Foundations in Rhetoric & Writing

English 3850 l Fall 2016

Nathaniel A. Rivers l nrivers1@slu.edu
Office Hours: W, 2:00-4:00
PHASE ONE: RE-WRITNG @SLU
ONE

Assignment for Next Time

Aug. 22

Rhetoric and Writing Introduction

Syllabus Review
Icebreaker

Read: Foss et al., Perspectives on the Study of

Rhetoric (pdf)

Aug. 24

Rhetoric and Writing Introduction

Weak/Strong/Strange Defense of
Rhetoric
Reading Quiz

Read: Jim Corder, Argument as Emergence, Rhetoric as

Love (pdf)

Rhetoric and Writing Introduction

Explore: Writing @SLU to rewrite

Read: Where Do Sentences Come From (link/pdf), 88, Or
How Telegraphers Coded Love and Kisses, (link/pdf), and
The Perfection of the Paper Clip (link/pdf)

Aug. 26

TWO

Assignment for Next Time

Aug. 29

Introduce Project #1:

Re-Writing @ SLU
Reading Discussion
Text as Technology/Readers as Users

Project #1 Brainstorm

Aug. 31

Project #1 Brainstorm

Memo: Writing to Rewrite (1500 words)

Sept. 2

Memo for Project #1 Due

PSA for Rhetoric (In-Class)

Read: American Collapse (pdf), Preface from

Infrastructure by Hayes (pdf), and Flow from How Buildings
Learn by Brand (pdf)

THREE

Assignment for Next Time

Sept. 5

Labor Day: No Class

Sept. 7

Maps, Infrastructure, Rhetoric

Reading Quiz

Read: Case and Sunstein Survival of the Fattest (pdf) and

Grabil and Simmons Toward a Critical Rhetoric of Risk
Communication (pdf)

Sept. 9

Maps, Infrastructure, Rhetoric

Project #1 Workshop

Read: Public Enemies: Social Media is Fueling Gang Wars in

Chicago (link) and History of the World in 100
Objects (link)

PHASE TWO: MAPPING @ SLU

FOUR
Sept. 12

Assignment for Next Time

Introduce Project #2: Mapping

Due: Project #1
Visit: http://makingmaps.net/
English 3850 I Foundations in Rhetoric and Writing I Fall 2016 I 1

Sept. 14

Project #1 Due

Read: selection from Compose Design Advocate (pdf) and

Kitchin & Dodge, Rethinking Maps (pdf)

Sept. 16

In-Class Map Analyses

Due: Postmortem (2,000 words)

FIVE

Assignment for Next Time

Sept. 19

Project #1 Postmortem Memo Due

Reading Quiz

Read: Interview/Observation Handout

Listen: Radiolab, You Are Here (link)
Due: Mapping Proposal

Sept. 21

Mapping Project Proposal Due

Proposal Workshop

Review: Mapping Proposals

Sept. 23

Proposal Workshop

Read: Chapter One from Kimballs Document Design (pdf)

and Johnson-Sheehan, Readers and Context of Use (pdf)

SIX

Assignment for Next Time

Sept. 26

Research Report #1 Due

Audience and Context of Use

Chapter Four from Kimballs Document Design (pdf)

Sept. 28

Map Workshop
Reading Quiz

Readings on ANT (TBA)

Sept. 30

Map Workshop

SEVEN

Assignment for Next Time

Oct. 3

Research Report #2 Due

Actor-Network-Theory (ANT)
Discussion

Oct. 5

Map Workshop

Oct. 7

Map Workshop
Discuss Presentations (Handout)

EIGHT

Readings on Maps (TBA)

Due: Mapping Due

Assignment for Next Time

Oct. 10

Mapping Project (Project #2) Due

Presentations (5 min. with handout)

Oct. 12

Mapping Project (Project #2) Due

Presentations (5 min. with handout)

Oct. 14

Mapping Project (Project #2) Due

Presentations (5 min with handout)

Read: Weiss, 1-60

English 3850 I Foundations in Rhetoric and Writing I Fall 2016 I 2

NINE

Assignment for Next Time

Oct. 17

Fall Break: No Class

Oct. 19

Introduce Project #3: Interview

Report
Reading Discussion

Oct. 21

In-Class Interview Exercise

Read: Weiss, 61-150

PHASE THREE: INTERVIEW REPORT

TEN

Assignment for Next Time

Oct. 24

Reading Quiz & Discussion

Oct. 26

Review: Professional Interview

Oct. 28

Proposal Work Day

ELEVEN

Read: Weiss, 150-222 (read all appendices)

Due: Interview Proposal
Assignment for Next Time

Oct. 31

Interview Proposal Due

Nov. 2

Developing Interview Questions

Nov. 4

Developing Interview Questions

TWELVE

Read: Katz, Writing Review as an Opportunity for

Individuation (pdf) and Spilka, Orality and Literacy in the
Workplace (pdf)
Assignment for Next Time

Nov. 7

Reading Quiz & Discussion

Nov. 9

Watching Interviews

Nov. 11

Conducting Interviews

THIRTEEN

Read: Ornatowski, Between Efficiency and Politics (pdf)

Katz, The Ethic of Expediency and Rivers-Katz exchange
(pdf)
Assignment for Next Time

Nov. 14

Progress Reports (Project #3)

Ethics Exercise: TMNT

Read: Johnson-Sheehan, Designing Documents and

Interfaces (pdf)

Nov. 16

Ethics Exercise: TMNT

Readings on Effective Language

Nov. 18

Ethics Exercise: TMNT

Due: Interview Report Draft

FOURTEEN

Assignment for Next Time

Nov. 21

Interview Report Draft Due

Report Workshop
Revisit Presentations (Handout)

Nov. 23

Thanksgiving Break: No Class

Read: Rivers, Some Assembly Required (pdf)

Read: MacKinnon, Becoming a Rhetor (pdf)

English 3850 I Foundations in Rhetoric and Writing I Fall 2016 I 3

Nov. 25

Thanksgiving Break: No Class

FIFTEEN

Assignment for Next Time

Nov. 28

Interview Report Presentations

Nov. 30

Interview Report Presentations

Dec. 2

Interview Report Presentations

SIXTEEN
Dec. 5

Due: Interview Report

Assignment for Next Time

Interview Report Final Draft Due

English 3850 I Foundations in Rhetoric and Writing I Fall 2016 I 4