Windmills & Giants

[It's still funny.]

If you need to get in contact with me, please shoot an email, or come by my room before school. I’m here at 7:00 every day.

If you need to know what we did in class, check this blog.

The primary focus of this course will be the active study and evaluation of rhetorical devices in several canonical works: Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Practical Reason—Begin this as soon as possible; his discourse on ethics (particularly the categorical imperative) can seem daunting at first, but his point will be clear after a hundred pages or so. This is an excellent exercise for understanding proper logical arguments. In addition to Kant, we will deconstruct Plato’s The Republic and Crito with the goal of tracing the various rhetorical devices to an early source. For reference, our four textbooks will be George Kennedy's Classical Rhetoric and its Christian and Secular Tradition from Ancient to Modern Times, Thomas O. Sloane’s Encyclopedia of Rhetoric (Oxford University Press, 2001), Heinrich Lausberg’s Handbook of Literary Rhetoric: A Foundation for Literary Study (2nd ed. 1973), and Winifred Bryan Horner’s The Present State of Scholarship in Historical and Contemporary Rhetoric (University of Missouri Press, 1983).

For universities around the country, the Advanced Placement exam results have become one of the most important signs of an excellent student.



Okay, okay, not really. Relax. There will be no Kant in my classroom. Anyone caught with Kant on his or her person will be sternly glared at—perhaps with some head-shaking and mumbling about the current state of high schoolers. In reality, this class is about arguments: good ones, bad ones, and why one is one and the other the other. (Many rhetorical sources say that repetition not only makes a statement more memorable, but it gives it a good rhythm, a certain momentum. Did it work? Eh? More on this later.) Oh, and I swiped that fake book list from Wikipedia; more later (we have all year…) on why this was doubly terrible. We don’t even have a textbook.

We all argue. Whether we argue that London Calling was the greatest punk album ever, or that a socialized medical system in the US is a good idea, we are making a statement, presenting evidence, and answering any appropriate counterargument. This course will build on this daily habit while providing us all with a neat vocabulary of words like “litote” (Rhymes with “My goatee.” E.g.: “That kid’s no Einstein”) and “syllogism” (Classic example: All men are mortal. Aristotle was a man. Therefore, Aristotle was mortal). We will discuss this further as we begin our readings (later).

This is not a literature course, but we will be reading constantly. When I say “reading” I mean reading short essays, articles, journals, magazines, television, music, poetry, cartoons, advertisements, speeches, movies, and plays. Well, “reading” is not the right verb for most of those, so feel free to fill in your own as you see fit. I use “consume,” though it holds a connotation of throwing away after use. I try to ignore that.

This course differs from other English classes in that we are concerned with the structure of argument (how an argument is presented, persuasiveness, etc.), instead of literary value. Take Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a quick example: Instead of discussing possible motivations for Viktor’s desire to create life, or the symbolism behind the Gothic weather, we delve into what Shelley could be arguing regarding possible repercussions of the industrial revolution. This used to be called Rhetoric. It was deemed vital for centuries, but it has waned in popularity since the sixties. It is only within the last few years that the College Board has decided that the AP English Lang and AP English Lit classes should not be the same thing.

If nothing else, by the end of this course you will never look at a commercial the same way again; I promise you will be better for it.

A Quick Note About “School”:

school(1) “place of instruction,” O.E. scol. from L. schola, from Gk. skhole “school, lecture, discussion,” also “leisure, spare time,” originally “a holding back, a keeping clear, [?!] ” from skhein “to get” + -ole by analogy with bole "a throw," stole “outfit,” etc. The original notion is “leisure,” which passed to “otiose discussion,” then “place for such.”

[First assignment, look up “otiose” and think of a class that fits this description.]

This, unfortunately, seems to be the state of affairs in most classrooms. But, this is not how we do things at TSAS. I recognize that I do not hold all the knowledge in my classroom (see “holding back”). We are going through this learning process together. While I will lecture at times, the dominant mode of learning in my classroom is discussion. We are not only learning about how to analyze arguments and persuasions; we are learning how to put this knowledge into practice through discussion and debate.

The following are my expectations for myself in teaching this class:

· As a teacher, I promise to never “hold” information as if it were something to pass out when you are ready. This is a good trick for teachers working from a textbook’s Teacher’s Edition, but as I said before, we have no textbook. Houghton Mifflin does not plan our activities (though we might be more organized if they did); we do.

· As a teacher, I understand that you (my students) will have insights and ideas that may be different from mine. This is a good thing.

· As a teacher, I will give you access to all of the resources at my disposal. This includes my own learning, books, websites, cool articles, movies, music, answer keys, examples from previous years, and anything else I come across.

· As a teacher, I will push you to work harder than you think possible. I do this to show you what you are capable of if given the chance and motivation.

· As a teacher, I will not “hold back” when grading your written work or when discussing issues in class. To do so would be patronizing and not conducive to learning.

We will discuss your expectations of one another on the first day of class.

Section One: Lost in Translation (but with a better ending)

We will begin with a discussion of the three basic rhetorical modes of argument:

· Ethos

· Logos

· Pathos

Section Two: T-DIDLS—Clever acronym, or Sean Combs’s next stage name?

Broken down:

· Tone

· Diction

· Imagery/Detail

· Language

· Syntax

Section Three: What we will do the rest of the time

You should bring in two articles/essays/works of art/books/etc. each week (every Tuesday and Thursday, even if I forget to remind you) with an analysis of the argument presented for each. We will work through several at the beginning, and I’ll bring examples. They do not need to be typed, but each must contain the following:

1. Your name and date at the top. (This is logistical; I cannot give you credit if I do not know it is yours.)

2. MLA citation of the work.

3. Author, name of article/work, and name of periodical (if you pulled it from a magazine or journal) in the first paragraph.

4. Short (single sentence) explanation of which rhetorical devices the author uses and whether the work is persuasive.

5. One paragraph outlining (with examples) how the author uses these rhetorical devices.

6. One paragraph explaining why the article is or is not persuasive.

This may seem like a lot to do, but once you start writing them it will become second nature. We will discuss these articles in class, so pick articles that argue a point (this is important; many newspaper articles merely report on a topic, so check the Opinion or Editorial pages for arguments) and come prepared to discuss. If you have trouble finding something to bring to class, check out this blog. I have set up an RSS feed for articles that I think are worth reading. Not all argue a point—some I just think are cool. Snag one, write an analysis, and enjoy class knowing you came prepared. It’s a good thing.

The other days will be devoted to pursuing whatever topic we deem fit for class-wide interest. We will cover the Civil Rights movement in the U.S., the impact of the media on society, the “green” movement, the presidential elections, drug problems (or perceived problems) in our society, philosophies, and any social problems we feel the urge to discuss. Note I’m using the first-person plural: Please come to me if you have an idea for a project or discussion.

By this time we will begin preparing for the AP test. I will introduce the analysis, synthesis, and argumentative essays, and the multiple choice sections. We will start out slowly, with partial sections each week, moving up to a full exam by the end of the year.

Consumables

We will choose our readings as the class progresses, (check the blog for updates) but here is a list of authors to get us started:

Autobiographers and Diarists

Maya Angelou, Augusten Burroughs, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Frederick Douglass, Helen Keller, Maxine Hong Kingston, Richard Rodriguez, David Sedaris, Richard Wright

Biographers and History Writers

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Barbara Tuchman

Critics

Gloria Anzaldua, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Joyce Carol Oates, Cornel West

Essayists and Fiction Writers

Margaret Atwood, James Baldwin, Joan Didion, Paul Fussell, Edward Hoagland, Zora Neale Hurston, Jamaica Kincaid, Nancy Mairs, N. Scott Momaday, Montaigne, Tillie Olsen, George Orwell, Cynthia Ozick, Adrienne Rich, Scott Russell Sanders, Richard SeIzer, Shelby Steele, Henry David Thoreau, John Updike, Alice Walker, Eudora Welty, E. B. White, Terry Tempest Williams, Virginia Woolf

Political Writers

Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jonathan Swift, Gore Vidal

Science and Nature Writers

Rachel Carson, Annie Dillard, Loren Eiseley, Stephen Jay Gould, Barry Lopez, Lewis Thomas

Musicians/Albums

Thrice/The Artist in the Ambulance, Gatsby’s American Dream/Gatsby’s American Dream, Ben Harper/Fight for Your Mind and Both Sides of the Gun, John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band/The U.S. vs. John Lennon, Green Day/American Idiot, The Flaming Lips/At War With the Mystics, The Decemberists/All, Sly & the Family Stone/All, The Beatles/All after Help!, The Rolling Stones/All, The Clash/London Calling, Janis Ian/Between the Lines, Kaki King/Until We Felt Red, Damian Marley/Welcome to Jamrock, Bob Marley/Africa Unite, and, of course, Alanis Morisette/”Ironic.” That got out of hand. [Actually, I stole this list from last year. There are many more to cover, and we didn’t get to all of them. The best suggestions came from the students, do speak up!]

Films

Hotel Rwanda, Fahrenheit 451, Fast Food Nation, SiCKO, MaxedOut

Housekeeping

This could also be called “The Fine Print,” but it is important, so I’m keeping it readable. No Charlie and the Chocolate Factory surprise clauses here.

Plagiarism

If you plagiarize, you will fail. There will be no slapping of hands, no talks in the hall. I will certainly give any suspected plagiarist a chance to explain, but I do not see any reason for a student to represent another’s work as his or her own. “So,” you may be asking yourself, “what does he think plagiarism is, exactly?” I’m glad you asked.

Plagiarism is taking another’s ideas, words, images, term paper, etc. and putting your name on it without saying, “Hey, this section is by so-and-so.” Quoting from Shakespeare in a paper is not plagiarism as long as you include his name in a citation or works cited page. (We will discuss MLA formatting later in the year.) If you read someone else’s paper, website, book, or the like, and re-write or paraphrase the ideas without telling your reader where you got the idea, that is plagiarism. We will go over plagiarism in more detail later, but the gist of this section is: Do your own work. If you get information or ideas from another source, give due credit. Simple as that. If you have any questions or concerns that a part of your paper might be inadvertently plagiarized, ask me. No one is going to get in trouble for it before the paper is turned in. Again, ask and I will help.

Class Materials

This course is taught as if it were a college seminar, but we have more than two grades (this is a good thing; I promise). As a college course, there will be topics discussed that you may be uncomfortable with or language in the readings that you may not approve of. That being said, I ask that each of you keep an open mind. The pieces we read are chosen for a reason, and some of the language or topics may be controversial. If we don’t think the language is appropriate for a piece, we will discuss it. Everything is important. That being said, if you have a serious objection to anything being presented please do not hesitate to let me know. I will try to make the necessary changes to the assignment, or provide an alternative work for the class to read. The change will be subtle, and no one will be the wiser. If you prefer not to come to me in person (though I would appreciate that), just email me. No worries.

Late Work Policy

Late work should not be a problem, as you are considered college students during this class, and college students never turn anything in late. Well, maybe they do. If you realize that you will not be able to turn in an assignment on time, you must come see me at least one day before it is due. If you give me a good reason, I will be happy to give you an extension. If you come to me the day it is due, you had better have an excellent reason. I will probably not allow the extension, but you are welcome to try.

Return Policy

All unopened merchandise may be returned within 30 days of purchase with original receipt for a full refund. Broken, damaged, or otherwise altered merchandise will not be refunded. The purchase of software, books, music, clothing, or bread is considered final and products may not be returned.



[Copy edit c/o Mr. E]

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