ENG 103 Section 62 Fall Semester 2012 M-W-F 8:00-8:50 AM RB 114 Professor: Matt Balk Office: Robert Bell

l Building 247 mjbalk@bsu.edu Office Hours: M/W 9 AM 11 AM

Course Overview
Every day, each of us reads and writes in a variety of ways, even if we dont realize it. The text messages we send, the Facebook messages we read; all of these are texts that we create and consume without thinking they have meaning. But they do. One of my goals for our class this semester is to critically explore the different contexts in which we write, as well as the tools we use to communicate with each other. A key part of this exploration is being able to understand the role of rhetoric in our daily lives. Rhetoric is the art of discovering and recognizing signs, the contexts in which they are situated, and using available means of persuasion to relay an argument or idea to a specific audience. Each of us (myself included) uses rhetorical appeals each day, often without thinking. This semester, we will work to develop our understanding of what makes a text persuasive to others, as well as the large-scale implications of our conclusions.

Course Objectives
During the semester, we will Investigate a variety of texts and technologies that Involve a variety of communities and organizations that exist outside of the classroom. Generate discussion on the rhetorical and ethical aims of the writing we create and examine. Analyze the rhetorical elements of specific texts and technologies by Practicing with new and familiar mediums. Exploring how technologies can be used to create meaningful deliverables. Discussing and sharing your interpretations with the class. Create original research and writing that Pursue interests and topics that matter to you personally. Invite you to explore your interests. Have relevance to your lives outside of our classroom. Collaborate with each other to Offer constructive criticism of each others writing.

Support each others aspirations and goals. Develop research together as a community of practicing writers.

Reflect on our work by Accepting and responding to comments and critiques from others. Actively revising your material to strengthen your ideas.

The texts
Heinrichs, J. (2007). Thank you for arguing: What aristotle, lincoln, and homer simpson can teach us about the art of persuasion. Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody: The power of organizing without organizations. Weinberger, D. (2012). Too big to know: Rethinking knowledge now that the facts aren't the facts, experts are everywhere, and the smartest person in the room is the room.

Course Policies
The Golden Rule might be one of the oldest rules, but its also one of the best. Treat others as you want to be treated. Be nice to your classmates. Be respectful of their opinions, lifestyles, and beliefs, even if you disagree with them. Allow others to learn without distraction, so please put your cell phones on vibrate or silent. If you are abusive or disruptive towards your peers or myself, you will be asked to leave. Also, please come to class. We want you here. Your voice will be missed if you dont show up. And I know that some mornings are tougher than others to wake up to (especially for 8 AM class), and you may hit snooze 5 or 6 times before waking up. So practice setting your alarms a little earlier, and try to make it to class every day. But I know that alarm clocks dont always work, or family pets die, or acts of God happen, so you are allotted three days of free absences during the semester. Use them wisely. Attendance is worth 100 points (10%) of your grade, so after three absences, your attendance grade will drop 20 points for each day after #3 that you miss. Ball States Writing Program Attendance policy only allows you to miss up to 20% (9 class sessions) before you automatically fail the course. Please dont let that happen.

Assessment

The Grading Scale for the course can be found on Gradebook. Assignments Project #1 Project #2 Project #3 Project #4 In-Class Deliverables Class Blog Participation Attendance Total Points 100 150 150 200 200 100 100 1000 Points

Delivery
All assignments will be submitted via email or Blackboard. Assignments are always due at the beginning of class time unless you have cleared it with me well before you come to class.

Accommodations
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible. My office location and hours are listed on the first page of this syllabus. For additional information, please contact Larry Markle, Director of the Office of Disabled Student Development, at lmarkle@bsu.edu or 2855293; TTY 285-2206. The DSD office is located at Student Center 116. If you are gravelly ill or if you have a family emergency, you need to contact the Office of the Dean of Students (765-285-1545) who can verify your situation and notify your instructors. In addition, you should contact me so that we can make arrangements specific to your situation. If your absence will be for an extended period of time, you should consider withdrawing from the class.

Other Resources

The Writing Center is located on the second floor of the Robert Bell Building, (#291). The people there are super friendly and will be happy to work with you on your projects (not only for ENG 103, but any of your courses). Or feel free to drop by my office on the second floor of Robert Bell (#247) during my office hours, or schedule a meeting with me. Im always interested and happy to help you with any issues youre having, or if you just want to chat.

Course Calendar ENG 103 Fall 2012 (Note: I reserve the right to make changes to this schedule as necessary during the course of the semester) Week 1: 8/20 Class introductions Blogger Sign-Up Discussion of Rhetoric 8/22 Begin 8tracks Exercise In-Class time to explore 8/24 Conclude 8tracks exercise. Share in class. Introduce Project #1 Week 2: 8/27 Introduction to the Rhetorical Appeals

Heinrichs 3-45 8/29 Examining Ethos Heinrichs 46-55, 72-90 8/31 No Class Heinrichs 108-133, 137-154 Week 3: 9/3 9/5 9/7 No Classes-Labor Day BrummettThree Meanings of Epistemic Rhetoric The Persuasive Moments/Context Heinrichs 226-243

Week 4: 9/10 Introduce Project #2 Introduce Storify Exercise In-class time for exploration and creation 9/12 Finish Storify Exercise Share narratives 9/14 Rough Draft of Project #1 Due In-class workshop Week 5: 9/17 Shirky- Ch. 1-2 9/19 Shirky- Ch. 3 Project #1 Due 9/21 Shirky Ch. 4-5 Week 6: 9/24 Class Cancelled

9/26 Shirky- Ch. 6-7 9/28 Shirky Ch. 8-9 Week 7: 10/1 Shirky Ch. 11 Reflection on Here Comes Everybody 10/3 Creating GIF file Exercise In-class time to play/create 10/5 Finish GIF file Exercise Share on class blog (and in class) Week 8: 10/8 Introduction to Project #3 What is a research-based ethnography? 10/10 Ethnography Examples Nightly News Ethnography Exercise

10/12 In-class Workshop Day-Metacognitive reflections, Project #2 Week 9: 10/15 Nightly News Ethnography Exercises due Share in class 10/17 Project #2 Final Reflection Due Begin About.me Exercise In-class time to create (practice with markdown?) 10/19 Library Day Meet at Bracken Library (Spiral Staircase) Week 10: 10/22 No Classes-Fall Break 10/24 Share About.me profiles with class Weinberger Ch. 1-2

10/26 Weinberger Ch. 3-4 Week 11: 10/29 Weinberger Ch. 5-6 10/31 Weinberger Ch. 7 11/2 Weinberger Ch. 8-9 Week 12: 11/5 Intro to Wikipedia Exercise Class Creation of Wikipedia article 11/7 Continue Wikipedia Exercise 11/9 Finish Wikipedia Exercise Groups share with class

Week 13: 11/12 In-class workshop day (ELI) 11/14 Project #3 Due Introduction to Project #4 11/16 Brainstorming Topics for Project #4 Intro to website design Dougherty- Learning by making Week 14: 11/19 In-class Research Day 11/21 No Classes-Thanksgiving Break 11/23 No Classes-Thanksgiving Break

Week 15: 11/26 Introduce Khan academy exercise In-class time to explore 11/28 Finish Khan academy exercise Share in class 11/30 Rowinsky- Computer programming for all: a new standard of literacy Week 16: 12/3 In-class workshop day (ELI) 12/5 Discussion of social role of online education 12/7 Discussion of social role of online education cont. Week 17: 12/10 In-Class Workshop Day Final Examination Period: Presentation of Final Projects 12/12 (9:45-11:45 AM)