INSTRUCTOR: David Fleming, PhD CLASS MEETINGS: Thursdays, 6:00 - 8:30 p.m., EN 124 OFFICE: EN 218 OFFICE HOURS: TTh, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m., & by appt. PHONE: 646-3931 (English Dept.), 646-2239 (my office & voice mail), 521-8664 (home) EMAIL: fleming@nmsu.edu (email)
We'll proceed in the following way. Our central work will be discussion of assigned and supplementary readings. Each week, you will be responsible for two things: reading and talking about the 'core' assigned reading(s) of that week and reading and talking about one or more supplementary readings for which you will have individual responsibility. These supplementary readings (biography, background, criticism, application, etc.) will be assigned the week before the meeting when they will be discussed. For your reading, you will be asked to prepare approximately five minutes of summary/commentary for the rest of the class. (You may use written notes to help you, but the remarks will be oral.) This procedure should help structure our conversations, ensure widespread participation, and expand the knowledge base we use to understand the core readings. For some of the core readings, I may also ask for summaries/commentaries. These summaries should not be seen as a substitute for lively discussion and debate, only a way to better stage discussion and debate.
In addition to core and supplementary readings, each student will be responsible for giving a formal lecture on a book not assigned to the whole class. I will suggest books for this assignment, but feel free to propose something not on my list. This lectures will be in the neighborhood of 30-45 minutes long each and will be dispersed throughout the semester.
Aside from these reading, discussion, and lecture responsibilities, you are also required to write and deliver a 20-minute formal (conference-type) presentation on a relevant topic of your own choosing. These presentations will be given to the class on November 14 and 21. Work towards these presentations will include a 1-page proposal due on or about October 17. Tentatively, there will be a take-home written exam due during final exam week (Dec. 12). In the exam, I will probably ask you to choose 2 of 4 questions about which you will write 500-750 words (about 2-3 pp DS) for each.
I want this to be a class built around lively, wide-ranging, thought-provoking conversational. At the same time, I want to provide opportunities for all of us to practice academic, scholarly, and professional skills useful in our lives, particularly the skills of summarizing, synthesizing, analyzing, and contributing to intellectual inquiry.
Regular and punctual attendance on everyone’s part is crucial.
These texts are on sale in the campus bookstore. In addition, there will be several additional pieces that I will either photocopy and distribute in class or put on reserve in the library.Theresa Enos & Stuart Brown (Eds.). (1994). Professing the New Rhetorics: A Sourcebook. Prentice-Hall. [PNR] John Nelson, Allan Megill, & Donald McCloskey (Eds.). (1987). The Rhetoric of the Human Sciences: Language and Argument in Scholarship and Public Affairs. Wisconsin. [RHS] Jacques Derrida. (1982). Margins of Philosophy. Trans. Alan Bass. Chicago. [MP] Wayne C. Booth. (1974). Modern Dogma and the Rhetoric of Assent. Chicago. [MD] Russell B. Goodman (Ed.). (1995). Pragmatism: A Contemporary Reader. Routledge. [Pr] Edwin Black. (1978). Rhetorical Criticism: A Study in Method. Wisconsin. [RC] Sonja K. Foss, Karen A. Foss, & Robert Trapp. (1991). Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric. 2nd ed. Waveland. [CPR]
Discussion & summaries 35% Lecture responsibility 15% Paper/presentation 35% Final exam 15% Final Grade = 100%