Welcome
Welcome to English 140. This course has as its focus a phenomenon very basic and yet incredibly complex: the use of language to affect the world in which we live. When we think of language as action, as having consequences in the world (rather than simply reflecting or representing the world), we are thinking of rhetorical activism. In this class, we'll study the words of ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary things with language, people who have had inspiring effects on the ways United States citizens experience civil rights in this country.

The signers of the United States Constitution recognized the power of rhetorical activism when they declared freedom of expression the most important right of United States citizens. Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and hundreds of other activists incited a nation to free millions of enslaved people through their rhetorical activism. Susan B. Anthony and dozens of other women spent eight decades using the only power they had, the power of language, to ensure women their right to vote in this country. The persuasive eloquence of Martin Luther King, Jr. changed this nation's consciousness as well as the experience of civil rights for all of its citizens. And although the United States did not ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, people like Shirley Chisholm and Betty Friedan forever altered the expectations and opportunities for women and men in this country.

How did these ordinary men and women accomplish extraordinary things by speaking up and speaking out? More broadly, how do people use language to define, reform, and even revolutionize politics and society? That will be our central question as we study texts from four United States civil rights movements: the antislavery, early woman's rights, women's liberation, and 1960s Civil Rights movements.

This class focuses on rhetorical activism, rather than the history of these civil rights movements. That focus has important consequences, two of which warrant particular attention. First, the texts we'll study have been selected primarily because of the rhetorical principles they illustrate. They are not historically representative of the civil rights movements we're studying. I'll say more about that when I introduce the texts for the course.

Second, we will approach the content of the course--the movement texts--as rhetorical critics, rather than as historians. Although we will need to know the circumstances surrounding these texts, we will concentrate on the rhetorical functions of the texts rather than their placement in history. For example, we will concern ourselves with things like the kinds of appeals a rhetor uses, the patterns of arrangement in a text, how a text reflects and/or constitutes its audience, and the figures of speech and other elements of style that emphasize or even demonstrate a text's arguments. At the end of a semester-long history course you might expect to know well the key figures and major ideas of the civil rights movements. On the other hand, at the end of this course--if you participate fully and complete the course requirements successfully--you can expect to understand language as action, rather than representation; rhetorical activism as an indispensable component of civic life; and, in pragmatic and technical (if introductory) ways, how people use language to define, reform, and even revolutionize politics and society.

What Does it Mean that this Course is a First-Year Seminar?
As you know, this course is a First-Year Seminar. What does that mean? Lots of things. For instance, it means that the class is small, so that you have a chance to get to know me and your classmates well. I have an opportunity to convey to you the intellectual excitement and enthusiasm my research inspires in me, and you have an opportunity to learn about what it means to be engaged in a stimulating research project, to do the kind of academic scholarship central to academic life at the University of Michigan, one of the nation's top research universities.

For example, our required readings include some texts only available on microfilm. Did you know that the University of Michigan has one of the ten best library collections in the country, including a terrific microfilm collection? In addition, we'll study some documents available to us because they exist in the Labadie Collection, one of the best collections of social protest literature in the country. This collection happens to be located in our graduate library. We'll take a tour of the Labadie Collection during class on November 13, and you'll have the opportunity to see the original copies of some of these documents.

I want to emphasize three things central to academic life at Michigan that will be a part of our first-year seminar. First, being at a great research university means you are surrounded by some of the most intellectually active and varied thinkers in the world--and I mean the people sitting next to you in class and in the Union, as well as the teachers of your classes. Talk with them and listen to them! Get started by actively participating in our class discussions.

Second, to do the kind of intellectual work required of UM students, you'll need to think critically: go beyond memorization, passive acceptance of ideas, and old patterns of thinking. Critical thinking means that you are evaluating, comparing, synthesizing, and integrating. It doesn't require that you change your mind, but it does require that you understand and own your ideas, rather than accept without question ideas other people espouse. Critical thinking is an active process, and one which you must practice in this class to meets its requirements.

Third, intellectually engaged people don't make sharp distinctions between their academic and "extracurricular" lives. They think critically about things outside the classroom walls. They transfer the knowledge they learn in class or in their scholarship to other aspects of their lives. To that end, we'll take advantage of special funding provided to us because this class is a First-Year Seminar, and we'll visit the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit on Saturday, September 16.

Texts for the Course
Selecting the readings for this class was challenging but fun. The biggest challenge was narrowing the list. There are dozens of texts that belong in a course like this, but because of time constraints and to ensure rhetorical variety, I had to eliminate some really wonderful ones. I believe the final group of readings is interesting and provocative. I hope you will enjoy reading for this class, even if you don't agree with some of the points of view expressed.

I already mentioned that I selected texts based on the rhetorical principles they illustrate, rather than the ways they historically represent the antislavery, woman's rights, Civil Rights, or women's liberation movements. So, for example, we're not reading about women's reproductive rights when we read from the women's liberation movement, nor are we reading about labor issues within the Civil Rights movement. There simply isn't time. Also, for instance, we're reading more of Stokely Carmichael's rhetorical activism than Malcolm X's, even though Malcolm X was arguably a more important figure in the Civil Rights movement. And we're studying fundraising letters from organizations including the Eagle Forum and NOW, even though they were less visible than other ERA texts. But each selection we're reading is on the list for a particular reason, and we'll talk about these reasons during the semester.

The readings have been compiled for your convenience and they are being stored at EXCEL, a test preparation and copy center. You may use this set of readings to make a copy for yourself at EXCEL. Their copies cost $.07 per page, with optional additional charges if you want your copies bound or three-whole punched. EXCEL is located at 1117 South University, above the Ulrich's computer and engineering store. Their phone number is 996-1500. If you prefer, I will provide you with a bibliography and you may make copies of the readings on your own.

I ask people to refer directly to the texts during discussion. Please bring assigned readings to class so that you can easily and quickly point your classmates to the passage(s) under consideration.

Requirements
The schedule of assignments includes readings and two exams. In addition, there will be occasional quizzes during the semester. Participation is an important component of your performance in this class and attendance is required.

Readings
This course is based on discussion, not lectures, so I expect you to read all of the texts on the syllabus carefully and come to class ready to talk about your reactions to them. I recommend that you read with a pen in your hand, so you can jot notes or ideas in the margins of your book. I use a color such as blue or red to contrast with the black ink publishers use--that way, I can find my notes easily by paging through the text. Stay away from highlighters: they encourage passive reading, particularly since they cause you simply to mark a passage without writing a note or a thought. I also outline speeches and essays on a separate sheet of paper, especially listing passages which deal with key themes of the course or that seem to have particular significance in the text itself. Imagine how that kind of active reading will help you when you want to make a point in class or on your quizzes or exams. What other kinds of "active reading" strategies work for you?

Quizzes
There will be several quizzes, usually unannounced, during the semester. These quizzes will help you focus your reading, practice rhetorical analysis, and synthesize and integrate issues important to the rhetorical activism we'll be studying. They will also help you prepare for exams. Quizzes will be graded on a ten-point scale, and you may drop your lowest quiz grade.

Exams
There will be two exams during the semester. These exams will include sections in which you will be asked to define rhetorical terms, identify and briefly comment on the significance of passages from assigned texts, and write longer responses to questions that ask you to synthesize material from the course. We will talk more about these exams in class. Bring bluebooks to class for these exams.

Participation
Participation matters. It is the "engagement" part of "intellectual engagement." Class participation will be informally but clearly reflected in your quizzes and exams, since these graded activities will benefit from the clarity of thought and expression and the exchange of ideas which class discussions provoke. In addition, class participation is formally accounted for in your grade for this class. Class participation includes (but is not limited to) involvement in large and small group discussions, in-class writings, and an occasional short homework assignment designed to guide you in your reading (for example, "identify five figures of speech used in Stanton's speech").

Some active participation is taken as a given. Intelligent, frequent participation which forwards class discussion or consideration of relevant issues will raise your grade (questions you ask, by the way, may be as interesting as the answers we come up with). Failure to participate at a basic level, including by virtue of excessive absences, will reduce your grade, as will negative or inappropriate participation.

I expect you to come to each session prepared, with reading and writing assignments completed. I also expect you to be attentive and responsive to other members of this class--your colleagues. This classroom must be one of mutual respect and open exchange. The University's Code of Student Conduct names as the University's "central purpose . . . maintaining a scholarly community [which] . . . promotes scholarly inquiry through vigorous discourse. Essential values which undergird this purpose include civility, dignity, education, equality, freedom, honesty, and safety. . . As members of the University community, students are expected to uphold its values by maintaining a high standard of conduct." If you have any questions, please review this Code at http://www.umich.edu/~oscr/Newcode.html or call the Office of Student Conflict Resolution at 936-6308.

Attendance
Attendance is a prerequisite for class participation (discussions, in-class writings, quizzes, etc.). Clearly, your presence will have a direct and important effect on your participation in this course. If you are absent, seek out a classmate for an explanation of what was covered that day, and then see me during office hours.

You may have two absences without penalty. If you miss a quiz, you will receive a zero instead of a grade. Do not miss an exam. For each absence after the first two, your final grade will be lowered by one-third of a letter grade (for example, a "B" will become a "B-"). Two late arrivals or early departures (of less than fifteen minutes) convert to one absence. If you miss more than fifteen minutes of a class, you will be considered absent.

Bypassing the Requirements
If you have a question about course procedures or a request to bypass a course requirement or a deadline, write me a memo or send me an email in advance. Make clear for what you are asking and tell me whatever I need to know to make a decision, which I will convey to you in writing or via email. I can't usually give you full attention in the moments after class. I will make better decisions if I am given good information and time to consider a question or problem.

Office Hours
I will hold office hours throughout the semester. Office hours are an extension of the classroom. You are welcome to come by with questions, comments, and concerns. If you are enjoying a reading and would like to discuss it further, if you are having a problem with something in the course, if you don't understand something, come and see me. Why not stop by?

Communication
With Me
The most efficient way to get in touch with me outside of class time and office hours is email. During the semester, I check my email every weekday--more frequently than I check my campus mailbox for notes. I have an answering machine on my office phone, but I check that only on days when our class meets. Email is by far the best option.

I will use email to contact class members in case class is canceled because of snow or some other emergency, or if I want to pass on useful information about the class. Although I will not hold you responsible for information distributed by email, it may be to your advantage to give me your email address so that you will receive such updates. I will also post this sort of information on the website for the course, http://www-personal.umich.edu/~alisse/ENGL140f00/index.html.

With Your Classmates
Your classmates are an integral part of your English 140 experience. I recommend that you introduce yourself to people in this class (you will have opportunities to do so early in the semester), and that you exchange email addresses with several classmates so that you can form study groups, find out what you missed in case of an absence, etc. This email exchange is voluntary, so if someone declines to give you his or her email address, please respect that choice.

Grading
Your final grade in this course is determined as follows:

Quizzes																																																		30%
First Exam																																																		25%
Second Exam																																																		30%
Participation																																																		15%

Services for Students with Disabilities
If you think you may need an accommodation for any sort of disability, please contact Services for Students with Disabilities (G-625 Haven Hall, 763-3000, http://www.umich.edu/~sswd/ssd) and make an appointment to see me within the first two weeks of the semester.

The Gayle Morris Sweetland Writing Center
Although you won't be writing papers for this class, I always like to make a plug for the Sweetland. You may find the Sweetland Writing Center to be a valuable resource when you write papers for any of your University of Michigan classes. If you are interested in finding out more about their services, including the On-Line Writing Lab, Writing Workshops, and Peer Tutoring, visit the Sweetland at 1139 Angell Hall, call 764-0429, or check out their website at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/swc.

Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, cheating, aiding and abetting dishonesty, and fabrication, will not be tolerated. Please read carefully the memo on plagiarism distributed in class, which is also posted at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/english/undergraduate/plag.htm. If you have any questions about "what counts," see me.

A Final Note
These course policies and the schedule of assignments are subject to change. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out about such changes.

A.T.00