[English 413-011 :: Environmental Rhetoric]
[M/W/F, 1:25-2:15 pm, 037 Memorial Hall]
Instructor: Dr. Meg McGuire
Office: 315 Memorial Hall
Phone No.: (302) 831-1394
Email: [email protected] - best way to reach me (expect a response w/in 48 hours)
Office Hours: Mondays, 10:30-11:30 am, Fridays, 12:00-1:00 pm, or by appointment
[Required Texts]
There is no textbook. All readings are available on erhet413.weebly.com. You must have access to these readings.
[Description]
Environmental Rhetoric is a course that aims to make you a more critical reader and writer of the environments that surround us and the arguments communities have about them. This course will explore the dynamic relations among mass media, nature, science, public policy and social movements. Through readings of a variety of “texts,” discussions, and of course, writing, you will engage in contemporary arguments about issues surrounding the environment, including global climate change, environmental justice, public participation and food production.
[Learning Objectives]
[Course Policies]
Attendance
A great deal of what we do in this course will build upon discussion and work done during class meetings. We will do many graded in-class assignments and these cannot be made up. Please remember that it is your responsibility to find out from your peers what you missed in class. Contact me as soon as possible via email if you know you must be absent.
Because your attendance and participation is so vital to the course, each absence more than six (6) will lower your final score by a half a letter grade. The only absences I excuse are school sponsored that come with paperwork. Minor illnesses, car trouble, other class meetings, interviews are not excused. Use absences as you wish, but do so wisely.
Extenuating Circumstances:
If you become seriously ill, have a family emergency, or otherwise experience other extenuating circumstances during the semester that constitute a legitimate reason for missing classes or falling behind in the course, you should also contact the Dean of your College. This office can assist you in notifying faculty and in validating your situation. You will need this validation to make up missed class work and assignments. And then contact me.
Tardiness:
Excessive tardiness will result in points off your participation grade. If you show up more than 10 minutes late, or must leave early, you will be counted as absent. If you are tardy, you are responsible for notifying me at an appropriate point during the class that you are present. You should keep track of your own tardies and absences. If you are frequently late or absent, be sure to note the drop date and drop the class ASAP because you will not pass.
Professionalism and Courtesy:
All students are expected to conduct themselves professionally in the class and to treat the professor and other students with respect at all times. I expect you to be physically and mentally ‘present’—listen, contribute, and otherwise engage. Texting or carrying on a side conversation, checking FB, or online shopping instead of working is not acceptable in this class. You will lose points from your participation grade for the following: texting in class, using your phone for any reason, using a laptop at an inappropriate time, doing homework for another class, doing anything that distracts from the culture of respect and professionalism that a class such as this requires.
Late Work:
I do not accept late work. Assignments should be turned in on the date they are due. However, I do realize that life happens and that sometimes life gets in the way of assignments. If this does happen, please let me know as soon as possible and we can work something out.
Technology:
If you own a laptop, I encourage you to bring it to class as I will often allocate class time for working on assignments. However, I will expect you to use your laptop like a professional who understands how to appropriately multi-task. This means that while we are having class discussions, your laptops must be closed! I will let you know when it is time to pull out your laptops or tablets.
[Course Projects and Assignments]
Major assignments will include instructions and explanations of grading expectations for each project.
Participation (200 points):
Since a great deal of writing and discussion will occur in class, I expect everyone to be present and involved each day. I also expect not just that you have read over the readings I assign, but have taken steps to understand them: identifying points you agreed or disagreed with, concepts that might help you in writing course papers, interesting points of departure for further research and reflection. This is not a lecture course, so your comments and questions, to some extent, shape the direction of this course.
Additionally, we often do assignments in class or you may have minor homework assignments. These will count towards this grade.
Analysis (100 points)
Visual Project (150 points)
Twitter (100 points)
Unannounced Reading Responses (4 x 25 = 100 points)
Collaborative Fairweather Farm Project (350 points)
[University Writing Center]
The Writing Center in 016 Memorial provides free one-on-one instruction to students who have writing assignments in this or any course. You may make an appointment by visiting the Center's Web Site: www.cas.udel.edu/writing-center. (The telephone number is 831-1168.)
[Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)]
If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please meet with me in the first or second week of the semester. Any student who may require an accommodation should contact me as soon as you become aware of your circumstances.
[Academic Misconduct/ Plagiarism]
The University of Delaware protects the rights of all students by insisting that individual students act with integrity. Accordingly, the University severely penalizes plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty. Unethical or plagiarized work will receive a zero and may result in failure of the course. I will also report any serious breach of ethics to the Dean of your College.
[Course Evaluation]
A final expectation of the course is for you to complete the on-line student evaluation. This survey will be available for you to complete during the last two weeks of the semester. Apart from being an expectation of the course, your evaluation provides valuable information to me and to the Department.
[M/W/F, 1:25-2:15 pm, 037 Memorial Hall]
Instructor: Dr. Meg McGuire
Office: 315 Memorial Hall
Phone No.: (302) 831-1394
Email: [email protected] - best way to reach me (expect a response w/in 48 hours)
Office Hours: Mondays, 10:30-11:30 am, Fridays, 12:00-1:00 pm, or by appointment
[Required Texts]
There is no textbook. All readings are available on erhet413.weebly.com. You must have access to these readings.
[Description]
Environmental Rhetoric is a course that aims to make you a more critical reader and writer of the environments that surround us and the arguments communities have about them. This course will explore the dynamic relations among mass media, nature, science, public policy and social movements. Through readings of a variety of “texts,” discussions, and of course, writing, you will engage in contemporary arguments about issues surrounding the environment, including global climate change, environmental justice, public participation and food production.
[Learning Objectives]
- Develop an understanding of the way language and other media influence our perceptions of nature and the environment.
- Develop rhetoric understanding of the cultural, social, scientific, and governmental dimensions of environmental debates.
- Describe the modes and strategies that environmental rhetoric takes.
- Use these understandings to make forceful public arguments about aspects of the environment and our place in it.
[Course Policies]
Attendance
A great deal of what we do in this course will build upon discussion and work done during class meetings. We will do many graded in-class assignments and these cannot be made up. Please remember that it is your responsibility to find out from your peers what you missed in class. Contact me as soon as possible via email if you know you must be absent.
Because your attendance and participation is so vital to the course, each absence more than six (6) will lower your final score by a half a letter grade. The only absences I excuse are school sponsored that come with paperwork. Minor illnesses, car trouble, other class meetings, interviews are not excused. Use absences as you wish, but do so wisely.
Extenuating Circumstances:
If you become seriously ill, have a family emergency, or otherwise experience other extenuating circumstances during the semester that constitute a legitimate reason for missing classes or falling behind in the course, you should also contact the Dean of your College. This office can assist you in notifying faculty and in validating your situation. You will need this validation to make up missed class work and assignments. And then contact me.
Tardiness:
Excessive tardiness will result in points off your participation grade. If you show up more than 10 minutes late, or must leave early, you will be counted as absent. If you are tardy, you are responsible for notifying me at an appropriate point during the class that you are present. You should keep track of your own tardies and absences. If you are frequently late or absent, be sure to note the drop date and drop the class ASAP because you will not pass.
Professionalism and Courtesy:
All students are expected to conduct themselves professionally in the class and to treat the professor and other students with respect at all times. I expect you to be physically and mentally ‘present’—listen, contribute, and otherwise engage. Texting or carrying on a side conversation, checking FB, or online shopping instead of working is not acceptable in this class. You will lose points from your participation grade for the following: texting in class, using your phone for any reason, using a laptop at an inappropriate time, doing homework for another class, doing anything that distracts from the culture of respect and professionalism that a class such as this requires.
Late Work:
I do not accept late work. Assignments should be turned in on the date they are due. However, I do realize that life happens and that sometimes life gets in the way of assignments. If this does happen, please let me know as soon as possible and we can work something out.
Technology:
If you own a laptop, I encourage you to bring it to class as I will often allocate class time for working on assignments. However, I will expect you to use your laptop like a professional who understands how to appropriately multi-task. This means that while we are having class discussions, your laptops must be closed! I will let you know when it is time to pull out your laptops or tablets.
[Course Projects and Assignments]
Major assignments will include instructions and explanations of grading expectations for each project.
Participation (200 points):
Since a great deal of writing and discussion will occur in class, I expect everyone to be present and involved each day. I also expect not just that you have read over the readings I assign, but have taken steps to understand them: identifying points you agreed or disagreed with, concepts that might help you in writing course papers, interesting points of departure for further research and reflection. This is not a lecture course, so your comments and questions, to some extent, shape the direction of this course.
Additionally, we often do assignments in class or you may have minor homework assignments. These will count towards this grade.
Analysis (100 points)
Visual Project (150 points)
Twitter (100 points)
Unannounced Reading Responses (4 x 25 = 100 points)
Collaborative Fairweather Farm Project (350 points)
[University Writing Center]
The Writing Center in 016 Memorial provides free one-on-one instruction to students who have writing assignments in this or any course. You may make an appointment by visiting the Center's Web Site: www.cas.udel.edu/writing-center. (The telephone number is 831-1168.)
[Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)]
If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please meet with me in the first or second week of the semester. Any student who may require an accommodation should contact me as soon as you become aware of your circumstances.
[Academic Misconduct/ Plagiarism]
The University of Delaware protects the rights of all students by insisting that individual students act with integrity. Accordingly, the University severely penalizes plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty. Unethical or plagiarized work will receive a zero and may result in failure of the course. I will also report any serious breach of ethics to the Dean of your College.
[Course Evaluation]
A final expectation of the course is for you to complete the on-line student evaluation. This survey will be available for you to complete during the last two weeks of the semester. Apart from being an expectation of the course, your evaluation provides valuable information to me and to the Department.
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