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Approved by University Studies Sub-Commitee. A2C2 action pending. University Studies Course Approval Form
1. Department or Program Communication Studies 2. Course Number 286 3. Semester Hours 3 4. Frequency of Offering Yearly - 70 students 5. Course Title African-American Rhetoric and Culture 6. Catalog Description A study of the history of African-American rhetoric from Negro oratory in the anti- slavery societies through post-civil war, black power and contemporary orations. 7. This is an existing course Yes previously approved by A2C2. 8. This is a new course proposal. No (If so, the WSU Curriculum Approval From must also be be completed as in the process prescribed by WSU Regulation 3-4.) 9. University Studies Requirement Unity and Diversity, Multicultural this course would satisfy Perspectives 10. Department Contact Person for Daniel Lintin - 457-5531 this course Dlintin@winona.edu 11. General Course Outcomes 1. to analyze African-American rhetoric and discover themes and strategies 2. to begin, or continue, the process of learning about African-American culture 3. to begin, or continue, the process of learning about great African-American rhetors 12. Course Outcomes A. Demonstrate knowledge of diverse patterns and similarities of thought, values, and beliefs as manifest in different cultures. Through various textual readings in the course, including novels, speeches, poetry, songs, newspaper accounts, etc., spanning more than two centuries, students will become acquainted with the different values and beliefs of African-Americans. These will be compared/contrasted with those held by different cultures in the United States, namely white culture. Students will demonstrate their knowledge in class discussions and in tests. B. Understand the extent to which cultural differences influence the interpretation and expression of events, ideas, and experiences. Students will be introduced to the concept of polysemy, or “the capacity of language/discourse to mean in several ways--that is, in the intentional or unintentional creation of a text that can be, and is, read differently by members of the two audiences and that can, and will be, read similarly by members within each of the given audiences.” (Janice Watson, “In Search of a Hero: An African American Interpretation of Nelson Mandela’s Address to the United States Congress, Critiques of Contemporary Rhetoric, ed. Karlyn Kohrs Campbell and Thomas R. Burkholder, 2nd ed. [Belmont: Wadsworth Pub. Co., 1997] 243.) Soul on Ice is as an excellent example of an African-American’s interpretation of American culture which is, in class discussions, contrasted with white America’s interpretation of that same culture. Naturally, the students discover that there is no one white interpretation or one African-American interpretation of American culture. Factors that influence these differences in interpretation, like historical background, economic status, gender, etc., are then discussed in class. C. Understand the extent to which cultural differences influence the interactions between individuals and/or groups. (Only needs to satisfy three of these.) D. Examine different cultures through their various expressions As stated earlier, this course examines African-American culture through the use of various textual materials, including, but not limited to, speeches, novels, songs, poetry, autobiographies, newspaper writing, and film. Also, by examining the rhetorical process of building arguments within the African-American community, the different ways African-Americans expressed themselves persuasively are investigated. E. Possess the skills necessary for interaction with someone from a different culture or cultural group. (Only needs to satisfy three of these.) Communication Studies 286 Spring 2001 African-American Rhetoric and Culture Instructor - Dan Lintin Office - PAC 207, 457-5531 (I have voice mail.) E-Mail - DLintin@winona.edu Office Hours - - Texts - Maria W. Stewart: America’s First Black Woman Political Writer, ed. Marilyn Richardson (Bloomington: Indiana U Press, 1987). Crossing the Danger Water: Three Hundred Years of African-American Writing, ed. Deirdre Mullane (New York: Anchor Books, 1993). Eldridge Cleaver, Soul on Ice (1968; New York: Dell Publishing, 1999). Readings on Reserve in Maxwell Library. Course Objectives 1. to analyze African-American rhetoric and discover themes and strategies 2. to begin, or continue, the process of learning about African-American culture 3. to begin, or continue, the process of learning about great African-American rhetors Incompletes Incompletes will only be given in the case of emergencies. Participation Since this is a speech/communication course, everyone needs to contribute orally. Attendance So much learning takes place during lectures, discussions, and presentations that cannot be made up by reading or copying someone else’s notes. If you are absent, you are responsible for getting class notes and class handouts. If you miss more than 50% of the class meetings, you cannot earn above a B in this course. Also, I will use the attendance record to decide if students who are near the borderlines of higher grades should receive those higher grades. Grades and Point Totals A - 500-450 B - 449-400 C - 399-350 D - 349-300 F - 299-0 P - 500-300 NC - 299-0 Assignments and Points 4 Tests - 125 points each This is a University Studies Unity and Diversity Class. It satisfies the Multicultural Perspectives Requirement. The outcomes listed for the University Studies Multicultural Perspectives Requirement specify that the course provide students the activities and opportunities to satisfy three of the five requirements as listed: A. Demonstrate knowledge of diverse patterns and similarities of thought, values, and beliefs as manifest in different cultures. B. Understand the extent to which cultural differences influence the interpretation and expression of events, ideas, and experiences. C. Understand the extent to which cultural differences influence the interactions between individuals and/or groups. D. Examine different cultures through their various expressions E. Possess the skills necessary for interaction with someone from a different culture or cultural group. Requirements A, B, and D are met throughout the reading assignments, class discussions, and tests. Tentative Schedule First Four Weeks - Soul On Ice Next Eight Weeks - Selections from Crossing the Danger Water Olaudah Equiano, Phillis Wheatley, Slave Revolts, David Walker, Nat Turner, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, John Brown’s Raid, Henry Highland Garnet, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Ida Wells-Barnett, Mary Church Terrell, Anna Julia Cooper, Marcus Garvey, Richard Wright, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Jesse Jackson Last Four Weeks - the rhetoric of Maria W. Stewart, an African-American women who spoke in public in Boston in the 1830s
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