English 680V: Visual Rhetoric in a Technological Age (Purdue)

David Blakesley
ENGL 680V
Offline Office Hours: T-Th 12-1 and by appt.
Office: Heavilon 302
Ph: 765.494.3772
Fax:206.600.5076
Email: blakesle@purdue.edu
URL: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~blakesle

Overview

"Visual Rhetoric in a Technological Age" focuses on the rhetorical and philosophical problems posed by the visual turn; the role of perceptual processes, time, movement, and memory in the act of seeing; the interanimation of the verbal and the visual in representation; the circumstances of visual culture and art; visual communication in print and on the Web; graphic design principles; film rhetoric; the economics of attention; and identification as a visual/rhetorical process.

Course Readings

Digital Course Readings will be provided via secure download at our course site as file attachments, usually in PDF format. The books listed here have been ordered through Von's and may not be available at the beginning of the semester. The first text we will read is Gladwell's, which is available at most bookstores already.

• Gladwell, Malcolm. Blink. New York: Little, Brown, and Co., 2005. ISBN: 0-316-17232-4
• Gregory, Richard L. Eye and Brain: The Psychology of Seeing. 5th edition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997. ISBN-13: 978-0691048376
• Jenkins, Henry. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press, 2006. ISBN-13: 978-0814742815
• Lanham, Richard A. The Economics of Attention. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-0226468822
• McWade, John. Before and After: Page Design. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2003. ISBN-13: 978-0201795370

Research Project

Throughout the semester, I would like you to work independently on a project, paper, hypertext, film, or visual project that examines or displays the nature and/or function of visual rhetoric in print, film, art, photography, performance, or electronic media (or in some combination of these forms). In the end, your finished project will need to be very sharply focused and draw on the readings and concepts discussed in class, as well as any relevant outside sources. One purpose should be to articulate the way or ways that the visual and the verbal interanimate each other as part of a wider rhetorical system, of which the visual is but a part. (Individual; 25% of course grade)

Steps in the Process: I would like you to complete the final project in a series of steps, as outlined below. By the midterm, you will have made good progress on the project and at that time will be asked to provide the rest of the class with an update. You should post each step of your project to your blog by the end of the day on the date listed. For the shorter pieces, it is okay to embed any text or images in the blog body. If your work is longer or involves complex verbal, visual, or design elements, you should submit it as a PDF or Flash file. Please don't attach Word files to your blog posts.

1. 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;.due: Thursday, January 25.)
2. 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.)
3. 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; due: Thursday, March 1)
4. 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; due: Thursday, March 29)
5. 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; due: Thursday, May 3, during final exam week )

Group Project

For the group project, you will work in teams of 2 to 4 people to complete a scholarly or creative project that improves our understanding and appreciation of visual rhetoric in a technological age. You will be provide with some suggestions for topics during week 3, when the group project is formally introduced. A major part of the group project will involve the composition and production of visual or design content. You will be asked to keep short, weekly project logs in a group meeting space on the course website following the guidelines provided. During Week 10, your group will be asked to give an oral progress report that employs multimedia as some aspect of the presentation. (Collaborative; 20% of course grade)

Grading

All major assignments will be graded on the standard letter-grade scale: A=100-90 B=89-80 C=79-70 D=69-60 F=59 or below.

Attendance

Attendance is required at all scheduled meetings. Two absences may result in your final grade being lowered by as much as a letter grade. More than three absences can result in a failing grade for the course. Excused absences may be granted for religious holidays, university-sponsored events, or attendance at professional meetings, provided you make a written request to me no less than two weeks in advance and that you complete any required work before the due date. If a serious and unavoidable problem arises, however, you should contact me in writing prior to a deadline to determine whether or not an extension for the work will or will not be granted. Note: Weekly responses cannot be turned in late and must be posted each Tuesday before class.

Questions

As you complete the readings and course projects, you will certainly have questions. Questions about the readings and class discussions can be asked on the course site. Questions about your own work, about the assignments, or anything else related to the conduct of the class should probably be directed to me via email (blakesle@purdue.edu) or my contact form, by phone (494-3772), or in person (Heavilon 302).