Chapman University
Spring 2023
English 103: Seminar in rhetoric and Composition: queer rhetorics
Instructor Contact Information:
- Ian Barnard, Ph.D.
- Office: 428 N. Glassell #104
- Live Office Hours: MW via Zoom; email for appointment
- Email Office Hours: [email protected]
Statement on Diversity and Inclusion
Department of English, Chapman University
December 2016
For at least half a century now, English as an academic discipline has been at the forefront of scholarly work and pedagogy in feminist theory, critical race studies, ecocriticism, queer theory, disability studies, working-class studies, postcolonial theory, multiculturalism, linguistic diversity, and student agency. The English Department at Chapman University works in all these areas and endorses Chapman’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. We pledge to vigorously support all our students; to welcome all students into our classrooms irrespective of immigration status; to contest racism, sexism, classism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, imperialism, anti-Semitism, and anti-environmentalism; and to resist deportations.
Statement of Solidarity with Black Lives Matter
June 2020
The interdisciplinary minor programs of Wilkinson College stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and Black communities across the country. We deplore the horrific murders of unarmed Black people by the police and the systemic racism in police forces, in educational and legal institutions, and throughout society. We support the protestors calling on us to say the names of victims of a compromised system of criminal justice: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Read, Tony McDade, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, and many more. We mourn the unnamed and unnumbered victim. These tragedies are laid on top of the longstanding systemic poverty and other social injustices experienced in marginalized communities for an unbearably long time.
We are all called upon to seek solutions--of every kind, whoever we are, and however we can contribute best--to redress these wounds and injustices endemic to the country and world. Martin Luther King said, "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance or conscientious stupidity.” As educators, and directors of our particular Interdisciplinary Minors in Wilkinson College, we call upon Chapman University to instead conscientiously support and expand Africana Studies and all other programs throughout the university committed to teaching the knowledge, texts, histories, and social movements born of struggle against racist violence, anti-Blackness, and other social injustice. We have learned the hard way that “those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” We must teach and learn this history and the dynamics of this present moment with an investment in education for a future of less shame, less suffering, less fear, less hate, and more justice, more hope, more peace.
We encourage everyone, including those of us who belong to marginalized communities, to hold honest conversations about anti-Blackness and discrimination with our own families, friends, and communities. Covid-19 continues to expose what we have already known to be the racial and social inequalities that our communities live through daily. We witnessed the rise of anti-Asian rhetoric and violence, disregard for “essential” immigrant workers, and staggering infection rates among Native Americans. We need to reimagine what it means to stand in solidarity with each other.
Land Acknowledgement (from Chapman's Wilkinson College website)
Wilkinson College believes all students should be taught the importance of recognizing land to understand the colonizing roots of academia and the way many fields of higher education have been used in the ostracizing, marginalization and disempowering (as well as the stealing of land, forced removal, and genocide) of communities. In doing so, we hope to inspire our students to use their education to challenge institutional and structural barriers to work toward equality, respect, and the lifting of their communities. Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences collectively acknowledges that Chapman University occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Acjachemen Peoples in the Juaneño Territory, adjacent to our Tongva/Kizh neighbors to the North and Payomkawichum/Luiseño and Kumeyaay neighbors to the South. In addition, we recognize, support, and advocate for the sovereignty of California’s 109 federally-recognized Indian nations, for historic Indigenous communities in California, for Indigenous individuals and communities who live here now, and for those who were forcibly removed from their Homelands. By offering this Land Acknowledgement, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty, and consistent with our values of community and diversity, acknowledge our responsibility to hold the university more accountable to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous peoples.
Course Description and Learning Outcomes:
- Catalog Course Description: Composition seminar devoted to rhetorical understanding and competence in a variety of specific academic contexts. Students may choose from a range of composing topics, each with its own sets of expectations, genres, forms, purposes, and audiences. Attention will focus on multimodal composing in differing discourse communities, but all sections of English 103 address rhetorical effectiveness in composition. (Offered every semester.) 3 credits.
- We will emphasize composing as a process. Revision will be an essential part of the work of the class. You’ll develop multiple drafts of your major assignments. Our attention to each others’ work will center around student-facilitated whole-class workshops. You’ll receive oral and written feedback on your assignment drafts from your colleagues and me. Each class member will have the opportunity to have one of their assignments workshopped, and each class member will facilitate a colleague’s workshop. These workshops will give us all the chance to discuss the issues at stake in the projects, to articulate and negotiate our criteria for effective composition, and to address and practice a variety of rhetorical strategies in the context of specific student texts.
- This course fulfills the learning outcome of the Written Inquiry component of the General Education program (GE WI): Students understand and use rhetorical concepts through analyzing and composing a variety of multimodal texts, negotiating purpose, audience, context, and conventions.
- This particular section of English 103 fulfills the above goals by focusing on queer rhetorics.
Required Texts (available at the University Bookstore and on reserve in the Leatherby Libraries; hard copy or digital versions ok):
- Adler-Kassner, Linda, and Elizabeth Wardle, editors. Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies. Classroom ed. U P of Colorado, 2016.
- Birkenstein, Cathy, and Gerald Graff. They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. 5th ed. Norton, 2021.
Course Grade:
This course uses the contract grading system (also known as labor-based grading) that is becoming increasingly common in educational institutions. This means that I will not be “giving” you a grade at the end of the course; rather, you will determine and work toward your own grade, based on the criteria below. I will also not be assigning grades to individual class projects, but will give you plenty of prose feedback on your work. Like other faculty, I am using contract grading primarily for four reasons: 1) research has demonstrated that traditional grading practices are inequitable; 2) since what constitutes “good” or “bad” student work is subjective, contract grading gets rid of this kind of subjectivity because I will not be grading the content of your work; 3) I prefer to give you constructive feedback on your work, rather than have to rank you by assigning a grade to your work; 4) studies have shown that grades inhibit student learning, and students learn more and produce better work when they are not “writing for a grade.” It’s up to you to decide which grade you’d like to work for in this course—I won’t hold your choice against you; a student’s grade is not a comment on their intelligence or indicative of if they’re a good or likeable person or not!
Grade Criteria:
Meet all the criteria listed under each grade to earn that grade. To earn credit for an assignment, follow the guidelines in the assignment prompt. If you do not earn credit the first time around for your Queer Rhetoric Website, Exploratory Essay, or Film Essay, you may revise the assignment to receive credit. See the assignments guidelines for more information about each assignment.
“A” Course Grade:
- Turn in all assignments (including in-class writing) on time, unless you receive an extension from me ahead of time
- Earn credit for all assignments
- Turn in a complete Portfolio that includes substantial revisions of two of the first three major assignments listed below and a reflection that shows an understanding of your selected threshold concept, supported by examples from your own work in the portfolio
- Miss no more than four class meetings, unless you have a documented illness or other emergency for more than four absences
- Film Essay is at least 1250 words long (excluding Works Cited list) and includes engagement with at least two scholarly sources
- Queer Rhetoric Website includes at least 3 web pages, at least 10 images, at least 10 links, and at least 10 pieces of text
- Participate orally in all whole-class workshops and most class discussions; facilitate a workshop and have one of your projects workshopped
- Complete all assigned readings
- All your work demonstrates effort and thoughtfulness
“B” Course Grade:
- Turn in all assignments; turn in most assignments (including in-class writing) on time, unless you have received an extension from me ahead of time; up to three assignments may be turned in up to a week late without consulting me ahead of time
- Earn credit for your Queer Rhetoric Website, Film Essay, and Exploratory Essay
- Turn in a complete Portfolio that includes revision of two of the first three major assignments listew below and a reflection about a threshold concept supported by examples from your own work in your portfolio
- Miss no more than six class meetings, unless you have a documented illness or other emergency for more than six absences
- Film Essay is 1000-1250 words long (excluding Works Cited list) and includes engagement with at least one scholarly source
- Queer Rhetoric Website includes at least 3 web pages, at least 5 images, at least 5 links, and at least 5 pieces of text
- Participate orally in most whole-class workshops and class discussions; facilitate a workshop and have one of your projects workshopped
- Complete most of the assigned readings
- Most of your work demonstrates effort and thoughtfulness
“C” Course Grade:
- Complete and turn in most of the assignments (including in-class writing) on time, unless you have received an extension from me ahead of time; up to five assignments may be turned in up to a week late without consulting me
- Earn credit for your Queer Rhetoric Website, Film Essay, and Exploratory Essay
- Turn in a Portfolio that includes revisions of two of the first three major assignments listed below and a reflection about a threshold concept
- Miss no more than eight class meetings, unless you have a documented illness or other emergency for more than eight absences
- Film Essay is 750-1000 words long (excluding Works Cited list) and includes engagement with at least one scholarly source
- Queer Rhetoric Website includes at least 2 web pages, at least 3 images, at least 3 links, and at least 5 pieces of text
- Complete some of the assigned readings
- Participate orally in some whole-class workshops and class discussions; facilitate a workshop and have one of your projects workshopped
“D” or “F” Course Grade:
- You do not fulfill the requirements for “C” course grade
Major Assignments:
- Queer Rhetoric Website: Individually or with one or more classmates, create a website that explores a queer or queer-related word or phrase or symbol (excluding the word “queer,” which we will use as an example in class). The goal of your website isn’t necessarily to make a linear argument, but rather to act as a kind of curated space where you provide your audience with the opportunity to explore the queer history, politics, diversity of meanings, and resonances of your chosen word or phrase or symbol and its usage. Preface your website with appropriate trigger warnings if needed. Your website may include any of the following: found images, links (to videos, other websites, other pages of your own website, or other places on one of your web pages), video clips, your own images, your own words, quotes from other people, sound bites. If you use words or images created by others, be sure to credit the author appropriately (we will discuss options in class). Create your website for an audience who is interested in your topic but isn’t necessarily a member of our class. Minimum requirements for website: 2 web pages, 3 images, 3 links, 5 pieces of text (either your own writing or quotes from others)—see grade contract for requirements for each grade. Remember that you are working multimodally and want to effectively use the affordances of your web medium. You’ll need to think about how to organize your website, its visual design and appeal, and the materials you choose to create and curate to develop a rich inventory of your word or phrase or symbol.
- Exploratory Essay: Choose one of the “poems” from Intergalactic Travels that you’d like to explore in depth beyond our class discussion. Analyze your poem in as much detail as you can, including paying attention to its visual components, its language, its relationship to the rest of the book, and what you see as its social/political/queer significance. Be very specific and include quotes from or specific references to your poem. You could also include images of the poem or parts of the poem if you think they would help your reader to follow your exploration/analysis. Since this is an exploratory essay, you don’t need to have an argument or thesis; however, you do need to think carefully about the organization of your essay and transitions between points, so that your essay reads as a cohesive whole rather than as a random collection of points. Write for a general audience of readers who aren’t necessarily familiar with Intergalactic Travels: you will need to give a brief overview of or introduction to the book and explain your chosen poem for readers who haven’t read the book. Conclude your essay with a Works Cited that lists Intergalactic Travels and any other sources you use. Use MLA format or another scholarly format for your Works Cited list and for in-text citations. 500-1000 words, excluding Works Cited list.
- Film Essay: Use one or more of the scholarly articles about Moonlight posted on Canvas to develop an essay about an aspect of the film that you find particularly interesting, significant, moving, or annoying. Don’t just repeat what we’ve said in class about the film or what the articles say about it. Think about how you’d like to add to or develop these points. Or perhaps there is some aspect of the film or one of the articles that we haven’t discussed that you’d like to pursue? Engage with your secondary sources following the guidelines in They Say/I Say. Your essay should have a main point or argument that holds it together. This could be a point you’d like to make about the film, and you are using your secondary sources to help you to make this point. Or it could be a point you’d like to make about one or more of your secondary sources. In either case, use specific examples from the film (including specific scenes, cinematic techniques, and quotes from dialogue if appropriate; you may also include screenshots from the film or links to specific scenes or other digital elements to illustrate your points) and from your secondary sources (including quotes, paraphrases, references to page numbers, or references to points made in a secondary source if appropriate) to support your argument. Write for a general audience of readers who are familiar with Moonlight but not necessarily members of our class. Conclude your essay with a Works Cited list that includes Moonlight and your secondary sources. Use MLA format or another scholarly format to cite your secondary sources in the body of your essay and for your Works Cited list. 750-1500 words—see grade contract for requirements for each grade.
- Threshold Concept Reflection: Choose one of the threshold concepts from Naming What We Know that you’d like to reflect on in the context of your portfolio. Discuss what the threshold concept means to you, how you have enacted it over the course of the semester, and how readers can see this threshold concept enacted in one or more of the artifacts in your portfolio (give specific examples from your portfolio). Write for readers of your portfolio who aren’t necessarily members of our class. Conclude your reflection with a Works Cited list that includes your threshold concept in Naming What We Know. Use MLA format or another scholarly format for your Works Cited list. 500-1000 words—see grade contract for requirements for each grade.
- Portfolio: Your portfolio includes the following artifacts (not necessarily in this order) uploaded to Canvas as a single pdf document—see grade contract for requirements for each grade: 1) Cover page; 2) Threshold Concept Reflection; 3) Revisions of any two of the following three major assignments: Film Essay, Queer Rhetoric Website, Exploratory Essay; 4) Your three best unaltered responses to colleagues’ workshop drafts
Course Policies and Resources:
- I encourage you to visit the campus Writing Center to get extra feedback on and assistance with your work in this course.
- Citation of Sources: Plagiarism is a contested and context-specific topic. We will discuss effective ways of using sources and issues around plagiarism in class. For more information, see Chapman's policy on academic integrity.
- Email Protocol: I acknowledge all email messages within 48 hours. If you email me but don’t get a response, I haven’t received your email. Feel free to email me concerning any questions you have about the course or about your work. Do not email your work to me for feedback; I’d be happy to discuss your work with you via Zoom. It’s important to practice composing professional emails: be sure that your emails to me include appropriate subject lines, salutations, and closes.
- Classroom Dynamics: I don't spend much time lecturing and expect you to participate vigorously in the many discussions around which the course is organized. We all teach and learn in this course--I do not believe in a one-way transmission of “knowledge” from instructor to students. I don’t have all the answers, and I look forward to learning as much as teaching in this course. You should direct your questions and comments in class to your colleagues as much as to me. I encourage you to talk in class.
- Diversity: Chapman University is committed to ensuring equality and valuing diversity. Students and professors are reminded to show respect at all times as outlined in Chapman's Harassment and Discrimination Policy. Any violations of this policy should be discussed with the professor, the Dean of Students, and/or otherwise reported in accordance with this policy.
- Students With Disabilities: Please see me early in the semester if you have a documented disability, so that we can discuss what accommodations I might make to help you to succeed in this class. Click here to read Chapman University's Policy Statement for Assisting Students with Disabilities.
- Electronic Devices: Please bring your laptop to class meetings, but do not use electronic devices for non course-related work during class time.
tentative schedule
Readings marked * are on Canvas
Week 1
Monday, 1/30/2023
Monday, 2/6/2023
Monday, 2/13/2023
Monday, 2/20/2023
Monday, 2/27/2023
Monday, 3/6/2023
Monday, 3/13/2023
Monday, 3/27/2023
Monday, 4/3/2023
Monday, 4/10/2023
Monday, 4/17/2023
Monday, 4/24/2023
Monday, 5/1/2023
Monday, 5/8/2023
Week 1
Monday, 1/30/2023
- In-Class Activities: introduction to the course and to Naming What We Know; in-class reading, writing, and discussion (definitions of rhetoric and Naming What We Know 1.1)
- Homework Assignments for 2/1/2023: read 4.0, 4.2, 4.4 from Naming What We Know
- In-Class Activities: class member introductions; discuss reading and criteria for Canvas discussion posts
- Homework Assignments for 2/6/2023: read 1.6, 3.2, 3.3, 4.3, and 5.3, from Naming What We Know and Preface, Introduction, and Chapter 12 from They Say/I Say; Canvas discussion post #1 due by 2 p.m. on 2/6/2023
Monday, 2/6/2023
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading and discussion posts; draw workshop dates
- Homework Assignments for 2/8/2023: read 1.2, 1.4, 2.4, and 4.5 from Naming What We Know
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading and workshop protocol; in-class writing
- Homework Assignments for 2/13/2023: read queer rhetorics articles*
Monday, 2/13/2023
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading and workshop protocol; assign queer rhetoric website; watch and discuss Pariah excerpt
- Homework Assignments for 2/20/2023: read queer rhetorics articles*; Canvas discussion post #2 due by 2 p.m. on 2/20/2023
- In-Class Activities: no class meeting
- Homework Assignments for 2/20/23: read queer rhetorics articles*; Canvas discussion post #2 due by 2 p.m. on 2/20/2023
Monday, 2/20/2023
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading, discussion posts, and workshop protocol; sign up to facilitate a workshop
- Homework Assignments for 2/22/2023: read Chapter 9 from They Say/I Say; come up with ideas for your queer rhetoric website
- In-Class Activities: work on queer rhetoric websites; discuss reading; discuss responding to workshop drafts
- Homework Assignments for 2/27/2023: if you have a workshop on 2/27/2023, post your draft on Canvas by 2 p.m. on 2/24/2023; if you have a workshop on 3/1/2023, post your draft on Canvas by 2 p.m. on 2/27/2023; respond to workshop drafts by 2 p.m. on 2/27/2023 (follow guidelines for these responses)
Monday, 2/27/2023
- In-Class Activities: whole-class workshops
- Homework Assignments for 3/1/2023: respond to workshop drafts by 2 p.m. on 3/1/2023 (follow guidelines for these responses)
- In-Class Activities: whole-class workshops
- Homework Assignments for 3/6/2023: read articles on visual rhetoric*
Monday, 3/6/2023
- In-Class Activities: discuss visual rhetoric
- Homework Assignments for 3/8/2023: post a link to your queer rhetoric website on Canvas by 2 p.m. on 3/8/2023
- In-Class Activities: in-class reading and discussion from Naming What We Know 1.3 and 1.8; introduction to Intergalactic Travels; queer rhetoric website debrief
- Homework Assignments for 3/13/2023: read pp. 110-114 and 1-88 from Intergalactic Travels*; Canvas discussion post #3 due by 2 p.m. on 3/13/2023
Monday, 3/13/2023
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading and discussion posts
- Homework Assignments for 3/15/2023: read pp. 89-103 from Intergalactic Travels*
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading; assign exploratory essay; mid-semester course feedback
- Homework Assignments for 3/27/2023: if you have a workshop on 3/29/2023, post your draft on Canvas by 2 p.m. on 3/27/2023
Monday, 3/27/2023
- In-Class Activities: discuss mid-semester feedback; work on exploratory essay
- Homework Assignments for 3/29/2023: respond to workshop drafts by 2 p.m. on 3/29/2023 (follow guidelines for these responses)
- In-Class Activities: whole-class workshops
- Homework Assignments for 4/3/2023: read 2.2 and 2.6 from Naming What We Know
Monday, 4/3/2023
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading
- Homework Assignments for 4/5/2023: post your exploratory essay on Canvas by 2 p.m. on 4/5/2023
- In-Class Activities: exploratory essay debrief; in-class reading and discussion from Naming What We Know 2.3 and 3.4; introduction to Moonlight
- Homework Assignments for 4/10/2023: watch Moonlight; Canvas discussion post #4 due by 2 p.m. on 4/10/2023
Monday, 4/10/2023
- In-Class Activities: discuss Moonlight and discussion posts; introduction to QED, GLQ, and scholarly critique
- Homework Assignments for 4/12/2023: read scholarly articles about Moonlight: Introduction to QED Forum; one article from QED Forum; one essay from QED; one article from GLQ (optional)*
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading; assign film essay
- Homework Assignments for 4/17/2023: read Chapters 1-7 from They Say/I Say; Canvas discussion post #5 due by 2 p.m. on 4/17/2023
Monday, 4/17/2023
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading, discussion posts, plagiarism, citation, and AI
- Homework Assignments for 4/19/2023: work on your film essay
- In-Class Activities: work on film essay
- Homework Assignments for 4/24/2023: if you have a workshop on 4/24/2023, post your draft on Canvas by 2 p.m. on 4/21/2023; if you have a workshop on 4/26/2023, post your draft on Canvas by 2 p.m. on 4/24/2023; respond to workshop drafts by 2 p.m. on 4/24/2023 (follow guidelines for these responses)
Monday, 4/24/2023
- In-Class Activities: whole-class workshops
- Homework Assignments for 4/26/2023: respond to workshop drafts by 2 p.m. on 4/26/2023 (follow guidelines for these responses)
- In-Class Activities: whole-class workshops
- Homework Assignments for 5/1/2023: post your film essay on Canvas by 2 p.m. on 5/1/2023
Monday, 5/1/2023
- In-Class Activities: film essay debrief; assign portfolio and threshold concept reflection; in-class reading and discussion from Naming What We Know 5.2 and 5.4
- Homework Assignments for 5/3/2023: read 2.5, 3.1, 3.5, and 4.1 from Naming What We Know
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading; work on portfolio and revisions; course debrief
- Homework Assignments for 5/8/2023: if you have a workshop on 5/8/2023, post your draft on Canvas by 2 p.m. on 5/5/2023; respond to workshop drafts by 2 p.m. on 5/8/2023 (follow guidelines for these responses)
Monday, 5/8/2023
- In-Class Activities: whole-class workshops
- Homework Assignments for 5/17/2023: work on your portfolio
- In-Class Activities: course evaluations; end of course celebration?
- Homework Assignments: post your portfolio on Canvas by 2 p.m. on 5/17/2023; post your signed grade contract with your grade circled on Canvas by 2 p.m. on 5/17/2023
Click these links for more information about Chapman's LGBTQ Studies minor and minor in Rhetoric and Composition Studies