104 W21 Cameron

University of Waterloo

Department of English

ENGL 104

Rhetoric in Popular Culture

Winter 2021

T/Th 10:00-10:45 am, Online

Instructor Information

Instructor: Christopher Cameron

Virtual Office Hours: T/Th 11:00 am-12:00 pm, or by appointment

Email: c25cameron@uwaterloo.ca

Course Description

In this course, we will examine the role of rhetoric in our contemporary popular culture through the examination of texts and artefacts from that culture. These texts will include literature, drama, comic book, film, fashion, television, video game, and music. Students will be asked to examine these artefacts critically and share their findings with the class. Throughout the semester, we shall learn about different rhetorical lenses through which to view the artefacts and analyze how an artefact persuades or influences its audience to think, believe, or behave a certain way. Though we will begin working through these analyses together, by the end of the course, students will be expected to perform a rhetorical analysis of an artefact on their own.

Course Goals and Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, successful students should be able to:

• Identify and describe various theories and approaches to rhetoric  
• Understand what popular culture is, how it works, and some of its purposes.
• Apply rhetorical theories to artefacts of popular culture
• Be familiar with and able to apply proper rhetorical terminology
• Think critically and communicate effectively about rhetoric and popular culture
• Develop your ability to write in academic contexts
• Engage with your peers through discussion and collaboration

Required Texts

Both texts are available through the bookstore. The first is our core textbook. The second is one of the artefacts we will work with.

• Rhetoric in Popular Culture by Barry Brummett, 5th Edition, Sage Publishing.
• Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, by Alison Bechdel
• Some of our texts are available for free on YouTube while others are not. Some texts are available through a paid service in addition to YouTube. For example, if you want to play Among Us, you will have to purchase the video game, but it is acceptable to watch a video of gameplay on YouTube for the purposes of this course. A filmed staging of Hamilton is available to watch on Disney+, but if you do not have access to that service and do not want to pay for it, you may listen to the soundtrack on YouTube for free. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is available on Netflix, but if you do not have access to a Netflix account, you may rent the movie on YouTube for less than $5. If you are unable to access our texts in any way due to geographic constraints, internet issues, or any other issue related to the pandemic, please let me know and we shall arrange for an alternate text for you to work with.

Course Requirements and Assessment

Writing Conferences

You will attend two virtual 1-on-1 writing conferences with me during the course. We will meet once before your midterm presentation and again before your final essay. Conferences are 15 minutes in length and are meant to give you an opportunity to receive more detailed feedback based on your proposal and address any questions or concerns you might have before submitting the larger project. You are expected to attend and be prepared for all writing conferences.

Your second conference will also serve as your proposal for your final project. Therefore, you will be expected to discuss the following with me: you will choose any text you like so long as it falls within the definition of pop culture as defined by our course. You will explain what the text is, pose some question you intend to pursue about how the text tries to influence the way the audience or reader thinks or behaves, and explain the critical perspective you intend to work with for your analysis in a larger paper. We will then discuss feedback on your idea and best strategies for moving forward to the final essay.

Lecture Responses

By 5 pm on every Friday, you will post a short (250 word maximum) response to the lectures from the week. You will include two things you have learned from the lectures this week and two things you do not understand or would like to know more about. This will help me tailor the content of our limited virtual meetings to address your concerns as well as give you an opportunity to interact with your peers in the context of the course.

Midterm Presentation Proposal

For this assignment, as well as the midterm presentation, you may work alone or choose to team up with one or two classmates. You will choose one of the texts on the syllabus. In class, we will be discussing each text from a certain perspective. Your task for this presentation is to perform an analysis of the text from a perspective that is different from the one we have done in class. For example, we will cover Hamilton from a Dramatist perspective, so you may perform a feminist analysis (or any type of analysis other than Dramatist) for your presentation. In a short proposal, 250-500 words, you will tell me which text you will be working with, which critical lens you will examine the text with and why, and you will pose a research question that your presentation will eventually answer. Think of the research question as the bit of curiosity that sparks your study. Groups will receive a single grade unless I have been advised of circumstances where such a grade would not be appropriate. Each group member will be asked to complete a one-page survey that describes each group member’s role and their contribution to the project.

Midterm Presentation

Building off the topic you proposed in your midterm presentation proposal, you will deliver a 10–15-minute presentation. You have the option to deliver the presentation live virtually or to prerecord the presentation and submit the file. Your task for this presentation is to perform an analysis of the text from a perspective that is different from the one we have done in class. You will be expected to make a claim about how the text attempts to influence the audience to think or behave in a certain way and support that claim with evidence from the text analyzed from your chosen critical perspective. If you chose to team up for the midterm project, groups will receive a single grade unless I have been advised of circumstances where such a grade would not be appropriate.

Final Essay

Building off the topic in your proposal, you will write a 1500–2000-word essay in which you examine your text from a particular rhetorical perspective. You must make some sort of claim about how the text attempts to influence the way the audience or reader thinks or behaves. This essay is meant to be your final evaluation instead of a final exam, so be sure to demonstrate that you are able to perform a rhetorical analysis of a given text using the concepts and terminology we have learned in the course.

Late Work

Assignments submitted late shall be penalized 2% per day.

Institutional-required statements for undergraduate course outlines approved by Senate Undergraduate Council, April 14, 2009

Cross-listed course

Please note that a cross-listed course will count in all respective averages no matter under which rubric it has been taken. For example, a PHIL/PSCI cross-list will count in a Philosophy major average, even if the course was taken under the Political Science rubric.

Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.

Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline.

Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4.

Appeals: A student may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision made under Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances (other than regarding a petition) or Policy 71 - Student Discipline if a ground for an appeal can be established. Read Policy 72 - Student Appeals.

Other sources of information for students

Academic integrity (Arts) Academic Integrity Office (uWaterloo)

Accommodation for Students with Disabilities

Note for students with disabilities: The AccessAbility Services office, located in Needles Hall Room 1132, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the AS office at the beginning of each academic term.