.
6 May 2008 (Tuesday)
--Final Exam. Meet at 4:00 in Solms 207 to take the final exam. Bring along pens and paper. Answer key to the exam will be posted here on Tuesday evening. There are no make-up exams in rhetoric.


1 May 2008 (Thursday)
--Final Project. No later than 6:00 p.m., drop your final project (in an envelope with your name on the outside) into the gray box on the counter in Solms 211.


29 April 2008 (Tuesday)
--Handouts. Re-read carefully (and bring to class) this handout:
"The Catbird Seat," by James Thurber

--Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. Review key sections assigned since the start of the semester:
pp. 1-26
pp. 52-88
pp. 256-292
pp. 349-351; 377-411
pp. 459-472
pp. 492-507; 509-511; and 526-543

--READINGS in Thank You for Arguing: Review key chapters assigned since the start of the semester:
Chapter 3 (pp. 27-37)
Chapter 4 (pp. 38-44)
Chapter 5 (pp. 46-55)
Chapter 6 (pp. 56-65)
Chapter 7 (pp. 66-71)
Chapter 8 (pp. 72-78)
Chapter 9 (pp. 79-90)
Chapter 12 (pp. 108-120)
Chapter 13 (pp. 121-133)
Chapter 14 (pp. 137-154)
Chapter 20 (pp. 208-225)
Chapter 21 (pp. 226-236)
Chapter 23 (pp. 247-259)
Appendix I (pp. 287-296) and Appendix III (pp. 303-305)

--RHETORICAL TERMS: Review all terms in our glossary.


22 April 2008 (Tuesday)
--Handouts. Read or re-read carefully (and bring to class) these handouts:
-"In Bed," by Joan Didion
-"The Endless Streetcar Ride into the Night and the Tinfoil Noose," by Jean Shepherd
-"The Catbird Seat," by James Thurber
-Rhetoric Timeline: 19th Century to 21st Century

--Online Readings. Read (or reread), squeeze, and bring printouts to class:
-"Goodbye to All That," by Joan Didion (read all: squeeze opening four paragraphs and closing four paragraphs)
-Ecclesiastes (King James version of the Bible), Chapters 1-9

--READINGS in Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. Read pp. 526-543 of "A Survey of Rhetoric."

--READINGS in Thank You for Arguing:
Read: Appendix I (pp. 287-296) and Appendix III (pp. 303-305)
 

15 April 2008 (Tuesday)
--FINAL PROJECT. Project guidelines were posted on March 20. The deadline for choosing a short text (or a relatively short excerpt from a longer text) and submitting project topics and texts was April 8. Unfortunately, a few of you have selected texts that are problematical--too short, too long, in translation, and/or unidentified. It would have been wise to have consulted with me about your topic before the deadline. Please don't compound the problem by putting off getting to work on the project. This would be a good week to start submitting rough drafts (or partial drafts) for feedback. The closer we get to the end of term, the less time I'll have available to respond to your drafts.

--Handouts. Read or re-read carefully (and bring to class) these handouts:
-"In Bed," by Joan Didion
-"An Appeal for the Final Battle of the American Revolution" (Karen Farmer's rhetorical analysis of John Quincy Adams's speech in the film Amistad)
-"Supreme Court opinions on Lee v. Weisman"
-Audre Lorde's "The Master's Tools"

--Online Readings. Read, squeeze, and bring printouts to class:
-"Of Studies," by Francis Bacon (click on "print" button for a version of the page without ads)
-"Goodbye to All That," by Joan Didion (read all: squeeze opening four paragraphs and closing four paragraphs)
-Ecclesiastes (King James version of the Bible), Chapters 1-9

--Online Speeches. Read, view, listen (click on the "audio mp3" link or the play button under the image on each page):
-John Quincy Adams Addresses the Supreme Court (in conjunction with Karen Farmer's analysis, above)
-Branagh's version of St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V (in conjunction with handout and with Olivier version seen in class)
-Kennedy's Inaugural Address (in conjunction with last week's assigned reading in Classical Rhetoric)
-Atticus Finch's closing argument from To Kill a Mockingbird (in conjunction with this week's assigned reading from Classical Rhetoric--specifically, pp. 285-287)
-Ronald Reagan's Speech in West Berlin (in preparation for a student's analysis of the speech that I'll be handing out in class this week)

--Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student: 
(1) Carefully re-read pp. 62-71 ("The Fallacies");
(2) Carefully re-read pp. 278-292 (refutation and conclusion of speech)


8 April 2008 (Tuesday)
--FINAL PROJECT. Turn in a photocopy of the text you'll be analyzing for your final project.

--Handouts. Read carefully (and bring to class) the handouts distributed on April 3:
-"Till Lunch Do Us Part," by Tom Robbins
-"Supreme Court opinions on Lee v. Weisman"
-Audre Lorde's "The Master's Tools"
Re-read (carefully) the student papers on Chopin's "The Storm" and Twain's "Littery Folk"

--Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student: 
(1) Carefully read pp. 62-71 ("The Fallacies");
(2) In "A Survey of Rhetoric," read about Francis Bacon and the Royal Society (pp. 506-507 and pp. 509-511);
(3) JFK's Inaugural Address, followed by rhetorical analysis (pp. 459-472).

--EULOGIES (online).  Read, listen to, and quickly squeeze (i.e., spend five to ten minutes analyzing before class) each of these eulogies:
-Robert Kennedy's Eulogy for Dr. King (text and audio)
-John Cleese's Eulogy for Graham Chapman (full text; partial audio and video clip)
-Reagan's Eulogy for the Challenger Crew (text, audio, and video)
And remember to bring copies of the texts to class on Tuesday.

1 April 2008 (Tuesday)
--GUIDELINES FOR FINAL PROJECT. By now you've carefully read the guidelines and begun considering possible topics for your final project. Once you've spent some time squeezing a potential topic (as discussed in class), send me your topic idea (with text linked or attached to your email--or dropped off as a hard copy) so that I can offer a little advice well before the topic-submission deadline of April 8. 

--Handout. Read carefully pages 3-6 of the handout distributed on March 27, "Isn't It Ironic?" Know the definitions of irony, the various types of irony discussed by different writers, the origins of the term and the concept, and contemporary uses (and attitudes toward) irony.

--Online Readings (and Re-Readings):
-"A Modest Proposal," by Jonathan Swift (bring printout to class)
-"The Story of an Hour," by Kate Chopin
-"The Storm," by Kate Chopin
Be sure to bring printouts of all three readings to class and be prepared to discuss.

--Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student:  Carefully re-read pp. 52-62 (enthymemes and examples) and pp. 497-505 (rhetoric in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance). 

--Thank You for Arguing. Re-read carefully (by Thursday, April 3):
Chapter 13: Control the Argument (pp. 121-133)
Chapter 14: Spot Fallacies (pp. 137-154)


25 March 2008 (Tuesday)
--MIDTERM REVIEW. Make sure that you've reviewed the SAMPLE STUDENT ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON
PART A OF THE MIDTERM and the SAMPLE ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON PART C OF THE MIDTERM. Answers will be taken down on April 6.

--GUIDELINES FOR FINAL PROJECT. Read the guidelines carefully, and begin considering possible topics for your final project.

--Thank You for Arguing. Read carefully:
Chapter 13: Control the Argument (pp. 121-133)
Chapter 14: Spot Fallacies (pp. 137-154)

--Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student:  Carefully read pp. 52-62 (enthymemes and examples) and pp. 497-505 (rhetoric in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance). 

--Online Readings:
-"The Tell-Tale Heart," by Edgar Allan Poe (bring printout to class)
-"A Modest Proposal," by Jonathan Swift (print out, read carefully, take notes, and bring to class)
-Prof. Ed. Lamoreaux's notes on Renaissance Rhetoric
-Christine de Pizan (at Wikipedia)
-Copia: Foundations of the Abundant Style (at Wikipedia)

--Handout. Read carefully:
Page 1 and pp. 5-9 of "Frantic Forensic Oratory: Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart'"


18 and 20 March 2008 (Tuesday/Thursday)
--MIDTERM EXAM. Visit the EXAMINATIONS page for an outline of the midterm exam, study tips, and sample questions and answers. To contribute exam questions and help your classmates review for the exam, post sample Q&A at the course bulletin board.

11 and 13 March 2008 (Tuesday/Thursday)
--SPRING BREAK. Review for the midterm exam.

4 March 2008 (Tuesday)
--Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student:  Carefully review pp. 256-276 (discussions of the exordium and narratio) and carefully read pp. 276-292 (confirmation, refutation, and conclusion) in Part III, "Arrangement of Material."

--Thank You for Arguing. Review Chapter 8, pp. 72-78 ("Win Their Trust").

--Online Readings: Essays & Essay Analysis. Read carefully and bring copies to class:
-"A Hanging," by George Orwell
-"The Ring of Time," by E.B. White
-"Rhetorical Analysis of the 'The Ring of Time'"

--Online Readings: Terms. Review carefully--and know the terms:
-From Accismus to Zeugma: 20 Rhetorical Terms You Never Learned in School
-Effective Rhetorical Strategies of Repetition
-What is a maxim (aka proverb)?
-What is a metaphor?
-What is aporia?
-What is invective?
-What are the progymnasmata?

--Handouts. Read and know:
-excerpts from "Give a Great Speech"
-excerpts from "Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream': Ceremonial Protest and African American Jeremiad"

--Evaluating Examples of Rhetorical Terms: H-Z.  Review all the examples of rhetorical terms H-Z that were submitted by the 4:30 deadline this past Tuesday by you and your classmates.  As you read, make special note of:
(a) PUZZLERS: i.e., examples that puzzle or confuse you for any reason or that raise questions about the meaning of the terms they are meant to illustrate; and
(b) STANDOUTS: examples that you consider to be especially clear, fresh, useful, imaginative, and appropriate--in other words, examples that follow the assignment guidelines (see below, Feb. 26) and that help you to understand and remember the terms they illustrate. 

After you have reviewed all  of the posted examples for terms H-Z, select:
(a) your top two puzzlers (i.e., the examples that seem to cause the most uncertainty or confusion--not necessarily   the most obvious or trite or unnecessary examples, but those that serve, intentionally or not, the useful purpose of raising questions about the meanings of the terms they're meant to illustrate), and
(b) your top three standouts (i.e., the examples that you think are the best of the best, according to the criteria above). 
In no more than a sentence or two for each, prepare to explain (a) why or how the puzzlers puzzle you and (b) why your top three standouts are so darn good.  (Note: for both puzzlers and standouts, you may call attention to your own examples as well as those of your classmates.) For examples of puzzlers and standouts identified by students in last fall's class, see the italicized comments at Rhetorical Terms with Examples: Fall 2007 (A-H).

No later than 4:30 this afternoon (Tuesday, March 4), send your nominations (two puzzlers and three standouts) plus brief explanations for each to the course email address: engl5730@lycos.com. As always, please send your responses both attached as a Word doc and pasted into your e-mail message. If you would like credit for completing this stage of the exercise, please include your name.


28 February 2008 (Thursday)
--Evaluating Examples of Rhetorical Terms: A-G.  Review all the examples of rhetorical terms A-G that were submitted last week by you and your classmates.  As you read, make special note of:
(a) PUZZLERS: i.e., examples that puzzle or confuse you for any reason or that raise questions about the meaning of the terms they are meant to illustrate; and
(b) STANDOUTS: examples that you consider to be especially clear, fresh, useful, imaginative, and appropriate--in other words, examples that follow the assignment guidelines (see below, Feb. 19) and that help you to understand and remember the terms they illustrate. 

After you have reviewed all  of the posted examples for terms A-G, select:
(a) your top two puzzlers (i.e., the examples that seem to cause the most uncertainty or confusion--not necessarily   the most obvious or trite or unnecessary examples, but those that serve, intentionally or not, the useful purpose of raising questions about the meanings of the terms they're meant to illustrate), and
(b) your top three standouts (i.e., the examples that you think are the best of the best, according to the criteria above). 
In no more than a sentence or two for each, prepare to explain (a) why or how the puzzlers puzzle you and (b) why your top three standouts are so darn good.  (Note: for both puzzlers and standouts, you may call attention to your own examples as well as those of your classmates.) For examples of puzzlers and standouts identified by students in last fall's class, see the italicized comments at Rhetorical Terms with Examples: Fall 2007 (A-H).

No later than 4:30 this afternoon (Tuesday, March 4), send your nominations (two puzzlers and three standouts) plus brief explanations for each to the course email address: engl5730@lycos.com. As always, please send your responses both attached as a Word doc and pasted into your e-mail message. If you would like credit for completing this stage of the exercise, please include your name.

Keep in mind that you are evaluating the examples, not the individuals who submitted them or the film, comedian, politician, poet, song writer, or family relation who created them in the first place.  Make sure, however, that you identify your choices clearly--both by the names of the terms and the names of the students who submitted them [students' names are in brackets]. If one person for some reason submitted more than one example for the same term, copy and paste your example of choice. 

After receiving your evaluations, I will post them to the web site and then follow up with some of my own evaluations.  In addition, I'll delete misleading examples, unnecessary examples (i.e., those that illustrate terms we already know or certainly should know by now), and unoriginal examples (i.e., those lifted from our own or other online exercises or glossaries).  In short, to aid our study and review of the terms, I'll eliminate any examples that perplex or that fail to follow the directions. 


26 February 2008 (Tuesday)
--Handout. Read carefully:
"The Rise of Rome & the Rhetoric of Cicero"/Imperial Rome & the Rhetoric of Quintilian"

--Thank You for Arguing. Read carefully:
Chapter 23: Give a Persuasive Talk (pp. 247-259)
Chapter 20: Get Instant Cleverness (pp. 208-225)

--Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student:  Carefully read pp. 256-276 (discussions of the exordium and narratio) in Part III, "Arrangement of Material."

--Love Poems. Be prepared to discuss (and squeeze) the following poems in our Valentine's Day packet:
-"Enigma," by Jessie Redmon Fauset
-"Wild nights! Wild nights!" by Emily Dickinson
-"I Am Not Yours" and "Let It Be Forgotten" by Sara Teasdale
-"The More Loving One," by W.H. Auden
-"Again and again, however we know the landscape of love," by Rainer Maria Rilke

--"I Have a Dream." Be prepared to discuss the key rhetorical strategies in Dr. King's speech. (Video and audio can be found at the American Rhetoric website.)

--GRAMMAR & RHETORICAL TERMS.  Please have a good look at Top 24 Grammatical Terms That We Should Have Learned in School--and let me know if you have any questions about basic grammar.

--TERMS EXERCISE (H-Z).  From our CLASS PRODUCTIONS page, go to "Rhetorical Terms with Examples: Fall 2007 (H-Z)," "73 Rhetorical Terms with Examples: 2006--I-Z,"  "Rhetorical Terms with Examples: 2005--H-Z," and "77 Rhetorical Terms with Examples: F-Z" (contributed by the rhetoric class of 2003): read the examples and try to define the rhetorical terms they illustrate (then check your answers by clicking on the terms).

Next, and no later than 4:30 this afternoon (Feb. 26), send me an e-mail with five different examples you have found (or created) of any five different terms (from our list of terms) beginning H through Z. Be sure to cite the author and title of any poem, song lyric, speech, essay, story, gum wrapper, movie script, t-shirt, road sign, or novel you quote from.  (Again, please send me the terms both attached as a Word doc and pasted into your e-mail message.)  Obviously, I expect you to provide a fresh example for each of the five terms, not one that's already been submitted or that appears on another glossary site.

Your great challenge is to find examples of some of the less obvious (and perhaps more difficult to remember) terms.  If you submit examples of terms that we already know (such as parable, proverb, and simile), I will deduct points and ridicule you mercilessly on this web site.  (The purpose of this exercise is to come up with fresh examples that will help you and your classmates understand and remember the terms.) On the other hand, if you submit particularly imaginative examples for more challenging terms, I will heap extra points upon you and honor your name.  (There will be prizes for the best work.)

Again, as you're working on the exercise (don't wait till Tuesday's deadline), please send me an email if you're uncertain about the meaning of a term or the appropriateness of your example.

The alternative? "And you: friendless, brainless, helpless, hopeless! Do you want me to send you back to where you were? Unemployed in Greenland!" (Vizzini's examples of asyndeton, erotesis, and exclamation in The Princess Bride).
And remember that your evaluations of the A-G examples are due Thursday, February 28.

Tip: Looking for some good, fresh examples? Check out the quotation pages at IMDb for your favorite movies. Or skim quotations from a favorite author or historical figure at the Columbia World of Quotations.  (The examples at Homer Simpson's Figures of Speech came from online quotation sites--not from avidly watching the program.) Or help yourself to a favorite beverage and make up some clever examples.



19 February 2008
--Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student:  Carefully read the survey of Roman rhetoric (primarily works by Cicero and Quintilian) on pages 494-497. Also, read the discussion of enthymemes and examples on pages 52-62 and of the exordium (or introduction) on pages 260-270.

--Handout. Read carefully:
-excerpts from Lincoln at Gettysburg, by Garry Wills.

--Online Reading: Sojourner Truth. Read this brief introduction to Sojourner Truth and the two accounts of her famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech.

--Squeezing Love Poems. Read the 11 sets of poems on the handout (distributed in class on Valentine's Day), and then focus on set #1 (the two sonnets by Shakespeare) and any other two sets in the handout (presumably, poems that you understand and that interest you). Then, take a pen and "squeeze" these three sets of poems: take notes (directly on the handout) regarding the ethical, pathetic, and/or logical appeals and any figurative and stylistic devices you find. In class, we'll discuss the two Shakespearean sonnets together and then I'll call on you individually to find out what notes you've made on the poems you've selected. If you have any questions while squeezing, send me an email over the weekend. 

--TERMS EXERCISE (A-G).  From our CLASS PRODUCTIONS page, go to "Rhetorical Terms with Examples: Fall 2007," "Rhetorical Terms with Examples: 2005,"  "77 Rhetorical Terms with Examples" (rhetoric class of 2003), "66 Rhetorical Terms with Examples" (class of 2002), and "Examples of Rhetorical Terms" (class of 2000): read the examples and try to define the rhetorical terms they illustrate (then check your answers by clicking on the terms).

Next, and no later than 4:30 this afternoon (Feb. 19), send me an e-mail with five different examples you have found (or created) of any five different terms (from our list of terms) beginning A through G (we'll cover the rest of the alphabet next week).   Be sure to cite the author and title of any poem, song lyric, speech, essay, story, gum wrapper, movie script, t-shirt, road sign, or novel you quote from.  (Please send me the terms both attached as a Word doc and pasted into your e-mail message.)  Obviously, I expect you to provide a fresh example for each of the five terms, not one that's already been submitted or that appears on another glossary site.

Your great challenge is to find examples of some of the less obvious (and perhaps more difficult to remember) terms.  If you submit examples of terms that we already know (such as alliteration and fable), I will deduct points and ridicule you mercilessly on this web site.  (The purpose of this exercise is to come up with fresh examples that will help you and your classmates understand and remember the terms.) On the other hand, if you submit particularly imaginative examples for more challenging terms, I will heap extra points upon you and honor your name.  (There will be prizes for the best work.)

As you're working on the exercise (don't wait till Tuesday), send me an email if you're uncertain about the meaning of a term or the appropriateness of your example.  I'm counting on you to outshine the young rhetoricians who have preceded you in this class.  As Mikey says in The Goonies, "This is our time, our time!"   (An example, of course, of epizeuxis.) 

Tip: Looking for some good, fresh examples? Check out the quotation pages at IMDb for your favorite movies. Or skim quotations from a favorite author or historical figure at the Columbia World of Quotations.  (The examples at Homer Simpson's Figures of Speech came from online quotation sites--not from avidly watching the program.) Or help yourself to a favorite beverage and make up some clever examples.



14 February 2008
--Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student:  Carefully read the discussion of connotation on pages 349-351 and of figures of speech on pages 377-411 (skipping "Schemes of Words" on page 380). Make sure that you know all of the terms introduced by Corbett and Connors that also appear in our Tool Kit for Rhetorical Analysis. A few things to note:
-disregard anastrophe on pp. 383-84;
-in place of the term epistrophe (p. 391), use the term epiphora;
-disregard the term antimetabole (p. 394), and instead use chiasmus for both devices on pages 394-395;
-disregard anthimeria on pp. 400-401;
-in place of the term periphrasis (pp. 401-401), use the term circumlocution.

--Thank You for Arguing. Read Chapters 7 and 8, pp. 66-78.

--Handouts. Read carefully:
-The Gettysburg Address, by Abraham Lincoln
-"The Gettysburg Address," by Gilbert Highet
-Richard Lanham's "Descriptive Analysis" (a "lemon squeezer") of the Gettysburg Address

--BACKGROUND ON THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. Read the preview at NOTES for Feb. 5 and 7 on this topic.

--Online Readings. Review terms on these pages:
-Figures, Tropes, & Other Rhetorical Terms
-Definitions of Rhetoric in Ancient Greece and Rome
-Rhetorical Terms with Examples (Fall 2007): Terms A-G and Terms H-Z.

--Julius Caesar. Continue to study (and be prepared to identify the various rhetorical strategies and stylistic devices in) the rest of Antony's speeches in Act Three, scene two, of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.   Study our course page on "Comments on the Rhetoric of Brutus and Marc Antony in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar."   Also, see the previews and postscripts at last week's NOTES.


12 February 2008
--ONLINE ASSIGNMENT: REVISION & CRITIQUES OF AD ANALYSES. Study the ad analyses (ANALYZING PERSUASIVE APPEALS IN ADVERTISEMENTS: 2008) that you and your colleagues submitted a few weeks ago--all of them (2008 analyses only). The assignment at that time, you'll recall, was simply to do the following:

Compose a concise and cogent rhetorical analysis (roughly 200-300 words) of a magazine ad of your choosing (any ad that contains both images and text), focusing on the specific ethical, pathetic, and logical appeals.   (Examples of such analyses are posted at Analyzing Persuasive Appeals in Advertisements: 2000, Analyzing Persuasive Appeals in Advertisements: 2002, and Analyzing Ads: 2005; some examples are significantly better than others.)  By the start of class on Tuesday:
(1) Send me (at engl5730@lycos.com) a copy of your analysis (as an attached Word doc).
(2) Bring to class both a hard copy of your word-processed analysis and the ad you've examined (clipped together).

Now that we've reviewed the basic components of a good rhetorical analysis, learned several new rhetorical concepts (including enthymemes, examples, maxims, metonymy, connotation, textual and visual metaphors--and another 40 or so terms), and examined ethical, pathetic, and logical appeals in greater depth, you should be ready to sharpen your analysis in a thoughtful revision.

But before doing so, have a good look at these two analyses written by students in the 2006 class:
-Vaseline Skin Lotion (Stephanie Roberts)
-Corona Light (Lisa Hom)
Notice that both students begin by identifying the magazine in which the ad appeared as well as the target audience for each ad--i.e., the external rhetorical situation. And notice that both students keep that audience in mind as they conduct their analyses (Stephanie uses "we" to identify with that audience; Lisa uses third person, suggesting that she's not a part of that audience). Notice that both students avoid the first-person singular: not because "I" is inherently evil, but because in this assignment it would likely be be irrelevant and distracting. Both students are clearly aware of the product that's being promoted, both attempt to show relations between details in the text and visual details, and Lisa (in particular) has clearly spent some time studying the rhetorical terms and she applies them effectively. Both reports are clearly written and carefully edited.

By 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 12, send me an email with two separate Word documents clearly labeled and attached:

Document 1: A thoughtful revision of your original ad analysis. Cut out deadwood, including any summary ("Show me") that's not accompanied by analysis ("So what?"): your readers have the ad in front of them. Identify the rhetorical context: where the ad appeared and the apparent target audience (which is usually consistent with the target audience for the magazine). Begin your analysis in your first paragraph (broad introductions aren't necessary). Be sure to augment your analysis of ethical, pathetic, and logical appeals with attention to other rhetorical strategies and devices that we've studied since you composed your draft a few weeks ago. Edit and proofread carefully. Estimated length: roughly 300 to 400 words.

Document 2: A concise response (150 to 200 words) to any one of the other analyses posted at ANALYZING PERSUASIVE APPEALS IN ADVERTISEMENTS: 2008 (i.e, anybody else's draft but your own). Your goal isn't to dump on a classmate's draft. It's to respond to that draft with additional observations about rhetorical strategies that you find in the ad and/or with your own interpretations of strategies that may differ in some ways (big or small) from points raised in the original analysis. You're welcome (but not required) to work in teams on this short project: start early, pick a partner, and exchange responses to one another's ads. In this way, your partner's response may guide your revision of your own work.


5 February 2008
--Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student: 
(a) Carefully re-read pages 71-84 (ethos and pathos) as well as pages  492-494 (on Aristotle's Rhetoric). [See ASSIGNMENTS for Jan. 29, below.]
(b) Read pages 52-58 (the enthymeme).

--Handouts. Read carefully:
-Act III, scene 2 of Shakepeare's Julius  Caesar, with special attention to the parallel speeches by Brutus and Antony on the first two pages. Take notes on any rhetorical strategies and stylistic devices that you recognize.
-Euphemisms for "Killer Words and Phrases" (excerpts from Frank Luntz's book Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear (2006). Luntz says that his primary goal to is to promote clarity. Do you agree?

--Online Reading (repeated from ASSIGNMENTS for Jan 29, posted on Jan. 24):
-Excerpts from Aristotle's Rhetoric, Book I: After reading the introduction to Aristotle in Classical Rhetoric (pp. 492-494), have a good look at these excerpts from the opening sections of Rhetoric: Background, 1, 2, and 3. (Stop--about two-thirds of the way down the page--when you reach section 5: "It may be said that every individual man . . ..")  

--Online Reading.
After reading and taking notes on Act III, scene 2 of Julius Caesar, read the short articles posted at Comments on the Rhetoric of Brutus and Marc Antony in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

--Thank You for Arguing. Read Chapter 12, "Persuade on Your Own Terms" (pages 108-120).

--Terms Online: As one way of learning some of the trickier terms (and to prepare for an upcoming online exercise), review the work posted by the class of 2006 at Rhetorical Terms with Examples.


29 January 2008
--Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student.  Carefully read pages 71-84 (ethos and pathos) as well as pages  492-494 (on Aristotle's Rhetoric).

--Terms Online: Make sure that you understand and can apply the rhetorical terms covered on these pages:
-Quiz on Figures of Speech in Advertising Slogans
-What Is a Metaphor?
-Homer Simpson's Figures of Speech
-Bdelygmia: The Perfect Rant
-What Is Sprezzatura?
-Euphemisms, Dysphemisms, and Distinctio: Soggy Sweat's Whiskey Speech

--Handouts:
-Senator George Vest's Tribute to His Dog
-Online Marriage Proposals (in conjunction with the excerpt from Pride & Prejudice in Classical Rhetoric)

--Online Readings:
-Speeches. Listen again to Nixon's "Checkers speech" (at YouTube), and skim the text of that speech at the History Place.
-Excerpts from Aristotle's Rhetoric, Book I: After reading the introduction to Aristotle in Classical Rhetoric (pp. 492-494), have a good look at these excerpts from the opening sections of Rhetoric: Background, 1, 2, and 3. (Stop--about two-thirds of the way down the page--when you reach section 5: "It may be said that every individual man . . ..")
-Metaphor. This week we'll begin looking at the "master trope," metaphor. To prepare, please read (or re-read) a few poems and be sure to bring printouts of these poems to class: "Up-Hill"; "Because I could not stop for Death"; "The Road Not Taken"; "Making a Fist"; and "Walking Back Up Depot Street." 

_____________
22 January 2008
--Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student.  Carefully re-read pages 15-24. Carefully read pages 489-492.

--Plato Handout. Read the introduction to Plato (pages 16-18), the excerpts from Gorgias, and the excerpts from Phaedrus.

--Online Readings. Make sure that you understand and can apply these common rhetorical terms:
-Top 20 Figures of Speech
-Review Quiz: Top 20 Figures of Speech

--Thank You for Arguing. Read Chapter 3, "Control the Tense" (pp. 27-37); Chapter 6, "Make Them Listen" (pp. 56-65); and Chapter 21, "Seize the Occasion" (pp. 226-236).

--AD ANALYSIS. Compose a concise and cogent rhetorical analysis (roughly 200-300 words) of a magazine ad of your choosing (any ad that contains both images and text), focusing on the specific ethical, pathetic, and logical appeals.   (Examples of such analyses are posted at Analyzing Persuasive Appeals in Advertisements: 2000, Analyzing Persuasive Appeals in Advertisements: 2002, and Analyzing Ads: 2005; some examples are significantly better than others.)  By the start of class on Tuesday:
(1) Send me (at engl5730@lycos.com) a copy of your analysis (as an attached Word doc).
(2) Bring to class both a hard copy of your word-processed analysis and the ad you've examined (clipped together).


17 January 2008
--Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student.  Read pages 17-26. 
--Thank You for Arguing. Read Chapter 5 on ethos and decorum (pages 46-55) and Chapter 9 (pages 79-90).

15 January 2008
--COURSE OVERVIEW. Survey the main sections of our course web site, and carefully read the course SYLLABUS. Make sure that before coming to class (today and every class day) you've visited NOTES and read carefully the postscript to our last class and the preview of this one.
--Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student.  Read pages 1-17.
--Thank You for Arguing. Read the Introduction (pages 3-11) and Chapter 4 on ethos, pathos, and logos (pages 38-45).

13 January 2008
--No later than 9:00 p.m., please send me an e-mail (at engl5730@lycos.com) so that I can add your address to the class e-mail address book.  In your e-mail, please let me know (briefly) your major (English majors, please specify "straight English" or "Communications") and your career goals (if any).
 

English 5730 is taught by Dr. Richard Nordquist
Office of Liberal Studies (Solms 211)
Armstrong Atlantic State University
Savannah, Georgia 31419
912/921 5991

e-mail:  engl5730@lycos.com      

                                       

UPDATED
29 April 2008