RHE 315 is a course designed to teach students to analyze and explore visual and non-verbal forms of rhetoric. It remains, first and foremost, a writing class, but one immersed in daily issues of culture, design, and visual literacy. Following a general introduction to reading and composing in various media, the class will focus on four themes, each leading to a major writing project:
1. Picturing Ourselves: Expressing Identity. The unit examines American visual icons, issues of self-expression, and devices for fashioning identity. Project: Writing the profile of an artist, explaining how his or her work responds to issues of identity and culture.
2. Seeing Places: Describing Landscapes and Environments. The unit explores the different ways we represent the landscapes of our lives: the places we live, the places we go, the places we remember. Projects: Analyzing the visual representations of a particular place or observing and assessing a public space.
3. Exploring Design: Analyzing Objects. The unit examines the design of everyday things (from chairs to iPods), the intersection of car culture and social values, and the politics of design. Project: Researching a design in its historical and cultural contexts.
4. Debating Culture: Writing to Advocate and Persuade. The unit considers the visual elements of arguments made routinely in our culture, from the strategies of advertisers and politicians to our traditions for memorializing heroes. Projects: Analyzing or composing a visual argument.
At least once during the term, students will have an opportunity to showcase the draft of one of their projects in class. They will also receive online feedback on topic proposals and drafts from classmates. They’ll have conferences with the instructor to discuss drafts of three of the four projects. Texts:
Ruszkiewicz, Anderson, and Friend. Beyond Words: Reading and Writing in a Visual Age
Students also should own a college-level composition handbook that covers mechanics, usage, and documentation.
Grading:
To pass the course, students must attend regularly and participate in online forums, peer editing sessions, and other class activities. Assignments not turned in on time will be penalized. The final grade will be calculated in the following way:
Class activities, including online forums and attendance: 5%
Project #1: 20%
Project #2: 20%
Project #3 (with research component): 30%
Project #4: 25%