foucault; The Foucault Home Page at CSU; Summary of "The Discourse on Language"; Foucault Resources; Theory.org's site on Foucault
Week 12	Foucault
T Nov 8	Discuss: Foucault "History" & Sawicki	Read: Biesecker’s "Michel Foucault and the Question of Rhetoric." (E-Reserve)
Th Nov 10	Discuss: Biesecker and Foucault "Discourse" Drafts to me for conferences	Read: Berlin’s "Revisionary History,” Biesecker’s "Coming to Terms with Recent Attempts to Write Women into the History of Rhetoric" & Campbell’s "The Rhetoric of Women's Liberation: An Oxymoron” (E-Reserve)
Week 13	Reassessing the History(ies)-Tradition(s) of Rhetoric
T Nov 15	Discuss: Berlin, Biesecker & Campbell	TBA
Th Nov 17	No Class: Conferences	Work on project
Week 14	Putting it All Together
T Nov 22	No Class: Conferences	Work on project
Th Nov 24	Thanksgiving--No Class
Week 15
T Nov 29	Wrapping things up Option: Drafts due to me for feedback	Work on project
Th Dec 1	Workshop and reflection	Revise Drafts
Week 16
T Dec 6	Workshop	Polish Drafts
Finals
T Dec 13 12:20-2:10 PM	There is no in-class final exam in this class, but you are required to turn your final project & a reflection in my office, LL 309B, on the day scheduled for the exam. If you fail to turn do so during the scheduled exam time, I cannot record your final course grade.