tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1862174023932643058.post6949966162474198510..comments2023-10-26T08:20:45.326-06:00Comments on Insignificant Wranglings: New Course in Rhetorical Theory [Real]Insignificant Wranglerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15950540902913057757noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1862174023932643058.post-89558772910030444062008-10-08T11:50:00.000-06:002008-10-08T11:50:00.000-06:00Well, you know how I went: breadth over depth. You...Well, you know how I went: breadth over depth. Yours is an interesting compromise on having to span the full history. I'm lucky I can bracket the 20th & 21st centuries into a separate class. And considering what I've taught so far (only classical - we start medieval next week), I honestly think the best stuff is behind me. Do I really have to talk about sermonic and epistolary rhetorics? Ugh.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and I'm totally going to steal some of your groupings for my spring course on contemporary. I’ve given up trying to find a textbook and I’m just going with a coursepack of readings. The question is: how many is too many? I’m teaching power hours Mon & Wed, so I’m not sure how much to assign on each. How are you planning to spread this wealth out?<BR/><BR/>kEnthyAliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07248690283385304115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1862174023932643058.post-45463343964129807542008-10-07T11:07:00.000-06:002008-10-07T11:07:00.000-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Alexishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17266951036472528111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1862174023932643058.post-33127211618902202212008-10-07T08:54:00.000-06:002008-10-07T08:54:00.000-06:00Geoff-- I used the upper-level lit theory courses ...Geoff-- I used the upper-level lit theory courses in terms of difficulty; I intentionally avoided going for breadth. That's why I only use Burke to represent early-mid 20th century and Derrida for pomo.<BR/><BR/>I do use quite a few other essays, and I think that might be too much. I figure I'll try it this was, and, if it doesn't work, I'll pair it down. Thanks for the advice.Insignificant Wranglerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15950540902913057757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1862174023932643058.post-76722772663122281112008-10-05T15:04:00.000-06:002008-10-05T15:04:00.000-06:00Does the sheer coverage of those upper-level lit t...Does the sheer coverage of those upper-level lit theory classes speak to a canonical drive? Sure, I get the "big stuff," but maybe an undergraduate course--particularly for writing majors--might go in a different direction.less. In my undergraduate Memory and Digital Writing Class, for example, I limit myself, as I do in my other courses as well, to four total books (Yates-Barthes-Baker-Sacks). I use a handful of other essays/links related to the theme of each book, but they are primary. ****Sidenote: I tried assigning -Heuretics- during my first semester, but find I can reference Glue's efforts with plentiful on-line materials like Byron's Bystory: http://mason.gmu.edu/~bhawk/bystory/index.html.*****In any case, good luck with the development of the course. Good to hear Rowan is doing well!gvcarterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13974071946104225362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1862174023932643058.post-82889963893456469702008-10-05T08:25:00.000-06:002008-10-05T08:25:00.000-06:00The difficulty of the course is something I am con...The difficulty of the course is something I am considering-- I initially thought of using Deb Hawhee's <EM>Ancient Rhetorics</EM> rather than a dedicated theory-laden coursepack. In the end, I looked at upper-level literary theory courses at the undergraduate level and thought: if they are pushing the "big" stuff, why can't a rhetoric class? I also looked at the undergraduate rhetorical theory course at Purdue and a few other places with robust undergraduate writing majors. But even then, I'm concerned.<BR/><BR/>Geoff: I really thought about Sirc, but went with Ulmer instead. I know they are different, but they both represent the impact of pomo on composition. The Octalog is a great addition--I think I'll add that to the Bitzer/Lundsford week to give a sense of the impact various rhetorical dispositions have on comp.<BR/><BR/>Casey: Paper day is something Thomas does with his graduate classes--it goes back to a professor Frank at Arlington (and probably further back than that). Essentially, everyone in the class writes a moderately long paper (in Thomas' class, this was one legal-size sheet; but with some font and margin manipulation, we would regularly push 5 double-spaced pages onto that one sheet!). I've thought about class presentations based on Hawhee's book--the presentations would be on traditional rhetorical topics and tropes. I think the reading list is "heavy" enough that I don't want to pile on too much more--unless its secondary material meant to elucidate the readings themselves (but I don't want to spend all our time getting the readings "right"; I'd rather students use the writing to work towards their own theoretical understanding of how/why we rhetoric).<BR/><BR/>Thanks guys. I'll have more on this next week.Insignificant Wranglerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15950540902913057757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1862174023932643058.post-38930793762162286192008-10-04T15:28:00.000-06:002008-10-04T15:28:00.000-06:00This looks awesome, Marc -- you could really set s...This looks awesome, Marc -- you could really set some undergraduates up to have an advantageous start in graduate school. Assuming this is a 300- or 400-level class (?), you might want to have them do supplementary 10-15 minute presentations on some reading that's not assigned to everyone... Is that what "paper day" would be?<BR/><BR/>Cool.Caseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03820693522030084335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1862174023932643058.post-91030800362185978872008-10-04T14:44:00.000-06:002008-10-04T14:44:00.000-06:00Undergraduates might also enjoy Geoff Sirc, Willia...Undergraduates might also enjoy Geoff Sirc, William E. Coles, Walker Gibson, Ken Macrorie, and Donald Murray. Also, the first Octalog that features the likes of Bob Connors-Sharon Crowley-Susan Jarrett-James Berlin-Victor Vitanza does a nice job of dramatizing some of the stakes of rhetorical theory/historiography. ****Your reading list looks good, but as you're aware, many of the readings pose challenges to even committed graduate students. Enjoy the project.shuns! ;-)gvcarterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13974071946104225362noreply@blogger.com