• Day/Time: TR 1:15-2:30
• Dates: Jan 12, 2021 - Mar 2, 2021
• Room: online synchronous and asynchronous
• Professor: Byron Hawk
• Email: byron.hawk [at] gmail [dot] com
• Office: virtual by appointment

This course is designed to give new graduate assistants the conceptual tools needed to teach rhetoric and argument in the composition classroom. Teaching composition and rhetoric is probably the most universal experience for graduate students and faculty in English. Regardless of specialization, you will almost certainly spend at least some of your time teaching composition from an argumentative point of view. The primary aim, then, is not to simply get you through your first year teaching, but to introduce you to key rhetorical concepts and practices as a foundation for developing your own approach to teaching the course that coincides with both the discipline of composition and rhetoric and the university goals for the course.

By the end of this course, students will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the background literature pertinent to teaching rhetoric and argumentation in 102.
• Articulate a lesson plan for one of the concepts or strategies in Carolina Rhetoric.
• Improve upon their own teaching practices by assessing an outside textbook, designing a new 102 syllabus focused on argumentation, and writing a self-reflection essay.

Required:

• The Carolina Rhetoric (provided)
• Numerous PDFs (provided over Dropbox)
• Silva Rhetoricae: The Forest of Rhetoric
• Argument Textbook of your choice (Request "desk copy" from the Publisher)

Suggested:

• Lanham, A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms 2nd Ed. (5 bucks on Amazon)

Heather Buzbee will be sitting in on 692 and serve as the primary resource for direct pedagogical and classroom management questions, and Nicole Fisk will be serving as an administrative resource for instructors of English 102.

• Heather Buzbee
• hbuzbee [at] email [dot] sc [dot]edu
  
  
• Nicole Fisk
• fisknp [at] gmail [dot] com

I will use this basic grading scale: A (90-95), B+ (85-89), B (80-84), C+ (75-79), C (70-74). Grades will be assessed once the final portfolios are submitted. See Assignments for percentages.

Because this is an online course that emphasizes the process of the class as a whole, attendance is extremely important. Attendance will be taken on synchronous days and will count as a part of your participation grade. Since the course will be conducted synchronously on Zoom, my policy this semester is that everyone log in under an account based on their name and appear live on the screen. Understanding that video isn't always possible on any given day, everyone will get 3 days that they can mute video. After 3, muted video will count as an absence. In accordance with University policy, anyone who misses 25% of our scheduled class periods (7 of 28) will fail the course, and anyone who misses more than 10% (3 of 28) may receive a grade penalty. If you stop coming to class, it will be your responsibility to drop. Failure to do so will result in an "F."

Since this is an online class, there will be no face-to-face office hours. Email Heather, Nicole, or me questions or queries any time. I check my e-mail several times daily. If your question requires more than an email, then we can set up a 1-1 video conference.

In keeping with the University of South Carolina's commitment to non-discrimination--based on age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, and sexual orientation--and providing program accessibility for qualified students with disabilities, I am happy to provide reasonable accommodation through the Student Disability Resource Center office. Students wishing to make such arrangements should contact the Student Disability Services office at 777-6142.