This course will focus on Argument and Rhetoric. Aristotle defined rhetoric "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion." This definition seems to privelage the multiplicities/possibilities when it comes to persuasion. There is not one way to make an argument - in fact there are many.
In order to better ourselves as both writers and thinkers, we will engage with the complexities that surround the process of the written argument: claims, audiences, appeals, etc. and we will continue with the philosophies the groundwork of which were laid in Comp. I - specifically that writing is a process, that it is muscular (that is, something that improves through use and practice), that we will use the drafting process to discover and explore, and especially that complexity and the search will help us to become better critical writers and thinkers.
Over the course of the semester, you will enage each other on the discussion boards, you will write numerous mini-essays (which you will submit on the blog you start) that will help explore the ideas and terms you come across during the course, and you will also write 2 substantial (4-8 pgs.) research-driven papers.
For the first few weeks of the semester, many of you will be focused on trying to figure how to use webct, how to post your work on blogger, and how best to communicate with one another. In the spirit of less-confusion, I’m posting the course schedule to this page. Here you will find your reading assignments for the semester. Each week, I’ll also give you a reading assignment. To complete this assignment, you'll to go to the webct discussion boards and answer questions in relation to the reading. The discussion boards are meant as a forum to help you comprehend the reading and any issues or writing strategies discussed therein. I want to encourage you to not only respond to the questions I pose to you, but also to the posts of your peers.
Once you have posted to the boards, you should complete your weekly blog assignment, which will be due every Sunday. When writing your blog assignment, I expect each blog post to function like a mini-essay, complete with introduction, conclusion, etc. If it helps, you can imagine that the reader of your blog is a member of our course and is therefore familiar with your topic. As such, your tone should be informal--conversational, even. I'm not testing you on grammar and punctuation (though I do assume a working knowledge of these things)--actually, the way I'll be grading these blog assignments is on a pass/fail basis. Either they're complete or they're not; either you respond to the question, or you don't. When you are ready to submit your assignment to me for evaluation, just copy and paste a link to your blog in the space provided on the assignment submission page.
The biggest thing to remember is that though the course moves quickly, if you keep at it and keep up with the work, you'll be alright. always feel free to contact me @ jjoelthomas@netscape.net if you have any questions or concerns. I am looking forward to working with all of you this semester.
Welcome aboard,
Jamie Thomas
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