"He who does not study rhetoric will be a victim of it"
found on a Greek wall from the 6th Century B.C.

"The Kingdom Where Nobody Dies ": Cultural Anxiety
and the Textual Construction of Childhood

Introduction
Aristotle, one of the earliest rhetorical theorists and teachers, and one of the first in a newly literate Europe to offer substantial explanations of the ways in which we make knowledge, defined rhetoric as the ability to find the "available means of persuasion" in a given situation. While scholars in some areas of English Studies may not see their critical work as "rhetorical" (i.e., written at a specific moment in history in ordrer to persuade a specific audience to consider the writer's theories/points/ideas), students in English 3890 will conceptualize the "texts" studied in English departments as inherently rhetorical, thus exploring the various rhetorical moves that scholars make when they critically engage with the variety of texts that are central to English Studies.

In order to work as a mini-discipline, this class will focus on a particular theme: "Cultural Anxiety and the Textual Construction of Childhood." By focusing on a common theme, demonstrated in various texts (literary and non-literary, pictographic and alphabetic, spoken and written), students in this course will explore contemporary rhetorical theories of textual production and consumption in order to understand how texts (broadly defined) function in their culture and what those texts might say about the cultures that produce/consume them.

Goals of English 3890
Students in this course will

Texts

• Hart, William . Modern Rhetorical Criticism , 3rd Ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2004.
• Barrie, James M. Peter Pan. New York: Bantam, 1985. ISBN: 0553211781
• Levithan, David. Boy Meets Boy. New York: Knopf, 2003. ISBN: 0375824006
• Selected Texts available from the Internet (see Schedule for specific links)
• Selected Critical Articles (available either over the Internet or at Joyner Reserve Desk)
• Handbook of Your Choice (or use the online handbooks available at "Relevant Links")

Instructor Expectations
I expect the students I'm working with to work with me, to be in class and on time each class meeting, to devote a minimum of six (6) hours per week outside of class to course-related work and to turn in professional-looking work on-time. I expect students NOT to complain about writing, reading, and research, but to try to invest in and enjoy the projects we will work on during the semester. And I expect student-writers to feel that they can talk to me about their work, their concerns about their writing and reading, and their goals for this course. I do NOT expect students to be "expert" writers, readers, or researchers, for if they were, they wouldn't need this course, but I DO expect them to work extremely hard to develop those three skills over the course of the semester.

I do NOT believe in a "bell-curve" or in making the students' grades for this course fall along an A — F continuum. Every student who works at the A-level consistently should expect to receive an A in the course, keeping in mind that A-students complete ALL work on time and at an exceptional level throughout the semester; they come to class everyday during the semester; they rarely ask for extended deadlines; they don't make excuses for poor or late performance; they are exceptional peer-responders to writings and presentations of their class colleagues; they take a leadership role in the class, consistently going beyond the "minimum" requirements for assignments; and they seek the one-to-one help they need (from teachers, peers, or the University Writing Center) throughout the semester rather than procrastinating and expecting someone else (teacher, peer, writing consultant) to solve their problems for them. If you can be that sort of student, I look forward to awarding you the A you will have earned. If you cannot perform as this sort of students — and some students can't for various (often important) reasons — then you should not expect to earn an A for the course.

Projects
Within the first two weeks of the semester, students will be asked to choose a particular issue/problem that they want to investigate this semester. All of their minor and major projects will be centered on that particular choice, so students are advised to choose carefully and thoughtfully.

• Critical Shorties • (20%)
  Throughout the course, students will work on short analytical assignments (3-4 pages) that will attempt to hone their skills at critical reading and writing. Generally speaking, students who point out the "obvious" can expect C's or perhaps B's on their responses; those papers that move beyond the "obvious" may expect B+'s or perhaps A's.
• Annotated Bibliographies • (25%)
  Throughout the course, students will compile short annotated bibliographies (3-4 articles/book chapters) on topics related to current readings. Guidelines for writing annotations will be provided here.
• Class Presentations • (15%)
  As students work on their bibliographies, they will, on occasion, be asked to present an article to the class; presentations will focus on the primary arguments of the article, the rhetorical strategies the writer uses, and the value of the article to current topics in the course. High grades will go to presentations that are clearly articulated and demonstrate careful thought; disorganized and hastily thrown together presentations (which waste class time) will receive low grades and may be stopped mid-stream so as to prevent additional waste of class time.
• Major Analytical Project • (30%)
  Students will use their Reading Responses and Annotated Bibliographies, as well as class discussions, to develop a thesis-driven project that will engage the primary texts and theme(s) of the course. This project will be 12-15 pages in length and will be taken through several drafts. Failure to participate in the drafting process in class (and to meeting early draft deadlines for teacher review) will result in the student's receiving a C at best on the Major Analytical Project.
• Portfolio • Students will be expected to collect all their writings and class activities (graded and ungraded) into a portfolio of their work to turn in at the end of the semester. These portfolios will contain a cover sheet which lists all graded assignments the student has completed and the grades the student has earned. Portfolios should be sturdy, three-ring binders that are big enough to hold all the student's work comfortably. Students may retrieve these portfolios from the professor's office during First-Summer Session or during Fall Semester. Only projects represented in the portfolio will receive credit in the course; failure to turn in work in the portfolio will invalidate earlier grades on individual projects.

** The remaining 10% of your course grade will be "studentship" or "engagement," defined as being in class at each meeting and participating fully in class projects. **

Attendance
Although students may choose to be absent from class as frequently as they’d like, these absences will adversely affect course grades by affecting in-class performance (thus your "engagement" credit will suffer). Because some minor projects will be compelted in class and/or as part of a group, students who choose to miss class will not be able to complete the projects and will receive a zero (0) for participation in said project as well as a zero (0) on the project itself. Students who miss NO days of class during the semester will receive a three (3) point bonus on their final average.  It is your responsibility to sign-in to class each day.  ** If you were in class and forgot to sign-in, then you were absent. **

Night Classes, A Caveat: Because this course meets one night per week during the semester, students who miss a night have effectively missed a week of work (3 days of a MWF class). Students who miss more than 3 evenings of class (3 weeks/9 MWF days) will not be able to make better than a D in this course.

Late Work
Although I often accept late work from first-year students, I expect juniors and seniors to tackle their tasks more responsibly. As such, I will gladly accept early projects by e-mail if students cannot make it to class. However, students are still allowed one late project, as long as that project comes in within one week of the original due date. Because my schedule is so full, students should not expect immediate turn around on late projects; they will be returned as soon as I can get to them, which may be several weeks from the time they were turned in. Since projects build on each other, students are encouraged to turn materials in on time or early so that they do not get behind while waiting for my schedule to open up to provide time for response.

Conferences
Students should schedule conferences with me when they do not understand comments I've made on their projects or when they become confused about the expectations of this course. Likewise,I may require a certain number of individual and/or group conferences during the semester. Each scheduled conference that students miss will result in a zero (0) grade averaged into their major projects. If students cannot make a scheduled conference, I need to know six (6) hours in advance so that we can reschedule and so that other students can make use of my office time.

Academic Integrity
Students are expected to be honest about individual effort and responsible to peer/secondary source materials that are included in their projects. Both plagiarizing and turning in work written partially or completely by someone else are forms of academic dishonesty and carry serious penalties, the least serious of which is a grade of zero on the particular assignment (and thus a D, at best, in the course), but could also result in failure of the class and even expulsion from the university. Students who keep up with their work and consult with their peers and their professor have no reason or need to "cheat." Plagiarism likewise extends to the use of words, phrases, or ideas of others without giving proper credit through in-text citation and a "works cited" page attached to a project. Students who are unsure about whether they have borrowed too generously from other sources should consult the professor for help.

Computers in the Classroom
Because we meet in a computer-mediated classroom, we will make almost daily use of the machines.  However, certain computer-related behaviors will not be tolerated.  You may check your email or free-surf the web as you please before and after class, but after I announce the beginning of class by starting the roll, any student still using email, chat programs, or web browsers for non-class-related activities will loose points for participation or may even be considered absent from class for the day. **Likewise, students retain sole responsibility for keeping electronic copies of all their work.**  Lost or stolen disks, erased disks, home computer crashes, printer problems, etc. do NOT excuse you from turning in work or having copies of all your work on disk at the end of the semester.  Remember to make frequent back-up copies of files and keep copies on multiple disks.

Accommodations for Students with Special Needs
East Carolina University seeks to comply fully with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Students requesting accommodations based on a covered disability must go to the Department for Disability Services, located in Brewster A-114, to verify the disability before any accommodations can occur. The telephone number is 252-328-6799.