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Foundations of Rhetorical Theory

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Foundations of Rhetorical Theory 1 CMS 390P: Narrative, Myth, & Rhetoric University of Texas at Austin Fall 2020 /ONLINE Instructor: Dr. Scott R. Stroud Office: On Zoom/Skype Phone: 512-471-6561 Office Hours: T/Th 12:30-1:30pm Email: [email protected] /scottrstroud (skype) and by appointment (Zoom/Skype) Class Time: Monday 3:30-6:30pm (online) Unique Number: 07559 Classroom: On Zoom Class Website: On Canvas Course Description: This course engages two important and interrelated areas of study in rhetoric: narrative and myth. This course investigates a range of accounts that have been given concerning narrative’s rhetorical and argumentative powers. Of particular interest to us will be the theory of narrative argument offered by Walter Fisher in communication studies, although we will explore accounts of narrative from other disciplines as well. Arguments against narrative’s argumentative employment from philosophical aesthetics will also be considered. In terms of myth, the course will focus primarily on the question of how myth and mythic narrative occur in rhetorical activity. Issues to be explored include the psychological foundations of myths (particularly Jungian accounts), how mythic criticism might proceed, as well as critiques of mythic criticism from a variety of disciplines. A note about our classroom environment. Since this is a seminar, I will run this class as a discussion among equals as much as I can. I will try to make it fun, engaging, and lighthearted. But I will treat you as “argumentative equals.” While we may not be total equals in terms of knowledge of the course subject matter, we are equals in being able to assert, challenge, and defend arguments. What this practically means is that I will often try to argue, refute, and confound your arguments (and asserted claims) as I would do to an academic colleague in a professional discussion. Do not take this personally. One does not learn boxing or pottery making by staring at a chalkboard, and one will only become better at making arguments though the experience of arguing. Some of our discussions will be aimed at understanding a text and its arguments. But other significant parts of our discussion will be aimed at challenging, appropriating, or evaluating those arguments. I will often help you by playing devil’s advocate for the text/author/position in question, even if I do not ultimately find that argument persuasive. This is done simply to get the most out of our engagement with primary sources that are all too easy to dismiss because of their temporal distance, our disciplinary habits, and so forth. This is also done to make you better at scholarly argument. Required Texts: Walter R. Fisher, Human Communication as Narration: Toward a Philosophy of Reason, Value, and Action (University of South Carolina Press, 1989), ISBN-10: 0872496244. Janice Hocker Rushing & Thomas S. Frentz, Projecting the Shadow: The Cyborg Hero in American Film (Chicago, 1995), ISBN-10: 0226731677. Gary Saul Morson, Narrative and Freedom: The Shadows of Time (Yale University Press, 1996), ISBN- 10: 0300068751. (In reader) Laurie L. Patton & Wendy Doniger (eds.), Myth and Method (University of Virginia Press, 1996), ISBN- 10: 0813916577. (In reader) 2 Alan Dundes (ed.), Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of Myth (University of California Press, 1984), ISBN-10: 0520051920. (In reader) All other readings will be in our Course Reader (available at Jenn’s Copy across from CMA; also on canvas). Recommended Texts: Wendy Doniger, The Implied Spider: Politics and Theology in Myth (Columbia University Press, 1998), ISBN-10: 0231111711. William G. Doty, Mythography: The Study of Myths and Rituals, 2nd edition (University Alabama Press, 2000), ISBN-10: 0817310061. Robert A. Segal (ed.), Jung on Mythology (Princeton, 1998), ISNB-10: 0691017360. Assignments: Participation 25% Reading Response Papers 15% Discussion Presentations 10% Research Paper Proposal 5% Research Paper 45% Grading: 93-100% = A 87-89% = B+ 77-79% = C+ 67-69% = D+ 59 and below = F 90-92% = A- 83-86% = B 73-76% = C 63-66% = D 80-82% = B- 70-72% = C- 60-62% = D- Assignment Descriptions: This class is a seminar. My observations of your role in the classroom community will constitute your participation grade. Please do not use cell phones or laptops for non-course related uses during class (so, no facebooking, email checking, texting, or chatting). For two class sessions, please prepare a reading response paper. These should be 2-3 pages in length. Your response paper can be your critical response to any part of the assigned reading(s) for that class. Another way to think of these would be as chances to argumentatively connect a topic in the reading to some other issue of interest to you. I will evaluate these papers based upon their engagement with substantive points in the reading, as well as the depth of critical thought displayed. What we don’t want to do on these papers, say, is to link the assigned reading to a personal experience you’ve had, to write about our emotional reaction to this point, etc. Argue something. Also, don’t burn up all your space by throwing in quotations or introductions. Try to argue something interesting or important. Also, keep the sort of formal voice you would have in an academic piece—these are not article length pieces, but the sort of critical thinking and argument should be of the same cloth. Over the course of the semester, each student will be a “discussion leader” for one session. There will be (at most) one student discussion leader per session. Instead, you will lead a 45 minute discussion presentation. You will choose some subset of the assigned readings for that day, present your thoughts on it, and lead a discussion about it. This will involve you (1) presenting some main points of the reading(s) and then (2) critically analyzing them. Please bring copies of some sort of outline or summary of your presentation for your classmates. It is fine if you want to link the reading(s) in question to larger concerns in rhetoric or to other class readings. Also be prepared to stimulate class discussion for a while. We will start the process of picking days for presentations in the first class session. 3 Each student will write a research paper (15-25 pages of text) dealing with a significant issue relating to course content. This paper must include research outside of assigned course materials and must involve critical reflection and argument. You must inform me (in a 2 page document) of your proposed topic for feedback on its suitability. This is your chance to further explore topics broached in class, or to link discussed ideas in myth or narrative to your own areas of study. More details concerning this assignment will follow in class. It would be a good idea to share drafts of your paper with your classmates to get their feedback, although I will not require this. Ideally, your final paper should be ready for submission to a regional or national conference in communication studies, rhetorical studies, or your field. Notes to Syllabus: -The syllabus and readings are subject to change with email notice. Please watch your email associated with Canvas for any notifications. -Assignments must meet the due dates or be subject to a 20% penalty if turned in within a week (after that, a zero must be recorded). Do not feed habits of procrastination, they will turn on you. -The university policy on plagiarism will be strictly enforced. Using the text or ideas of someone else in your papers or presentations without clearly citing them is plagiarism, and significant cases will result in an “F” for the course (less significant cases will result in an “F”/0% on the assignment). Using written work submitted in other courses is also not allowed. Modality of Instruction: This course will be fully online. Course sessions will be synchronous unless otherwise noted by me; this means you are to be present and online via the Zoom link I provide on Canvas at during the allotted course time. Be attentive in class, ask questions when needed (through voice or chat), offer comments and thoughts on discussion topics. You must be familiar with Zoom and Canvas to succeed in this course; if you are not, please contact Moody College’s tech support team to address your problems with the applications. Disability Statement: Students with disabilities who require special accommodations need to get a letter that documents the disability from the Services for Students with Disabilities area of the Office of the Dean of Students (471-6259 voice or 471-4641 TTY for users who are deaf or hard of hearing). This letter should be presented to the instructor in each course at the beginning of the semester and accommodations needed should be discussed at that time. Five business days before an exam the student should remind the instructor of any testing accommodations that will be needed. Canvas: This course uses Canvas, a Web-based course management system in which a password-protected site is created for each course. Canvas is available at http://courses.utexas.edu. I will use Canvas to distribute handouts, as well as to post any additional information or comments. Plagiarism Detection Software: All assignments in this course will be processed by TurnItIn, a tool that compares submitted material to an archived database of published work to check for potential plagiarism. Other methods may also be used to determine if a paper is the student’s original work. Regardless of the results of any TurnItIn submission, the faculty member will make the final determination as to whether or not a paper has been plagiarized.
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