English 508, Winter 2008

Welcome to this introductory course in contemporary rhetorical theory. This particular course is a survey course, rather than a history course--a survey of contemporary rhetorical theory, rather than a history of that theory (those theories).

In his Philosophy of Literary Form, Kenneth Burke writes about a great concept, what folks now call the Burkean parlor:

Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about. In fact, the discussion had already begun long before any of them got there, so that no one present is qualified to retrace for you all the steps that had gone before. You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer him, another comes to your defense; another aligns himself against you, to either the embarrassment or gratification or your opponent, depending upon the quality of your ally's assistance. However, the discussion is interminable. The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress. (110-11)

Rather than "retrac[ing] for you all the steps that had gone before" (as if we could do that in thirteen weeks!), my goal this semester is that, when you are in a conference session or when you are reading journal articles on a topic of interest to you or when you are in a job interview, you will feel comfortable enough with the tenor of some germinal ideas of contemporary rhetorical theory to "put in your oar."

And so in this course we'll read a few theorists who have become influential enough to signal a theoretical perspective in and of themselves (amorphous as that perspective may be), such as Kenneth Burke, Jürgen Habermas, Michel Foucault, and Judith Butler. We'll read some theorists whose work--or the positions/moves they represent--you may be expected to know, or at least know about, given that you are "in rhetoric," such as Chaim Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca, Stephen Toulmin, and Wayne Booth. We'll also read some theorists and some theoretical conversations that are interwoven into the current tenor of our field's Burkean parlors. Very loosely and somewhat provisionally so that we have a place to begin, I've pointed us in three directions for this course, directions that 1) relate to language as epistemic, performative, or constitutive rather than representative; 2) recognize the inexorable dynamic of power inherent in language; and 3) consider imperialist tendencies of and in rhetoric.

Naturally there is a theoretical bias to the design of this course, which includes the argument that one cannot design a course without a theoretical bias. There are lots of ways to structure a contemporary rhetorical theory course these days. So as we look at this course, we'll also look at several other possibilities--and their theoretical biases--on the first day of class.

As we look at this course, I predict you quickly will realize that there is a lot of reading--six books available at Shaman Drum and lots of essays or excerpts available on CTools. Also on the first day of class, we'll talk about careful reading and judicious skimming, and when you might do one or the other or something in between over the next thirteen weeks (and, let's face it, during your academic career). We need some way to hold ourselves accountable for reading, in addition to the terrific conversations we're going to have. One option in a graduate readings course is exams (either in-class or take-home), but given the structure of our course I think that short written responses to readings will be as effective and also less onerous--a good thing, given this course's pedagogical goal of exposure and familiarity rather than the construction of a narrative or comparative history. Twice during the semester you have a portfolio due, on March 3 and April 21. Each portfolio should include five discrete pieces of writing, each typed, double-spaced, two to three pages in length (try for two pages, really seriously definitely no more than three). Each short piece should be a response to one of the course readings; two of the five should be comparative, responding to two or three readings in conversation. In addition to these two portfolios, you'll select a book or a few essays to read on your own and present to the class (a brief presentation and accompanying handout) during our last meeting on April 14. We'll talk more about your written responses and brief presentation in class. So, then, lots of reading, thoughtful participation, the two portfolios, and the brief presentation comprise your work for the course.

I'm happy to make appropriate accommodations for disabilities. Please talk with me about special needs you may have during the first couple of weeks of the semester. I'm also happy to meet with you about this course or your graduate work more broadly. The best way to contact me is by email, which I check at least once a day during the week.

We've got some smart, compelling, creative, and fun readings and conversations ahead of us. Honestly, I designed this course with fun in mind. I'm excited to be engaging in this work with you. Here's to a productive and great semester.