English 6013: Introduction to Contemporary Rhetorical Analysis

Instructor: Dr. Will Kurlinkus

Time: W 5:30pm - 8:10pm by Zoom

This introductory course will provide an overview of and practice in contemporary theories of rhetorical analysis,
including spatial analysis, publics and counter publics, feminist rhetoric, memory studies, social media circulation, and
material rhetorics. Along the way, students will become familiar with the basics of just what rhetoricians do by reading
some of the most well-known critics of the 20th and 21st century. Each week you will apply the rhetorical methods we
cover through analyzing an object, text, or experience of your choice. The course will culminate in an extended
rhetorical analysis of a subject and theory of your choosing.

Expectations and Taking Notes

Regular reading, zoom attendance, and participation in seminar discussion. Zoom attendance is expected and taken
into account in evaluation. But the success of this seminar depends on everyone’s full participation. As participants, we
must read the assigned material with care. I expect you to read all the material assigned for each week's discussion. So
plan ahead—take notes. In your notes, (1) Record useful questions you have. (2) Record new key terms and theories—
especially if rhetorical terms come up. (3) Connect what you’re reading both across the week and the semester. (4)
Think very carefully about how what your reading relates to what you plan to write about in your final paper this
semester. (5) Finally, take note of how your favorite readings are written. What goes in an intro, lit review, body, and
conclusion? How are examples and theories balanced? What do theses look like? Even if you are not leading
discussion, you are being evaluated every class period on whether you come in with questions and issues to discuss.

Assignments
1. In-Class Presentations (20%): Each of us will do all the reading assignments—there are quite a few of them—
and most of us will only be able to give them a single reading. Each week, however, we will have a person who is
responsible for doing a much more thorough job and for leading us through a discussion of the salient issues raised
by the texts. These people should come to class with summaries, questions, and activities; issues and connections
for us to explore; and/or popular examples for us to review that illustrate issues and perspectives to organize about
half of our seminar time (45 minutes). I will be prepared to organize the rest of the time.
2. Weekly Analysis and Participation (20%): In addition to speaking up in class every class, to prepare for class
discussion, you will write thoughtful responses to the reading for each week. In these responses, you are required
to apply one or two of the theories we read about to analyze your own example from outside of the readings. Think
of this as a space to test out possibilities for the final paper. Focus on trying to understand and explain to yourself
the ideas that the authors present and on connection those ideas to other readings in this course and your own
work. Do not simply write a summary of the reading. Responses should be ~1 single-spaced page printed page. Be
sure to bring a copy of your post to class, to prime discussion.
3. Midterm (20%): This will be a roughly 10-page book proposal style description on your final project topic.
4. Final Paper (40%): The final paper for this course will be, surprise, a contemporary rhetorical analysis. In it you
will follow the basic structure of the Foss readings we’ve done throughout the semester to analyze some object,
trend, or happening of your choice in a rhetorical manner. Your paper (at least 7,000 words—not including
citation) may use any approaches/methods, but you will work with me to define a direction. You will present your
work in progress and receive feedback from me and your peers on the last day of class.

Reading Schedule
*
Week 1. What is Rhetorical + Analysis?

*
Note that although several weeks have up to seven readings, during those weeks there are usually one or two shorter
popular pieces that have an asterisk.

1

W 8.26 1. “The Nature of Rhetorical Criticism” Sonya Foss pp. 3-19
2. “Neo-Aristotelian Criticism” Sonya Foss pp. 21-41
3. “Introduction” John Lucaites and Celeste Condit pp. 1-13.
4. “Towards a Sophistic Definition of Rhetoric” John Poulakos, pp. 25-32
5. “Interfacing Cultural Rhetorics: A History and a Call” Casie Cobos et al., pp. 139-154

Week 2. On Audience

W 9.2 Audience and Rhetoric. James E. Porter

Week 3. Publics and Counterpublics

W. 9.9 1. “Metaphor Criticism” Sonya Foss pp. 267-276, 295-306

2. “Publics and Counter Publics” Michael Warner pp. 49-90
3. “Civil Society and the Principle of the Public Sphere” Gerard Hauser. pp. 19-40
4. “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital” Robert Putnam pp. 1-5*
5. “Red, White, and Blue Enough to Be Green: The Effects of Moral Framing on
Climate Change Attitudes and Conservation Behaviors” Christopher Wolsko, Hector
Ariceaga, Jesse Seiden pp. 7-19
6. “Digital Standpoints: Debating Gendered Violence and Racial Exclusions in the
Feminist Counterpublic” Sarah Jackson and Sonia Banaszcsyk pp. 381-407

Week 4. Rhetoric + Memory

W 9.16 1. “Ideological Criticism” Sonya Foss pp. 209-220

2. “Reading the Past Against the Grain” Barbie Zelizer pp. 214-235.
3. From “The Collective Memory” Maurice Halbwachs pp. 139-149
4. “Coal Keeps the Lights On” Will and Krista Kurlinkus pp. 87-109.
5. “Onate’s Foot” 99% Invisible, 47 minutes*
6. “Memory and Myth at the Buffalo Bill Museum” Dickinson, Ott, Aoki pp. 85-108
7. “How Facebook, fake news and friends are warping your memory” Laura Spinney pp.
168-170*

Week 5. Material Rhetorics

W 9.23 1. “Narrative Criticism” Sonya Foss pp. 307-345

2. “Introduction.” Diana Coole and Samantha Frost pp. 1-43.
3. “The Most Cherished Objects in the Home” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi & Eugene
Halton, pp. 55-75.
4. “Do Artifacts Have Politics?” Langdon Winner. pp. 121-136
5. “Democratic Rationalization: Technology, Power, and Freedom” Andrew Feenberg pp.
1-28

Week 6. Online Rhetoric, Social Media, and Participatory Culture

*Note: this week Katherine DeLuca will visit our virtual classroom so be sure to have questions for her
about her piece!

W 9.30 1. “Generic Criticism” Sonya Foss pp. 137-161

2

2. “The Digital: Rhetoric Behind and Beyond the Screen” Casey Boyle, James Brown Jr.,
& Steph Ceraso pp. 251-259
3. “Shared Passions, Shared Compositions: Online Fandom Communities and Affinity
Groups as Sites for Public Writing Pedagogy” Katherine DeLuca pp. 75-92
4. “Redesigning Social Media Platforms to Reduce FOMO?” Raian Ali & John
McAlaney*
5. “You May Know Me From YouTube: Micro Celebrity and Social Media” Alice
Marwick pp. 1-19
6. “The age of Twitter: Donald J. Trump and the politics of debasement” Brian Ott pp.
59-68

Week 7. Discuss Midterm in Depth

W 10.7 1. “Generative Criticism” pp. 387-404

Week 8. Spatial and Regional Rhetorics

W. 10.14 1. “The Practice of Critical Regionalism” Douglas Reichert Powell. pp. 1-26
2. “Space, Place, and the Textures of Rhetorical Criticism” Greg Dickinson pp. 297-313
3. “The Meanings of Kansas: Rhetoric, Regions, and Counter Regions” Dave Tell. Pp. 214-232.
4. ”Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt's remarks on the 25th anniversary of the Oklahoma City
bombing”*
5. “Wearing the City: Memory P(a)laces, Smartphones, and the Rhetorical Invention of Embodied
Space” pp. 222-235
6. “On Gender and Rhetorical Space” Roxanne Mountford pp. 41-71
7. “Elizabeth Catte: Appalachia Isn’t Trump Country” Guernica, Regan Penaluna*

Week 9. Contemporary Political Rhetoric

W 10.21 1. “Pentadic Criticism” Sonya Foss pp. 355-380

2. “Introduction to Kenneth Burke” 2 pages*
3. Rhetoric of Motives Kenneth Burke pp. 19-29, 49-69
4. “Terministic Screens” Kenneth Burke pp. 44-62 Language as Symbolic Action
5. “Sustainability as a Rhetorical God Term” Dale L. Sullivan pp. 1-11
6. “Rhetorical Listening: A Trope for Interpretive Invention and a ‘Code of Cross-
Cultural Conduct’" Krista Ratcliffe pp. 195-224
‘
Week 10. Feminist Rhetoric

W 10.28 1. “Cluster Criticism” Sonya Foss pp 63-70

2. “Survival Stories: Feminist Historiographic Approaches to Chicana Rhetorics of
Sterilization Abuse” Jessica Enoch pp. 182-200
3. “Rhetorical Education at Catholic Colleges for Women in Ohio: 1925-1940” Nan
Johnson pp. 214-230
4. “Translating Nora: Chinese Feminism and Global Rhetoric” Bo Wang pp. 255-276
5. “Feminist Body Rhetoric in the #UnrulyMob” Dana Cloud pp. 27-44

Week 11. African American Rhetoric

W. 11.4 On African American Rhetoric. Keith Gilyard and Adam Banks

Week 12. Contemporary Political Rhetoric

W 11.18 Reality Bites: Rhetoric and the Circulation of Truth Claims. Dana Cloud

Week 13. Take a Breath!

W 11.25 Thanksgiving Holiday

Week 14. Writing Wrap Up

W 12.2 Individual Meetings

Week 15. Final Presentations

W 12.9 Presentations