Donna Tartt

English 101:  Rhetoric and Culture Spring 2008 Jefferson Hendricks Centenary College of Louisiana

Edwin Rolfe

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Texts


Calendar

Week 1:  Rhetorical Concepts/Important Ideas  --  Rhetoric

Tu    Jan 15

• Introduction to class

Th    Jan 17

• Required reading:
• Plato, "Allegory of the Cave"  pp.  177-183
• "Plato's Allegory of the Cave"  --  Wikipedia

• Background Reading on Plato and the "Allegory of the Cave":
• Introductory Notes on Classical Greece  --  Ian Johnston, Malaspina University-College, Canada
• Plato  --  Wikipedia
• Plato  --  Island of Freedom
• "The Allegory of the Cave"  --  S. Marc Cohen,  U. of Washington
• on Plato's Theory of Forms  --  S. Marc Cohen, U. of Washington
• on Plato's The Republic and "The Allegory of the Cave"  --  Gordon L. Ziniewicz
• Plato  --  Thomas Brickhouse,  Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Plato's Political Philosophy --  W. J. Korab-Karpowicz,  Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• "Plato's Cave and The Matrix"  --  John Partridge
  
• "Plato's 'Allegory of the Cave':  A Springboard for The Matrix"
  

Rhetorical Concepts:  
    1.  Rhetoric

• Background Reading: 
• "Rhetoric"  --  Wikipedia
• "What is Rhetoric?"  --  Gideon O. Burton,  The Forest of Rhetoric
• "Logic"  --  Wikipedia
• "Logic and Argument"  --  Dartmouth Writing Program
• "Presenting Arguments Logically"  --  U. of Victoria (British Columbia) Writers Guide
• "Fallacies"  --  U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center

Week 2:     Rhetorical Concepts/Important Ideas:  Culture

*****  Mon Jan 21:  Attend Martin Luther King Day Convocation  --  11:00 am  Brown Chapel

Tu  Jan 22

• Required reading:
• Martin Luther King,   "Letter from Birmingham Jail"  (pdf file)     [print this out and bring your copy to class]

• Background readings on Martin Luther King:
• "Martin Luther King, Jr."  --  Wikipedia
• "Martin Luther King"  --  NobelPrize.org
• The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute  --  Stanford U.
• The King Center  --  Atlanta, GA

Th  Jan 24

• Required reading:
• Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance  

• Background Readings on Robert Pirsig and Zen and the Art of Motocycle Maintenance:   

Rhetorical Concepts:  
    2.  Culture

• Background Readings:
• "Culture"  --  Wikipedia
• various definitions of "Culture" from the web  --  Google
• What is Culture?  (module) --  Learning Commons, General Education, Washington State U.  
• "Culture"  --  Kathleen Dahl, Easter Oregon U. 
• "Notes Toward a Definition of Culture"  --  Marshall Soules, Malapina University College (British Columbia)
• summary of T. S. Eliot's "Notes Towards a Definition of Culture"  --  Thayer Watkins, San José State U. 
• "Culture and Civilization in Modern Times"  --  Dictionary of the History of Ideas

Week 3:     Rhetorical Concepts/Important Ideas  --  Thesis, Logic, Argument

Tu   Jan 29  

• Required reading:
• Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance  

Th   Jan 31

• Required reading:
• Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance 

Rhetorical Concepts:
    3.  Thesis
    4.  Logic
    5.  Argument

• Background Readings:
• How to Write a Thesis Statement  --  Writing Tutorial Services,  U. of Indiana
• Thesis Statements  --  The Writing Center, U. of North Carolina
  
• "Logic"  --  Wikipedia
• "Logic and Argument"  --  Dartmouth Writing Program
• "Presenting Arguments Logically"  --  U. of Victoria (British Columbia) Writers Guide
• "Fallacies"  --  U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center

Week 4:     Rhetorical Concepts/Important Ideas  --  Purpose, Evidence, Audience

Tu    Feb 5     No Class  --  Mardi Gras Break

Th    Feb 7

• Required reading:  
• Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance 

*****    Fri, Feb 8:  Essay #1 (Credo) -- due in Jackson Hall 307 to Ms. Palmer, Administrative Assistant for Humanities by 2:00 pm  (two-three pages; 500-750 words)

Rhetorical Concepts:
    6.  Purpose
    7.  Evidence/Logos
    8.  Audience/Pathos

• Background Readings:
• Introduction:  Purpose  --  The Writing Studio,  Colorado State U. 
• Writing With a Sense of Purpose  --  The Guide to Grammar and Writing, The Capital College Community Foundation
  
• "Using Research and Evidence"  --  Purdue U. Online Writing Center
• "How to Use Evidence"  --  Indiana U. Writing Tutorial Services
• "Audience"  --  U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Writing Center
  
• "Audience"  --  U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center
• "Kairos"  --  Gideon O. Burton,  The Forest of Rhetoric
• "Decorum"  --  Gideon O. Burton,  The Forest of Rhetoric
• "Persuasive Appeals" (logos, pathos, ethos)  --  Gideon O. Burton,  The Forest of Rhetoric
• "Audience"  --  Gideon O. Burton,  The Forest of Rhetoric
• "Audience"  --  Colorado State U.  Writing Studio
• "Audience"  --  Jack Lynch, U. of Rutgers at Newark 
• "Choosing and Writing for an Audience"  --  Steven Hale, Georgia Perimeter College
  

Week 5:     Rhetorical Concepts/Important Ideas  --  Topic Sentences, Sentences, Paragraphs/Paragraph Development, and Transitions

Tu    Feb 12

• Required reading:  Readings on Rhetoric and Culture
• Rhetoric: 
• scholarly definitions of Rhetoric  --  American Rhetoric
• on Rhetoric  --  Plato, from Gorgias @ American Rhetoric
• on Rhetoric  --  Aristotle, from Rhetoric @ American Rhetoric
• Culture
• What is Culture?  --  Eric Miraglia, Richard Law, and Peg Collins, Washington State U.  
  
• Concepts of Culture:  Classical and Recent  --  Hervé Varenne,  Teachers' College, Columbia U.  

Th    Feb 14

• Required Reading:
• ZZ Packer,  Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

• Background Readings on ZZ Packer: 
• ZZ Packer  --  Wikipedia
• ZZ Packer   --  personal home page
• bio/interview with ZZ Packer  --  Barnes and Noble
  
• interview with ZZ Packer  --  Robert Birnbaum,  Identify Theory
• interview with ZZ Packer --  Michael Shirrefs,  Radio National, Australia
• "Takes a Misfit to Know One"  --   Susan Wyndham,  Sydney Morning Herald,  Australia
• response-interview with ZZ Packer  --  Wordsmitten Quarterly Journal
• "Being Part of the World: An Interview with ZZ Packer "  --  Jeff Janssens and S. Zoe Wexler,  nidus: a journal of contemporary art and literature

Rhetorical Concepts:

    9.    Topic Sentences
  10.    Paragraphs
  11.    Transitions
  12.    Sentence

• Background Readings:  
• "Writing Topic Sentences"  --  The Writing Centre, U. of Ottawa
• "Writing Topic Sentences for Paragraphs"  --  The Guide to Grammar and Writing, The Capital College Community Foundation
• "Paragraphs and Topic Sentences"  --  Indiana U. Writing Tutorial Services
• "Paragraphs"  --  U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Writing Center
• "Paragraph Development"  --  U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center
• "Writing Paragraphs"  --  David Megginson, U. of Ottawa Writing Center
• "Developing and Ordering Paragraphs"  --  U. of Victoria (British Columbia) Writers Guide
• "Transitions"  --  U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center
• "Writing Transitions"  -- Purdue U. Online Writing Center
• "Transitional Devices"  --   Purdue U. Online Writing Center
• "Clear, Concise, and Direct Sentences"  --  U. of Wisconsin at Madison Writing Center
• "Building Sentences"  --  David Megginson, U. of Ottawa Writing Center
• "Sentence Variety"  -- Purdue U. Online Writing Center 
• "Sentence Types"  --  Purdue U. Online Writing Center 
• "Writing Clear Sentences"  --  U. of Victoria (British Columbia) Writers Guide
  

Week 6:   Rhetorical Concepts  --  Diction, Voice, Ethos, and Tone

Tu    Feb 19

• Required Reading:
• ZZ Packer,  Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

• Background Readings on ZZ Packer: 
• review of Drinking Coffee Elsewhere  --  Leigh Householder, Knot Magazine
• " A Writer's Life:  ZZ Packer"  --   a profile @ The Telegraph
• "ZZ, 30"  --  Paula Morris, New Zealand Listener
• "Brownies and Yalies"  --  Joy Press,  Village Voice 
• "Comedianne of Manners"  --  Tessa Decarlo,  Smithsonian
• "By and By"  -- flash fiction by Packer in Esquire

Th    Feb 21 

• No Class:  Attend Founder's Day Convocation in Brown Chapel @ 11:00  

    Rhetorical Concepts:

    13.  Diction
    14   Voice
    15.  Ethos
    16.  Tone

• Background Readings:
• "Diction"  --  David Megginson, U. of Ottawa Writing Center
• "Using Specific and Concrete Diction"  --  Randy Rambo, Illinois Valley Community College
• "Attending to Grammar"  --  Dartmouth Writing Program
• "Finding Your Voice"  --  Susan J. Lethem
• "Ethos"  --  Thomas J. Kinney, U. of Arizona
• "Ethos"  --  Wikipedia
• "Tone:  A Matter of Attitude"  --  Capital Community College, Hartford, Connecticut
• "Tone" --  Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council, (Liverpool), U. K. 
• "Audience and Tone"  --  U. of Victoria (British Columbia) Writers Guide

Week 7:     Mid-Term Exam week

Tu   Feb 26  

• Required Reading:
• Andrew Marvell, "To His Coy Mistress"
• A. D. Hope, "His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell"

• Background Readings on Andrew Marvell and "To His Coy Mistress" 
• "The Persuasion of the Coy Mistress"  --  Robert W. Halli, Jr.,  Philological Quarterly
• an essay on form in Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress"  --  VirtuaLit, Bedford/St. Martin's   (pdf file)
• "Andrew Marvell's 'To His Coy Mistress'  --  A New Historicist Reading"  --  VirtuaLit, Bedford/St. Martin's   (pdf file)
• cultural contexts (feminine sexuality) for Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress"  --  VirtuaLit, Bedford/St. Martin's 
  
• "Andrew Marvell's 'To His Coy Mistress'  --  A Feminist Reading"  --  VirtuaLit, Bedford/St. Martin's   (pdf file)
• "Love, Time, and Eternity: Teaching Andrew Marvell’s 'To His Coy Mistress'”  --  John J. Han, Missouri Baptist U.
• Background Readings on A. D. Hope
• A. D. Hope  --  Wikipedia
• "On A. D. Hope"  --  Clive James
• "A. D. Hope"  --  Dictionary of Literary Biography
• audio version of Hope's "His Coy Mistress to Mr. Marvell" 

Th    Feb 28

• Required Reading:
• Euripides,  The Bacchae (trans. By Paul Woodruff)

• Background Readings on Euripides and The Bacchae:
• The Bacchae  --  Wikipedia
• The Bacchae:  An Analysis of the Play  --  Theatre History.com
• Peculiarities of Euripidean Drama  --  Theatre History.com
  
• Euripides  --  Wikipedia
• Euripides bio
  
• Introductory Note on Classical Greece  --  Ian Johnston, Malaspina University-College, Canada
• "Some Preliminary Observations on Classical Greek Literature"  --   Ian Johnston, Malaspina University-College, Canada

Week 8:    

Tu    Mar 4        

• Required Reading:
• Euripides,  The Bacchae (trans. By Paul Woodruff) 

• Background Readings on Euripides and The Bacchae:
• An Introductory Note to Euripides' Bacchae  --  Ian Johnston of Malaspina University-College, Canada
• The Bacchae  --  SparkNotes
• The Bacchae  --  ClassicNote
• Bacchae  --  Classics Technology Center
  

Th    Mar 6  

• Mid-term Exam       

Week 9:    Rhetorical Concepts  --  Style

Tu    Mar 11

• Required Reading:
• Donna Tartt, The Secret History

Th    Mar 13

• Required Reading:
• Donna Tartt, The Secret History

Rhetorical Concepts:
    17.  Style
    18.  Revision

• Background Readings:
• "Style"  --  U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center
• "Attending to Style"  --  Dartmouth Writing Program
• The Elements of Style  --  William Strunk
• "Guide to Grammar and Style"  --  Jack Lynch,  Rutgers U. at Newark
• "Revision:  Constructing a Critical Eye"  --  Dartmouth Writing Program
• "Revising Drafts"  --  U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center
• "Proofreading"  -- U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center
• "Gender-Fair Language"  --  Jenny R. Redfern,  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Writing Center
• "Editing and Proofreading Strategies"  --  Colorado State U.  Writing Studio 
• "Common Errors Workbook"  --  Lester Faigley, from The Penguin Handbook

Week 10:     Spring Break


Tu    Mar 18   --  No Class  --  Spring Break

Th    Mar 20   --  No Class  --  Spring Break
Week 11:     Rhetorical Concepts  --  Documentation and Plagiarism

Tu    Mar 25

• Required Reading:
• Donna Tartt, The Secret History

Th    Mar 27

• Required Reading:
• Donna Tartt, The Secret History

Rhetorical Concepts:
    19.  Documentation
    20.  Plagiarism

• Background Readings:
• "Quoting and Paraphrasing Sources"  --  U. of Wisconsin at Madison Writing Center
• "Using Literary Quotations"  -- U. of Wisconsin at Madison Writing Center 
• "MLA Documentation"  --  U. of Wisconsin at Madison Writing Center
• "MLA Formatting and Style Guide"  --  Purdue U. Online Writing Center
• "Citation Styles:  MLA"  --  U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Writing Center
• "Citing Online Sources"  --  Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor, The Columbia Guide to Online Style
• "Documenting Sources"  --  Diana Hacker, from Research and Documentation in the Electronic Age
• "Parenthetical Documentation:  MLA Style"  -- Herkimer County Community College (New York)
  
• "Plagiarism"  --  U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center
• "Plagiarism in College Writing"  --  Lester Faigley, from The Penguin Handbook
• "Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It"  --  Indiana U. Writing Tutorial Services
  

Week 12:     Rhetorical Concepts  --  Opinion, Evaluation, and Interpretation

Tu    Apr 1

• Required Reading:
• Donna Tartt, The Secret History

Th    Apr 3

• Required Reading:
• Alice McDermott,  Child of My Heart

• Background Readings on Alice McDermott and Child of My Heart:  
• "Alice McDermott"  --  Wikipedia
• interview with Alice McDermott  --  Don Swaim,  Wired for Books  [audio file]  (1988)
  
• interview with Alice McDermott  --  Book Page.com  (2002)  
• interview with Alice McDermott  --  Dave Weich,  Powell's Books  (2002) 
• interviw with Alice McDermott  --  Failbetter.com  (2006)
• list of book reviews of Child of My Heart  --  Reviews of Books.com  

*****  Fri Apr 4:    Review #3 (film; 500 words) due in Jackson Hall 307 to Ms. Palmer, Administrative Assistant for Humanities by 2:00 pm

Rhetorical Concepts:
    21.  Opinion
    22.  Evaluation
    23.  Interpretation

• Background Readings:
• "Opinion"  --  Wikipedia
• "Evaluation"  --  Wikipedia
• "Interpretation"  --  Wikipedia
• "Critical Reading Towards Critical Writing"  --  Deborah Knott, New College (U. of Toronto) Writing Center
• "Critical Reading:  A Guide"  (emphasizing literature)  --  John Lye,  Brock U. (Canada)
• "Literary Criticism"  --  Wikipedia

Week 13:      

Tu  Apr 8:

• Required Reading:
• Alice McDermott,  Child of My Heart

• Background Readings on Alice McDermott and Child of My Heart:  

• "Alice McDermott"  --  Wikipedia
• interview with Alice McDermott  --  Don Swaim,  Wired for Books  [audio file]  (1988)
  
• interview with Alice McDermott  --  Book Page.com  (2002)  
• interview with Alice McDermott  --  Dave Weich,  Powell's Books  (2002) 
• interviw with Alice McDermott  --  Failbetter.com  (2006)
• list of book reviews of Child of My Heart  --  Reviews of Books.com  

Th   Apr 10:  

• Required Reading:
• Edwin Rolfe  -- Political Poetry of the 1930s  
• "Introduction  --  Lyric Politics: The Poetry of Edwin Rolfe"  --  Cary Nelson  (pp. 1-58)
• poems from "To My Contemporaries"  (pp. 59-101)
• concentrate particularly on "Credo";  "Winds of Another Sphere"; "Testament to a Flowering Race"; "Georgia Nightmare"; "Season of Death"; "Definition"; and "To My Contemporaries"  

• Background Readings on Edwin Rolfe and the 1930s:  
• "Edwin Rolfe"  --  MAPS:  Modern American Poetry, U. of Illinois
• "Edwin Rolfe"  --  Spartacus Educational
• "Communist Party USA"  --  Wikipedia
• excerpt from "Introduction" to Making Something Happen:  American Political Poetry Between the World Wars  --  Michael Thurston 

*****  Friday, April 11:   Essay #2  -- 1000-1250 word (4-5 page) essay on The Bachae and The Secret History to be turned in to Ms. Palmer in JH 307 by 2:00 pm 
Week 14:              

Tu    Apr 15  

• Required Reading:
• Edwin Rolfe -- Poetry of the Spanish Civil War

• Background Readings on Edwin Rolfe and the Spanish Civil War:  
• "Edwin Rolfe"  --  MAPS:  Modern American Poetry, U. of Illinois
• "About the Spanish Civil War"  --  MAPS:  Modern American Poetry, U. of Illinois
• "The Spanish Civil War"  --  Wikipedia
• "International Brigades"  --  Wikipedia

Th    Apr 17  

• Required Reading:     
• Edwin Rolfe -- Poetry of the Spanish Civil War

• Background Readings on Edwin Rolfe and the Spanish Civil War:  
• "Edwin Rolfe"  --  MAPS:  Modern American Poetry, U. of Illinois
• "About the Spanish Civil War"  --  MAPS:  Modern American Poetry, U. of Illinois
• "The Spanish Civil War"  --  Wikipedia
• "International Brigades"  --  Wikipedia

Week 15:    


Tu   Apr 22      

• Required Reading:
• Edwin Rolfe  --  Political Poetry of the 1950s

• Background Readings on Edwin Rolfe and Cold War Political Poetry:  
• "Edwin Rolfe"  --  MAPS:  Modern American Poetry, U. of Illinois
• "Cold War"  --  Wikipedia
  
• "Red Scare"  --  Wikipedia
• "McCarthyism"  --  Wikipedia
  
• "Hollywood Blacklist"  --  Wikipedia
  

Th   Apr 24      

• Required Reading:
• Edwin Rolfe  --  Political Poetry of the 1950s

• Background Readings on Edwin Rolfe and Cold War Political Poetry:  
• "Edwin Rolfe"  --  MAPS:  Modern American Poetry, U. of Illinois
• "Cold War"  --  Wikipedia
  
• "Red Scare"  --  Wikipedia
• "McCarthyism"  --  Wikipedia
  
• "Hollywood Blacklist"  --  Wikipedia

Week 16:     Review and Evaluation

Tu    Apr 29      Final Exam Review and Evaluations

Th    May 1      No Class  --  Thursday declared a Friday


***  Three 500-750 essays due at final exam on Tuesday, May 6  --  See Final Exam Study Guide above for instructions

Final Exams:    

• Tuesday, May 6:  12:00 pm to 3:00 pm  --  Jackson Hall 113
  

Further Readings/Resources in Rhetoric and Composition

Readings:

• "Going Beyond The Five-Paragraph Essay"  --  California State U. at Los Angeles Writing Center
• "A Short Course in Rhetoric"  --  U. of California at Irvine Writing Coordinator
• "Developing an Effective Writing Syle"  --  Robert Kribbs, Bucknell U. 
• Four Bad Writing Habits and Six Rules for Good Writing  --  from George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language"  
• "Maximizing Meaning in Your Text"  --  Transaction.net
• "Plato on Rhetoric and Poetry"  --  Charles Griswold, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Resources:

• The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing  --  Michael Harvey, Washington College, Maryland
• "Guide to Grammar and Style"  --  Jack Lynch,  Rutgers U. at Newark
• A Guide to Grammar & Writing  --  Capital Community College, Hartford, Connecticut
• The American Heritage Book of English Usage  --  Bartleby.com
• Ultimate Style:  The Rules of Writing  --  SparkNotes.com
• Grammar and Composition  --  Richard Nordquist,  About.com
• Garbl's Writing Center  --  Gary B. Larson
• Roberts's Rhetoric  --  David Roberts, Albany State U., Albany, Georgia
• Grammar Handbook  --  U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Center for Writing Studies
• Common Errors in English  --  Paul Brians, Washington State U.  
• Writing Tips  --  U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Center for Writing Studies
• Resources for Writing  --  Texas A&M University Writing Center
• Resources for Writing  --  Duke University Writing Studio
• A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices  --  Robert A. Harris
• The Forest of Rhetoric  --  Gideon O. Burton, Brigham Young U.
• Webliography for Academic Writing  --  Cambridge Language Consultants