Week 1

Tuesday, January 9

• Introductions
• Review Course Description, Schedule, Course Texts/Films, and Getting Started steps.
• What do we mean when we ask, "Do you see what I mean?"

Thursday, January 11

• Complete the 3 Getting Started steps before class.
• Read
  • Guidelines for Responding in Networked Communities
  • Student-Generated Guidelines for Online Discussion
  • Examples: Keeping Online Discussion Lively and Focused
• Read "Visual Rhetoric" (Bernhardt, handout distributed in class on Tuesday).
• In class: Write and post your first blog message in response to the question, "What is visual rhetoric?" Select "what is visual rhetoric" as the category before you post your message. Just supply the best answer to this question that you can come up with this early in the semester, before we've spent much time discussing what we mean by "visual rhetoric."
• Topic for discussion/presentation: What is the scope of visual rhetoric? I'll give you a presentation, and you can follow along if you'd like. The topic is "From Writer to Auteur: What Is an Author in an Age of Visual Rhetoric and Multimedia?"

Week 2

Tuesday, January 16

• Read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, pp. 3-98. Post your first weekly reading response to your blog. Be sure to tag it as "Weekly Reading Response" when you select the category. Here are some questions to get you going. You don't have to respond to any of these in particular. They are meant to be generative:

1. What role does expectation play in the act of seeing? In judging and evaluating? Acting?
2. What exactly are "expectations"?
3. How are expectations related to predictions? Prophecy?
4. What do these questions have to do with Blink? With visual rhetoric?
5. What do prediction and expectation have to do with rhetoric? Persuasion? The strategic "bending of the will"?

Thursday, January 18

• Read, Walker Percy, "The Loss of the Creature" (PDF format; 125K). Blog response idea: Describe one incident when your expectations clouded your perception and experience of something you saw. What role does memory play in the perceptual process?
• Read the excerpt from Don DeLillo's White Noise, "The Most Photographed Barn in America" (PDF format)
  
  See also this FlickR image and discussion of “The Most Photographed Barn in America”

Week 3

Tuesday, January 23

• Read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, pp. 99 - end.. Post your weekly reading response to your blog. Be sure to tag it as "Weekly Reading Response" when you select the category. Here are some questions do get you going. You don't have to respond to this question in particular if something else worth writing about occurs to you.
  

  In the section on "The Theory of Mind Reading" (p. 197), Gladwell begins an interesting discussion of Tomkins and Eckman's work on Imagery, Affect, and Consciousness that ends up suggesting, among other things, that "[e]motion can start on the face. The face is not a secondary billboard for our internal feelings. It is an equal partner in the emotional process" (208). If emotions are primary and possibly expressed on the body first, with consciousness of emotion secondary, what might that suggest about persuasion? About consciousness of feeling as an interpretive process? About consciousness as rationalization or, even, as Burke puts it, "prophesying after the event"? (For more on this topic, check out this short piece by David Blakesley called "Prophesying after the Event" and Daniel Gilbert's "Illusion of External Agency" (PDF format) and his idea that "motivated human cognition" involves a process of subjectively optimizing outcomes."

• Group Project assigned and discussed.

Thursday, January 25

• Read: From Visual Intelligence by Ann Barry (PDF format; 925 kb)
• Read: Daniel Gilbert, "The Assent of Man: Mental Representation and the Control of Belief" (PDF format) and "How Mental Systems Believe" (PDF format).
• Due: A Contract Proposal in which you explain your subject, suggest some parameters for your research, and indicate why the subject interests you and how studying it will be beneficial. (Suggested length: 150-200 words). Post your contract proposal as a blog message. Be sure to select the category "Contract Proposal (1)."

Week 4

Tuesday, January 30

• Read Eye and Brain by Richard L. Gregory, pp. vii-98. Suggested prompt: Identify one astounding or unexpected idea about the eye, brain, or process of seeing that you learned from this section in Gregory's book. How does it help you understand writing (or rhetoric) differently or more complexly than before?

Thursday, February 1

• Read "What Is Rhetoric?" by William A. Covino and David Jolliffe (PDF format; download the article from the list at the bottom of this page).
• Read "All Living Things Are Critics" by Kenneth Burke (from Permanence and Change). (PDF format; download the article from the list at the bottom of this page).
• Read "Tales of the Unexpected" by Larry Ferrario, Judy Martin, and David Blakesley (PDF format; download the article from the list at the bottom of this page).

Week 5

Tuesday, February 6

• Read Eye and Brain by Richard L. Gregory, pp. 99-193. Suggested prompt: What does the physiology (or psychology) of seeing suggest to you about the nature of visual rhetoric, writing, or the teaching of writing? Why should (or shouldn't) this research be of concern to rhetoricians?

Thursday, February 8

• Read Eye and Brain by Richard L. Gregory, pp. 194-255.
• Read, "Total Eclipse" by Annie Dillard. (See the PDF attachment below.)
• A Clarification Project in which you explain what you already know about your subject, reflect upon your feelings and thoughts about the subject, and suggest how you might develop your understanding of the subject. (Suggested length: 250 to 300 words; due: Thursday, February 8.)

Week 6

Tuesday, February 13

• Read The Economics of Attention by Richard Lanham, pp. xi-129. Suggested Prompt: Address any of the questions that Lanham asks at the bottom of page 21 regarding the consequences of the new economy of attention, particularly as it implicates rhetoric.

Thursday, February 15

• Read the Introduction to Enculturation's special issue on visual rhetoric by David Blakesley and Collin Brooke.
• Read two additional pieces in this collection (you choose).

Week 7

Tuesday, February 20

• Read The Economics of Attention by Richard Lanham, pp. 130-190. Suggested Prompt: In Chapter 4, Lanham outlines some of the challenges and issues facing e-books, from pre-existing cultural biases, unfamiliarity, delivery systems, copyright, and more. What e-books have you seen? Read? What is an e-book, anyway? And how might an e-book figure into the economics of attention?

Thursday, February 22

• Explore some of these e-books to see a range of what's out there. All of them are free. Each employs a visual rhetoric in a unique way.
  • Digital Publishing F5 | Refreshed (TK3)
  • Looking for a Fight: Is There a Republican War on Science? edited by John Holbo
  • Peers, Pirates, and Persuasion: Rhetoric in the Peer-to-Peer Debates by John Logie
  • Operation Iraqi Quagmire (Institute for the Future of the Book)

In class, make an Adobe ebook in one hour. See Make a Book in One Hour Activity for all of the directions.

Week 8

Tuesday, February 27

• Read "Just Looking" from James Elkins's The Object Stares Back: On the Nature of Seeing. Please see the attachment listed below.
• Read "Strange Loops," Chapter 3 from Mark C. Taylor's The Moment of Complexity. Please see the attachment listed below.
• Watch the Strange Loops movie! (In class.)

Thursday, March 1

• Read from a draft of Illuminating Rhetoric: A Guide to Seeing, Reading, and Writing by David Blakesley (preface, intro, part 1, chapter 1). Please see the attachment below.
• Due date extended to next Thursday, 3/8/07!Research Project Step 3 due: An Information Project. Find out what is already known about your subject and communicate that knowledge concisely in 1,500 words or less. The form of this portion of the project could be an annotated bibliography, a bibliographic or informative essay (i.e., a review of the literature), or some other format conducive to conveying information. Your purpose at this stage will be to inform, not to take a critical stance. (Suggested length: 1,500 words)

Week 9

Tuesday, March 6

• Read Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture, pp. 1-130.
• Watch an episode of Survivor or American Idol on your own to see what you notice about either's visual rhetoric.

Thursday, March 8

• Read Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture, pp. 131-205.
• Research Project Step 3 due: An Information Project. Find out what is already known about your subject and communicate that knowledge concisely in 1,500 words or less. The form of this portion of the project could be an annotated bibliography, a bibliographic or informative essay (i.e., a review of the literature), or some other format conducive to conveying information. Your purpose at this stage will be to inform, not to take a critical stance. (Suggested length: 1,500 words)

Week 10 (Spring Break)

Tuesday, March 13

Spring Break; watch The Matrix if you have time (and parts 2 and 3, too, if possible)

Thursday, March 15

Spring break; watch The Matrix if you have time (and parts 2 and 3, too, if possible)

Week 11

Tuesday, March 20

• Read Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture, pp. 206-260 (end)

Thursday, March 22

Your instructor will be at CCCC.

Week 12

Tuesday, March 27

• George, Diana. "From Analysis to Design: Visual Communication in the Teaching of Writing." CCC. 54.1 (2002): 11-39. A PDF copy and handout have been published here.
• Group Project: Oral Progress Report (1 or 2 groups can volunteer to present today).

Thursday, March 29

• Film: Vertigo (first half). Viewed in class.
• Reading: Blakesley, "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's Vertigo" (see attachment below)
• Reading: Modleski, "Femininity By Design: Vertigo" (see attachment below)
• Reading: Mulvey, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" (see attachment below)
• Due date extended to April 10!
  
  Research Project Step 4 due: The Exploration Project will be the stage when you foster intellectual "turbulence" by investigating the many facets and problems of your subject, asking a number of questions and offering a number of answers for each question, without feeling the need to present these questions and answers in a tightly organized essay. You may compose your Exploration Project as an exploratory essay or by answering more directly a set of questions that will be provided. You'll be given additional guidelines for this step. (Suggested length: 1,500 words)

Week 13

Tuesday, April 3

• Finish watching the film.
• Read the Foreword to Before and After: Page Design. In class, we will discuss additional sections to read in preparation for an in-class design project.
• Read selections from Writing the Visual: A Practical Guide for Teachers of Composition and Communication, edited by Carol David & Anne R. Richards (Parlor Press, 2007).
  
  "Fields of Vision: A Background Study of References for Teachers" by Carole David and Anne R. Richards (see attachment below)
  
  "Seeing Rhetoric" by Nancy Allen (see attachment below)
• Resources for the Exploration Project (Step 4). Choose one approach and run with it:
  
  Exploring a Topic from Multiple Perspectives (answer 10 more questions with expansion paragraphs)
  
  Developing Content and Elaborating Ambiguity: From Open Essay to Hypertext (step by step process of writing an open essay)
  
  Montaigne's "Of Coaches" (Read it and then write an essay that does something like it).

Thursday, April 5

• Read two additional sections from Before and After: Page Design. Work in class on a design project. (Business Documents gives some good advice on resume and portfolio development!)
• Group Project: Oral Progress Report (1 or 2 groups can volunteer to present today).

Week 14

Tuesday, April 10

• Read more selections from Writing the Visual: A Practical Guide for Teachers of Composition and Communication, edited by Carol David & Anne R. Richards (Parlor Press, 2007). These excerpts will be posted as attachments.
• Your instructor is on another trip, so you'll see a video in class and meet in groups. Please watch the movie and post your comments!
• Research Project Step 4 due: The Exploration Project will be the stage when you foster intellectual "turbulence" by investigating the many facets and problems of your subject, asking a number of questions and offering a number of answers for each question, without feeling the need to present these questions and answers in a tightly organized essay. You may compose your Exploration Project as an exploratory essay or by answering more directly a set of questions that will be provided. You'll be given additional guidelines for this step. (Suggested length: 1,500 words)

Thursday, April 12

• Read selections from Ways of Seeing, Ways of Speaking: The Integration of Rhetoric and Vision in Constructing the Real edited by Kristie S. Fleckenstein, Linda T. Calendrillo, and Sue Hum

Week 15

Tuesday, April 17

• Read selections from Ways of Seeing, Ways of Speaking:
  The Integration of Rhetoric and Vision in Constructing the Real edited by Kristie S. Fleckenstein, Linda T. Calendrillo, and Sue Hum

Thursday, April 19

• Read more selections from Ways of Seeing, Ways of Speaking: The Integration of Rhetoric and Vision in Constructing the Real edited by Kristie S. Fleckenstein, Linda T. Calendrillo, and Sue Hum

Week 16

On Tuesday and Thursday of this week, Prof. Blakesley will be at a the Chameleon Federation meeting in California. Class activies TBA.

Finals Week

Tuesday, May 1

Finals Week

Thursday, May 3

Finals Week. No class meeting today.

• Research Project Step 5 due: A Working Document Project where you will present the results of your inquiry in a format and with the depth that suits it. If you use a traditional format, think of your working document as the draft of a journal article. If another format, you'll just need to be careful to cover your subject matter effectively, given the medium and your purpose. A website or other multimedia presentation is encouraged. (Suggested length: open).