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ENGL 151-12, Polemics and the Presidency, Fall 2008
Dolphin, William
Dolphin, William
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English, Department of, Syllabus, Curriculum, Academic departments, Text, 2008 Fall
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Abstract
All politics is born of rhetoric. The language of political persuasion, past and present, will be this
class’ focus, with an emphasis on the ’08 Presidential campaign. But your first task will be
grappling with the politics of the classroom. After a practical, collaborative exploration of how
learning is evaluated and those evaluations are experienced, you will negotiate a consensus on
assessment and collaboratively write a self-constituting document for the class. The insights
gained from that process will then be applied as we read commentary on the ’08 campaign as it
unfolds, as well as speeches of the candidates themselves, comparing conservative and liberal
perspectives and analyzing how the rhetoric of persuasion works. We will also look back in time
to the campaigns of 1972 (Nixon/McGovern) and 1992 (Bush/Clinton).
It will come as no surprise that the work of a writing course is writing, so most of this class will
be devoted to considering just that—your writing and your classmates’, as well as the work of
published authors. You will be responsible for completing a number of “final draft” assignments,
as well as several other writing assignments (including rough drafts) leading up to the final draft.
Expect to have some sort of written assignment due for EVERY class. These assignments might
be in the form of questions based on the current reading, summaries of the reading, reactions to
discussions, or preliminary drafts of final papers. (We’ll talk about each assignment in class.)
As you write more, you may become aware of recurring “trouble spots” that come up in your
work. I will help you identify these patterns of problems and help you work on them. I will not
make a practice of editing your work; that is up to you and your classmates. But I can assure you
that you won’t get it right the first time, the second time, or possibly even the tenth time. Like
many human activities, writing rewards practice.
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This syllabus was submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs by the course instructor.