John Tiedemann

WRIT 1622
Blog: http://1622writRHET.blogspot.com
Section 4: TR 2:00–4:00, Centennial Halls
Office hours: TR 12–2, W 10–12, at Jazzman’s
Email: John.Tiedemann@du.edu

Or, the Art of Pers uading with I mages , Sounds , and Words
 The c l a S s
Some two and a half millennia ago, the philosopher Aristotle famously defined rhetoric as “the faculty of observing, in any given
case, the available means of persuasion.” Of course, twenty-five hundred years is an awfully long time, and since Aristotle’s day we
have developed persuasive means, modalities, and media that Aristotle himself could hardly have dreamt of —from film to audio
recordings to web pages and more. In this class, we will rewrite Aristotle for the present day by undertaking a series of experimental
projects in persuasive communication. Students will complete several such projects, including works of philosophy, history, art, and
science. Your projects will be composed in a wide variety of communicative forms: for example, comic books, documentary videos,
web sites, or songs. And as we work on our projects we will collaborate in writing a “sequel,” so to speak, to Aristotle’s Rhetoric,
which will gather together the new insights into the art of persuasion that our experiments have revealed.
This class presumes no prior experience with video-editing, audio recording, web design, etc.; nor will you be required to purchase
new software. Any software we need can be had for free, and we’ll work together to figure out how to use it.
I’ll be putting material — by me, you, and others — on our course blog: http://1622writrhet.blogspot.com/.

A sSignme
sS ignmeN
ignme N ts
Everyone will complete five compositions for class, but you’ll have options for each composition. Below are some of those options;
I’ll likely come up with more as our conversations in class develop.
• Composition 1.1: Plato, Our Contemporary
Create a work of art that interprets, for a contemporary audience, one of the key arguments in Plato’s Gorgias.
• Composition 2: TED @ DU
Create a comic book or PowerPoint argument designed to educate and persuade a broad public audience about a
new, unfamiliar idea that you’re passionate about.
• Composition 3.1: Objects of Interest
Create a 10–15-minute video documentary about a place, person, event, idea, artwork, or other “object” that
fascinates you.
• Composition 4: The Rhetoric Rewritten
Reflect upon the work that you did this term by writing a chapter for our “Rhetoric Rewritten” web site. Your
chapter should teach a rhetorical concept as it applies across several modes of communication, to an audience
consisting of next year’s incoming class.
 T E xts
• Plato’s Gorgias and Aristotle’s Rhetoric (available in one volume in the DU bookstore).
• Selections from contemporary theorists of visual, auditory, and written communication, such as Ludwig Wittgenstein, Walter
Ong, and Will Eisner (available on Blackboard).
• Your own texts — so please bring your laptop to every class meeting.

g oals and Format

Goals: WRIT 1622 is intended for advanced first-year students. It emphasizes the development of rhetorical strategies suited for
different academic and civic audiences and purposes, critical reading and analysis, and research. Students who take this particular
section of WRIT 1622 are expected to enhance their capacity to compose persuasively in a variety of modes and media.
Class-time: Thinking and composing well take practice, practice, and more practice. So, as a general rule, we’ll spend the half of
our time discussing readings and viewings and the half composing works of our own. The composing may involve responding to a
prompt, completing an exercise, drafting or revising, or helping each other to brainstorm or revise in small groups. You can also
expect to spend an hour or so each day working at home, and more than that when you’re working on a graded project. Finally,
because a quality composition results from many revisions, you will revise each of your projects severally, with guidance from me
and your classmates.
Conferences: I’m available for conferences at Jazzman’s Café on Driscoll Bridge between 12 and 2 on Tuesdays and Thursdays
and between 10 and 12 on Wednesdays. It’s to your advantage to come talk with me about your work; serious students are serious
about seeking out guidance. Please make an appointment in advance, as I meet with lots of students.

p oliciE
olici E s
Student Engagement and Participation
I expect you all to be active, engaged learners and thoughtful, helpful collaborators, committed to the material, your projects, and
your peers. Your level of engagement is made manifest in a number of ways, including participation in classroom discussion, online
discussions, and in conferences, as well as in peer review feedback, group work, and your efforts to improve not only your own
learning experience but the learning experience of the entire class. I will assess your engagement as follows:
• “Superior” engagement means that the student is always prepared, often adding additional insights to a class or online
discussion and providing extensive feedback to writing. S/he demonstrates active learning via consistently perceptive and
energetic engagement with the material, his or her peers, and me.
• “Average” engagement means that the student seems prepared, although he or she sometimes needs to be prompted to
participate. Generally, his or her participation in discussion, online comments, and feedback on writing seem to encourage and
support others in the class. The student’s presence is productive.
• “Weak” engagement means that the student comes to class but does not seem to be prepared. His or her participation is
listless, lackluster, or only intermittent.
• Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
The Writing Program will provide reasonable accommodations to every student who has a disability that has been documented by
The University of Denver Disability Services Program (www.du.edu/disability/dsp or 303.871.2455).
• Absences
Because interaction with others is a vital part of learning, I expect you to attend every class meeting, scheduled conference, and
online activity. You are allowed two absences without penalty; for each absence after the second one, your final grade will drop by
one third of a letter (e.g., from an A to an A–, from an A– to a B+, etc.) Should you miss four class meetings, I will suggest that you
consider dropping the course and re-enrolling in a quarter during which you can devote the necessary effort. If I determine that
excessive absences have prevented you from meeting the goals of the course, you may fail. If you miss a class, you are personally
responsible for learning about any missed material or assignments, either from classmates or from Blackboard. I make no
distinction between excused and unexcused absences, so save your absences for illness or emergency.
• Late Work
Assignments are due when they are due. I will accept late work only if you have cleared the lateness with me in advance, and then
only under the most extenuating circumstances. An assignment that is turned in late without advance clearance will be graded
down a third of letter (e.g., from an A to an A–, from an A– to a B+) for each day it’s late.
• Civility and Tolerance
The Writing Program affirms DU’s Code of Student Conduct (http://www.du.edu/ccs/code.html), which in part “expects students to
recognize the strength of personal differences while respecting institutional values.” Because writing courses rely heavily on
interactions between all members of the class, students and faculty must act in a manner respectful of different positions and
perspectives. A student who behaves in an uncivil or intolerant manner will be asked to stop and/or formally reprimanded and/or
subject to action by the Office of Citizenship and Community Standards.
Becoming educated requires encountering new ideas and information, some of which may conflict with an individual’s existing
knowledge or perspectives. I expect students to engage such materials thoughtfully, in ways that reflect the values and mission of
the University of Denver.
Finally, I expect you to respect the classroom environment. In class, all cell phones and electronic devices shall be turned off;
students shall not from use email, instant messages, Facebook, etc.; and engaging in other activities (reading non-course materials,
conducting private conversations and so on) that disrespect the classroom environment and learning conditions for others is strictly
prohibited. A student who fails to show such respect will receive a lowered grade and may fail the course.
• Plagiarism
The Writing Program follows the Council of Writing Program Administrators policy “Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism,” which
states, “In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other
original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source” (http://wpacouncil.org/node/9). DU’s Honor Code
also maintains that all members of the University must responsibly use the work of others. Students who have plagiarized a project
will receive an F on that project, and the instructor will inform the Director of Writing and the Office of Community and Citizenship
Standards, which may take further action. Any documented acts of plagiarism after the first may be subject to more severe actions.
 gRades
gR ades
For each of your compositions, you will receive a provisional grade on the draft preceding the final draft, along with suggestions for
revision from me. That provisional grade will rise, fall, or stay the same depending upon how effectively you revise as you complete
your final draft. All final drafts of all essays is due to me on Sunday, March 14, by noon.
• Grade calculation
Your grade for the course will be calculated on a 1,000 point scale and distributed as follows:
assignment relevant dates point value % of final grade
Composition 1 First draft: Jan. 19; revised draft: Jan. 21; final draft: March 14. 100 points 10%
Composition 2 First draft: Feb. 2; revised draft: Feb. 4; final draft: March 14. 200 points 20%
Composition 3 First draft: Feb. 16; revised draft: Feb 18; final draft: March 14. 200 points 20%
Composition 4 First draft: March 2; final draft: March 14. 200 points 20%
Composition 5 First draft: March 9; final draft: March 14. 200 points 20%
Engagement 100 points 10%

I’ll use the conversion tables below when calculating grades:

Letter grade to point value point value to final grade

Composition 1 Composition 2–5 Engagement
A = 94–100 187–200 100 934–1,000 pts. = A
A– = 90–93 180–186 - 900–933 = A–
B+ = 87–89 174–179 - 867–899 = B+
B = 83–86 166–173 86 833–866 = B
B– = 80–82 160–165 - 800–832 = B–
C+ = 77–79 154–159 - 767–799 = C+
C = 73–76 146–153 76 733–766 = C
C– = 70–72 140–145 - 700–732 = C–
D+ = 67–69 134–139 - 667–699 = D+
D = 63–66 126–133 66 633–666 = D
D– = 60–62 120–125 - 600–632 = D–
F = 0–59 0–119 0 0–599 = F
 c ouRs
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Tuesday, Jan. 4 Introduction: Tradition, innovation, and the art of revision.
Thursday, Jan. 6 Discussion: Plato, the Gorgias (first part)
Tuesday, Jan. 11 Discussion: Plato, the Gorgias (second part)
Thursday, Jan. 13 Discussion: Raphael, The School of Athens
Tuesday, Jan. 18 Studio:
Draft of Composition 1 due in class.
Thursday, Jan. 20 Discussion: Aristotle, the Rhetoric, Book I

Revision of Composition 1 due to me by start of class.
Tuesday, Jan. 25 Discussion: Scott McCloud, TED presentation; Art Speigelman, from In the Shadow of No Towers.
Thursday, Jan. 27 Discussion: Scott McCloud, from Understanding Comics and Making Comics.
Tuesday, Feb. 1 Studio:
Draft of Composition 2 due in class.
Thursday, Feb. 3 Discussion: Aristotle, the Rhetoric, Book 2

Revision of Composition 2 due to me by start of class.
Tuesday, Feb. 8 Discussion: Colfax Ave.: A Documentary Film.
Thursday, Feb. 10 Studio: Lights! Camera! Action!
Tuesday, Feb. 15 Studio: More lights! More cameras! More action!
Thursday, Feb. 17 Studio:
Draft of Composition 3 due in class.
Tuesday, Feb. 22 Discussion: Aristotle, the Rhetoric, Book 3

Revision of Composition 3 due to me by start of class.
Thursday, Feb. 24 Discussion: Ludwig Wittgenstein, from Philosophical Investigations
Tuesday, Mar. 1 Studio: The Rhetoric Rewritten: Your Chapter
Thursday, Mar. 3 Studio:
Draft of Composition 4 due to me by the start of class.
Tuesday, Mar. 8 Studio:
Final Revisions

All final drafts of all compositions due to me by noon on Sunday, March 13.