ENGLISH 395: Transferring rhetorical literacy

See https://crd704friedman.weebly.com for full course proposal

Instructor: Malaka Friedman

Email: mfriedm@ncsu.edu
Office: Ricks Halls Annex Cubicle 2
Office Hours: TBD
Classroom: TBD
Classroom meeting time: TBD

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Transfer within rhetoric refers to the ability of individuals to move from different contexts, while using
previous knowledge to inform and create understandings of new situations. Writing within English has
been seen as a way to understand how to build upon transfer skills, establishing when it comes to the
context of transfer rhetoric. Writing and communication however has shifted with the advancement of
new technologies and literacy that challenge how we understand the world we live it. Understanding
our own literacy skills and how they transition between contexts allows us to become more effective
communicators and rhetoricians as a result. Writing is a means of understanding ourselves and the
world in which we live. Within this course you will get a chance to see how understanding these
various literacies come together and transfer throughout a variety of rhetorical situations, both in past
situations and future situations in order to create mindful connections of how you exist within the
multiliteracies of the world.

PREREQUISTITE: ENGLISH 101

Study of the influence of emerging technologies on rhetorical theory and practice. Rhetorical analysis
of texts, including visual and audio texts. Invention and construction of digital media texts as a means
of engaging rhetorical theory and analysis. Topics vary to adapt to emerging technologies and changing
vernacular practices.

ENGLISH 395 LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Students will be able to identify how their analysis of their literacies shift across
rhetorical situations
2. Students will be expected to use multimodality to enhance their understanding of
transfer rhetoric
3. Students should be able to use reflection as a means to view their own transfer
literacy and understand its significance in their lives
4. Students will be expected to contribute to an overall class understanding of best
practices when it comes to transfer of their rhetorical literacy
REQUIRED MATERIALS AND EXPENSES
 All course readings will be made available via our course website on Moodle.

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS POINTS & DESCRIPTION

Every assignment will include an explanation of the assignment’s grading standards (a grading
“rubric”). Your semester grade will be determined as follows:

Course Breakdown Point

Allocation
Unit 1: Basic Literacy 100 points
Unit 2: Digital Literacy 100 points
Unit 3: Future Literacy 150 points
Final: ePortfolio 250 points
Literacy Journals 150 points
(15 at 10 points each)
Conferences 100 points
(4 worth 25 points each)
Peer Review 100 points
(4 worth 25 points each)
Participation 50 points
(readings, writing reflections)
TOTAL 1000 points

BASIC LITERACY ASSIGNMENT

You will pick one literacy you have already learned in a previous context (personal, academic, or both) and provide an
analysis of it in multimodal form. The multimodal options available for this assignment have to include at least two
modes (audio, visual, textual) and must be used to enhance your analysis of your chosen literacy. You must
thoughtfully consider the agency within this type of literacy you learned, as well as research potential issues that are
apparent with this type of learned literacy.

DIGITAL LITERACY ASSIGNMENT

Within your education to this point there has been some expectation of digital literacy skills. For this assignment you
will take this understanding and use the readings from class to create a multimodal tutorial of how your peers can
engage with this type of digital literacy. Additionally, you will need to make a recommendation report that reviews
how this type of literacy currently functions. For instance, if you decide to choose coding you could explore how
international coding languages work in context of predominantly English centric ones through the lens of rhetorical
oppression.

FUTURE LITERACY ASSIGNMENT

While your previous assignments are somewhat rooted in your current experience, this assignment is purely
speculative. You will be asked to pick a type of literacy that you expect to encounter in the near future or that you
have a brief introduction to either in your chosen professional field or personal life. Due to the nature of this
assignment, it will be weighed more than the others and broken up into several components:
I. Annotated bibliography of possible future literacies
II. Interview with an “expert” for your chosen future literacy
III. In class presentation of your chosen future literacy (presentation expectations TBA)

FINAL EPORTOLFIO
Throughout the semester you will be expected to turn in all of your assignments through a website ePortfolio using
whatever platform you would like (we will review website platforms early in the semester). After each assignment
you must revisit each assignment and revise it based off the feedback you receive from your peers and myself. You
will also be expected to draft connections between your understanding of your transfer over the course of the
semester by creating a reflective home page that outlines the best practices for your own rhetorical literacy, while
using the readings from the course as support.

LITERACY JOURNALS
On a separate tab of your website you will be expected to keep a brief informal journal of your thoughts throughout
the semester. A large part of this course is being aware of your own reflection of your transfer and journal in this way
serves as a means to keep an autoethnography of your experience within this course. You will be expected to
respond to at least two different peers each week for these journals as well.

CONFERENCES
There will be two to three time this semester where mandatory conferences will be required. These conferences
serve as a means to check in on your progress throughout the course, while also answering any questions you may
have about the content within this course. You must be prepared with your rough drafts prior to your conference.

PEER REVIEW
You will be required to conduct a peer review prior to turning in your final drafts for this course. Writing is a process
and peer reviews serve as a means for you to obtain crucial feedback from your peers, while also ensuring you feel
confident turning in your final assignments. Draft requirements will be discussed the week prior to peer review day.

PARTICIPATION
Participation is crucial in this class because we will rely on one another for feedback on our writing and
thinking processes. Ideally, you will learn as much (or more) from each other as you will from me.
Participation (both online and in person) includes peer review, conferences, journals, and being prepared
for class. Class participation means more than how much you say in class; it’s your effort to be present in
our discussions. Further, your grade will reflect your attendance, preparation, and the quality of your
contributions to our class work.

Letter grade value ranges are as follows:

A+ 970-1000+ B+ 870-899 C+ 770-799 D+ 670-699 F 0-599

A 930-969 B 840-869 C 740-769 D 640-669

A- 900-929 B- 800-839 C- 700-739 D- 600-639

You will be provided with an assignment sheet and rubric for each of the major projects this semester.
These documents will outline what you need to accomplish within the assignment to earn a passing
grade. Below are the general descriptions of work for each letter grade; plus/minus grades reflect
relative strength or weakness within these divisions.

A: Excellent work. Fulfills and goes beyond all criteria for the assignment.
Contains minimal errors.
B: Strong work. Fulfills almost all criteria, showing weakness in only one or
two main criteria. May contain noticeable errors.
C: Acceptable work. Fulfills most major criteria, though some may be weak, and
no more than one may be missing entirely. May contain persistent errors.
D: Weak work. Fulfills some major criteria. Demonstrates weakness in several
major criteria and may be missing one or more entirely. May contain
persistent errors.
F: Unacceptable work. Fails to meet the primary goals and criteria of
the assignment.

LATE PAPERS
Since due dates for major assignments are established at the beginning of the course, and
since these projects are developed over a series of class periods, students are advised that
submitting these projects late will not be accepted. You will be granted one late pass for
only one major project in this class. Should you decide to use this pass, you will have to turn
in this assignment within 24 hours of the original deadline AND send me an email notifying
me that you will be using your late pass. Beyond this late pass other late work will be
penalized.

COURSE POLICIES

General Attendance
Because of the collaborative and cooperative nature of this course, attendance is expected of all
students. Missing X number of classes may impact your grade. It is in your best interest to contact me
should a medical/family/personal issue arise during the semester so we can ensure your success for
this course.

Accommodations may be made for lifelong medical conditions, persistent medical conditions, or
temporary medical conditions (see Disability Services for Students under Additional Campus Resources
for more information).

Make-up Work
You will be allowed to make up course work from missed class periods. Once you come to me about
making up work, we will establish make-up assignments, standards for evaluation of such
assignments, and a reasonable period after the absence within which they must be turned in. If you
fail to turn in make-up assignments or if the make-up assignments are of insufficient quality, the
assignment grade will be penalized.
COMPUTER/TECHNOLOGY POLICIES
Technology will be used within this course, both your own personal in class workdays but also to take
notes and complete class assignments. If you are able to you are welcome to bring a laptop or similar
device to class or rent one through the library prior to class. I will note during class and the course
calendar what days will be essential to have your own technological device within the class.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Plagiarism is defined as copying the language, phrasing, structure, or specific ideas of others and
presenting any of these as one's own, original work; it includes buying papers, having someone else
write your papers, and improper citation and use of sources. When you present the words or ideas of
another (either published or unpublished) in your writing, you must fully acknowledge your sources.
Plagiarism is considered a violation of academic integrity whenever it occurs in written work, including
drafts and homework, as well as for formal and final papers. We will discuss what constitutes
plagiarism in a class session.

The NCSU Policies, Regulations, and Rules on Student Discipline set the standards for academic integrity
at this university and in this course. Students are expected to adhere to these standards. Plagiarism and
other forms of academic dishonesty will be handled through the university's judicial system and may
result in failure for the project or for the course.

See the Office of Student Conduct website for additional information about academic integrity:
http://studentconduct.ncsu.edu/academic-integrity-resources.

Revealing or sharing another student's course work to which he or she may have access as a member of
the class is considered a form of academic dishonesty prohibited by the Code of Student Conduct. As a
condition for enrollment in this class, students may only share another student's course work with third
parties after obtaining the express consent of the student author and the course instructor. “Sharing
with third parties” includes posting or causing the course work to be posted on social-networking or
other websites. Violations of this condition will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct, which
may take further action.

STUDENT CONDUCT
You are expected to adhere to NCSU Policies, Regulations, and Rules on Student Discipline detailed at
https://studentconduct.dasa.ncsu.edu/code/

CIVIL DISCOURSE POLICY

As an institution of higher learning, the North Carolina State University represents a rich diversity of
human beings among its faculty, staff, and students and is committed to maintaining a campus
environment that values that diversity. Accordingly, the university supports policies, curricula, and
cocurricular activities that encourage understanding of and appreciation for all members of its
community and will not tolerate any harassment or disrespect for persons because of race, gender,
age, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation,
marital status, or relationship to other university constituents.

To be clear, discrimination, hate speech, or violence of any kind will not be tolerated in my classroom.
Should you engage in such behavior you will be asked to leave. Additionally, depending on the severity
of the situation you could fail this course. I treat everyone with respect, and I expect the same from my
students.
Additionally, in an effort to affirm and respect the identities of transgender students in the classroom
and beyond, please contact me if you wish to be referred to using a name and/or pronouns other than
what is listed in the student directory.

NCSU’S POLICIES, REGULATIONS, AND RULES

Students are responsible for reviewing the NC State University PRR’s located at
http://oucc.ncsu.edu/course-rights-and-responsibilities, which pertains to their course rights and
responsibilities.

DISABILITY SERVICES FOR STUDENTS

Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. In order
to take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with Disability
Services for Students at 1900 Student Health Center, Campus Box 7509, 919-515-7653. For
more information on NC State's policy on working with students with disabilities, please see
the Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Regulation (REG02.20.01)

COURSE CALENDAR
Follow the link in Moodle or by clicking here to access the course calendar. While I do not anticipate
any changes, please be aware that this schedule may change to accommodate the needs of our class.
As such, it is not advised to print out this schedule. It is your responsibility to make sure to check the
calendar each week, especially when absent.