Aristotle defines rhetoric as the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion. This course will teach you to identify the rhetorical strategies available in select discursive genres. In this course, you will utilize analytic and inductive reasoning, document evidence to support your reasoning, and hone your research methods.
One of the major issues this class will explore is the idea of climate change and global warming, since this is an issue of ongoing discussion on an issue that impacts public policy but relies on the interpretation and reliability of scientific data. To frame this major issue, we will explore a novelistic critique of the rhetoric in favor of climate change, State of Fear by Michael Crichton. The first major assignment will involve interrogating the claims presented in the novel.
The second two thirds of the class will revolve around an independent research project that you will develop in conjunction with the instructor. While this can be about climate change, you can also develop a topic that is pertinent to your ongoing interests. In the development of this major research project, you will develop an annotated bibliography, and then finally end the class with a 2500 word essay.
The majority of the grade for this class will be based an expository essay, an annotated bibliography, a final research project, a student presentation on fallacies, and daily activities including online postings or in-class journals. Through these three assignments, you will become familiar with composition methods, strategies for finding academic sources, and with the resources of the UH Manoa Library.
Required Texts
MLA Handbook. 8th Edition. Modern Language Association. New York: 2016. ISBN-13: 978-1603292627
Wayne Booth et. al. The Craft of Research, 4th Edition. University of Chicago Press, 2016. ISBN-13: 978-0226239736
Crichton, Michael. State of Fear. Harper, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0061782664