Rhetoric in Real Life Syllabus
Course session: August 5-September 15, 2024
INSTRUCTOR:
Jennie Young, Ph. D. I study words in real life (bio @ end of syllabus).
COURSE DAYS/TIMES:
This course is online/asynchronous, which means you can work on it whenever you want within the span of the course (dates above).
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course serves as an introduction to applied rhetoric. What that means is that we will be learning not simply about rhetoric and rhetorical tools, but how to APPLY rhetorical principles and tactics to your own life (work, family, social, romantic, etc.).
***This is the syllabus; please do not skim it. Everything we will do in this course, and every principle it’s founded upon, requires close attention to every single word. If you don’t enjoy this level of attention to detail, this course will not be a good fit for you in terms of engagement, and you will not obtain the full impact of its lessons or benefits. That said, let’s begin .
First lesson: In the course description above, in the phrase “how to APPLY the principles and tactics to your own life,” I had to choose between the word “strategies” and the word “tactics.” The former is more polite, more PC, whereas the word “tactics” evokes manipulation and war. But I decided it’s also clearer in this usage. I don’t just want to help you “strategize” your life (though you’ll get that too); I want to give you concrete tools that radically improve it. So that was a rhetorical choice I made: tactic > strategy in this case.
In the bolded paragraph above that begins with 3 asterisks (***), I had to make a decision about the type of tone I wanted to set for kicking off this class. I chose “serious”; this was a rhetorical choice. That doesn’t mean it won’t also be fun; it’s just that you need to understand my definition of “fun” often means, “Let’s tear apart every single syllable, weigh its rhetorical implications, and see what we can find out.” If that’s your idea of fun too, you’re about to have loads of it. 😁
As I hope you saw from those two paragraphs, front-loaded on the first page of this syllabus (also a rhetorical choice), ALL of life is a series of rhetorical choices. These manifest *actively* (what you say and do) and *responsively* (how you react to what others say and do and how accurately you interpret others’ motivations and impacts). Your expertise in both determines your success, your happiness, your peace of mind, and your interpersonal efficacy.
COURSE COMPONENTS:
Written lessons
Video lectures
Discussion forums
Assignments
COURSE ASSESSMENT:
This is an ungraded course. You will not receive grades from me, but you will be reflecting upon your own work, experimenting with your applications of rhetoric, and interacting with/receiving feedback from your classmates.
COURSE SCHEDULE/CONTENT:
Week 1: Definitions
Rhetoric
Applied rhetoric
Critical discourse analysis (CDA)
Semiotics
Thought-terminating cliches
Glittering generalities
Loaded words
Weasel words
and others . . .
Weeks 2-3: Defining your problem and building your rhetorical toolkit
Who or what is driving you insane? (I just made another rhetorical choice. I know some people will push against my use of the word “insane.” I could’ve changed it to “Who or what makes you feel insane [or frustrated, or angry, etc.]?”). But I made an intentional decision to stick with “driving you insane” because I believe it’s the clearest way for me to ask you this question. (There are multiple definitions of this word, and I am obviously not using the one that refers to diagnosable mental illnesses; I am using the one that refers to being so negatively affected by someone or something that your peace, clarity, and mental state are compromised). I’m a liberal, feminist academic who swims in the water of political correctness (that was a metaphor; we’ll talk about these a lot), but I’m also a pragmatist, and when it comes to teaching I always prioritize clarity over linguistic sensitivity (if you’ve already figured out that what I just wrote also communicates the message “Please don’t email me about my word choices; I promise I understand rhetorical risks and pitfalls and am being intentional in my language,” then give yourself big bonus points 😁⭐).
Building your rhetorical toolkit (to apply to your problem):
Applied rhetoric
CDA
Primary metaphors
Semiotics
Thin-slicing
Gray-rocking
Ontology
Heuristics
Flipping the script
Rhetorical patterning
Why is this bothering me?
How else could this be said?
Week 4: Use your toolkit to build your customized “algorithm” for dealing with your problem (you will create a concrete plan to guide yourself in future interactions).
Week 5: #1 Rule of Rhetoric and its Applications
My most important rhetorical rule
Week 6: Rhetorical Superpowers
Build your list of “nevers”
Discover your personal rhetorical superpower
My bio:
I’m a writer and professor at University of Wisconsin, Green Bay.
I’m trained in classical and applied rhetoric and hold a Ph. D. in rhetoric and discourse studies from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
Professional/academic Instagram
*If you’d like to discuss applied rhetoric training specific to your institution or corporation, see my website for contact form:
Thank you! All signed up for substack and super excited for August! 😊
This is exactly what I need! I can’t wait until August. Thank you so much for doing this - it will be so helpful!