Syllabus

Course policies and schedule (original)

syllabus, updated 25 April

Readings

Required Readings

• Breaking Bread & Barriers
• Change Isn't Easy but It's Possible
• Why I Left White Nationalism
• "Fantastic Beasts analysis + J. K. Rowling interview"
• "Remarks to the AFL-CIO Executive Council" by Elizabeth Warren
• "Step Into a Refugee Camp"
• "What the Alt-Right Really Means"
• "Students Fooled by Fake News"
• Two arguments on the Syrian Refugee Crisis
• Starting With a Handshake

Supplemental Readings

•  Why We Love Juno: Sample film analysis for a specific audience
• Is McFarland USA a White Savior Film? Sample Film Analysis with a moral slant
• Juno: Not Just Another Teen Movie
• Why College is a Waste of Time and Money--refutation sample target
• Weasel Words--article on fallacious language
• Groupthink--book review on the illusion of independent thought

Major Assignments

• Baseline Essay
• Rhetorical Analysis of a Film

      Film list for rhetorical analysis

• Research Unit
  • Working Bibliography + 1 annotation (updated 3/20)
  • Research Proposal + Annotated Bibliography
  • Argument: Refutation Essay
  • Multi-modal presentation: refutations or film analysis
• Reflection Essay

Small Assignments

• Working Bibliography + 1 annotation (updated 3/14)
• Analyzing your audience (specifically for the refutation)
  • Sample Audience Analysis for refutation
• Outline for Refutation
  • Sample Outline for Refutation
  • Why College is a Waste of Time and Money--refutation sample target

Peer Reviews

• Film Analysis Peer Review
• Annotated Bibliography peer review
• Reflection Peer Review
• Refutation Project peer review

Samples Related to the Assignments

• Sample "research sheet"--informal collection of sources
• Sample Outline for Film Analysis
• How to Structure a Film Analysis
• Professional film analysis, a couple of examples
• New Sample Student Annotated Bibliography (updated for MLA 8th edition)
• Refutations: further examples
  • Refutations to Kristof's "Where Sweatshops are a Dream"
  • Will Big Business Save the Planet?: full argument + refutations
  • Sample assignments related to refutations
    • Sample Audience Analysis for refutation
    • Sample Outline for Refutation
    • Why College is a Waste of Time and Money--refutation sample target

More on Rhetoric and Writing

• Analyzing Arguments Basic Questions [DOC]
• The Appeals and the Modes [DOCX]
• The Top Twenty Errors: A Quick Guide to Editing
• Evaluation Criteria [DOC]
• Considering Kairos [DOCX]
• Advice on Transitions [DOCX]
• Revision Strategies [DOCX]
• Some Principles for Writing Personal Essays [DOCX]
• Advice on Introductions and Conclusions [DOCX]
• Strategies for Researching Movies
• How to Structure a Film Analysis
• Professional film analysis, a couple of examples
• Analyzing Your Audience(s)

 

Grading and Other Tedious Matters

• • Grading Rubric [DOCX]