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Advanced Strategies for Rhetoric and Research
The Practices of Memory
English 190.9
Spring 2004

Overview

English 190 is about how we make meaning. It is about taking information from writing, talking, other media, and from observation; analyzing and interpreting that information; and using it to make new meaning. This involves reading, observing, research, comprehension, analysis, interpretation, integration, exploring, summary, critique, and presentation of your own ideas through various media and for various contexts and audiences. This course is designed to introduce you to, and help you to develop, the rhetorical strategies necessary for writing persuasively in academic, professional, and public settings. In short, this class is designed to introduce you to critical reading, writing, and thinking you’ll be asked to engage in here at SLU and in your professional lives.

Our course differs from most other English 190 courses in a few important ways. First, while all English 190 courses are required to make use of the English Department’s Computer-assisted Instruction facility, we will use the CAI lab as our regular classroom. This course will make much more extensive use of computers and computer-based activities such as the creation of Web sites, MOO (a real-time text-based virtual environment), email, and bulletin board discussions than the typical English 190 course. While prior knowledge of such computer-based activities is not assumed, I expect everyone in this course to be willing to learn them. If the thought of using a computer causes you to makeup screaming in the middle of the night, you may want to switch to a different section.

Also, unlike many English 190 courses, our course is a thematic one and our subject of study is “The Practices of Memory.” We’ll read, discuss, and write about such topics as social memory, memorialization, rhetorical memory, memorial vs. methodical composition, remembering and forgetting, mnemotechniques, the interplay between word and image, technologies of representation, and theories of memory.

Required Texts and Materials

• Faigley, Lester. The Brief Penguin Handbook. New York: Longman, 2003 (SLU custom version available in bookstore)
• Reynolds, Nedra. Portfolio Keeping: A Guide for Students. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000
• two pocket folders for turning in work
• disks to store your work and bring it to class (I strongly recommend you use something other than 3 1/2 floppy disks.)
• personal email account

This syllabus is subject to change. Changes will be announced in class, on this Web site, and via email.

Last Modified: 10 January

Syllabus | Policies | Work | Schedule | Assignments | Handouts | Links