Land Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge that we are meeting on Indigneous land. Moreover, I would like to acknowledge and pay respects to the Carrizo and Camecrudo, Coahuiltecan, Caddo, Tonkawa, Comanche, Lipan-Apache, Alabama-Coushatta, Kickapoo, Tigua Pueblo, and all the American and Indigenous Peoples and communities who have been or have become a part of these lands and territories in Texas, here on Turtle Island.

RHE 309K: Rhetoric of Texas

COURSE DESCRIPTION

To a fierce degree, Texas holds to its identity and history as a state. Grandiose and independent, Texas exists as a place and also an ideal. This class is for students interested in exploring the rhetorical production and utilization of place: how identity, culture, history, and geography are made to shape the spaces we live in and, therefore, shape us. In class and for assignments, students will engage with a variety of texts from museum exhibits to maps to historical markers to restaurants to music that we might examine what "Texas" has been made-to-be. We will think critically about stories and sights we hear and see everyday and their connections to state political identity, state policy, nationhood, borders, and citizenship. Course papers are intended to nurture students’ ability to write professionally and thoughtfully about rhetorical sites, sights, and situations with particular attention to multiple and varied audiences. Creative assignments are intended to allow students to explore rhetorical practices and thought processes through making.

In Unit 1, we will focus on establishing critical attunement to texts’ rhetorical situations and how speakers seek to shape ethos, logos, and pathos within mainstream cultural texts and artifacts. Students will develop their ability to frame an argument about a text and construct a cohesive essay around their argument. Through these critical skills, we will explore as a class the cultural construction and maintenance of Texas identity, belonging, and politics.

In Unit 2, we will shift our attention away from speakers’ construction of texts to focus on audience and affect by looking at historical texts such as memorials, museums, historical markers, archival historical documents, and more. Students will develop their ability to use writing creatively and strategically as a method of exploration. As a class, we will ask difficult questions about historical and ongoing political and economic motivations driving the construction and maintenance of Texas history, heritage, and myth.

COURSE ORGANIZATION

Our class will meet synchronously via Zoom every Wednesday from 11:30am-12:45pm for lecture and discussion of the week’s concepts. Given the uncertain circumstances of this year, as per department policy, attendance at weekly synchronous meetings is not required although it is strongly encouraged. “Concept/Skills Activities” will take the place of Monday class meetings. Please be sure to plan for these activities before Monday because many will require group collaboration and coordinationI will post learning modules weekly by the end of the day each Wednesday so that you have plenty of time to complete readings and coordinate Monday assignments. Everything you need for the week, including helpfulhandouts and/or additional resources for assignments, will be included in the weekly modules. I will also frequently use the “Announcements” page to share class updates/changes and clarify/troubleshoot details, so please attune to that digital space.

COURSE GOALS

This class will develop student capacity to:

● Think and write about rhetorical situations and strategies across a wide range of written, visual, and material texts.

● Identify, compare, and contrast different forms of information and knowledge

● Think critically about dominant narratives and common practices that include some bodies and exclude others

● Construct clear and effective compositions that follow specific genre expectations and address specific rhetorical situations

● Participate in respectful, productive discourse with peers

COURSE TEXTS

Becoming Rhetorical by Jodie Nicotra (Published by Cengage Learning, 2018) is required for this course.

Readings from other sources will be provided by the instructor. For help with MLA and other general writing guidelines, please consult the online guide and resources offered by UNC-Chapel Hill: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/.

COURSE WRITING FLAG

This course carries the Writing Flag. Writing Flag courses are designed to give students experience withwriting in academic disciplines. In this class, you can expect to write regularly during the semester, complete substantial writing projects, and receive feedback from your instructor to help you improve your writing. You will also have the opportunity to revise one or more assignments, and you may be asked to read and discuss your peers’ work. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from your written work. Writing Flag classes meet the Core Communications objectives of Critical Thinking, Communication, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility, established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Major Assignments

Unit 1 Paper (20%) Cultural Object Rhetorical Analysis

For this assignment, you will choose a cultural object that carries and/or is carried by Texas’ identity. You will then develop your understanding of the object’s expanded rhetorical situation through research. Finally, using your research, you will develop a beautiful and cohesive argumentative essay that explores the relationship between your object’s situation, purpose, and appeals, and what it does as part of Texas’ making. Extra points will be given for connections to specific state policies and political debates. Papers should be 5-6 pages (1500-1600 words) written in formal academic prose, include a works cited page with at least five sources, and adhere to MLA formatting guidelines. If you wish, your paper may include creative excerpts within it that describe your object, where it lives, and how it moves.

Unit 2 Paper (20%) Historical Marker Revision & Analysis

For this assignment, you will choose a Texas historical marker or memorial to analyze and revise. You will first need to develop your understanding of the marker, the historical event it cites, and the history it leaves out through research in order to consider the affect of the marker on its many audiences and Texas’ grand narrative as a whole. Then, using your research, you will develop a rhetorical argument for why the original marker needs to be revised, propose a revision, and explain what your revision rhetorically does differently. Papers should be 4-5 pages (1200-1500 words) written in formal academic prose, include a works cited page with at least five sources, and adhere to MLA formatting guidelines. Please include a complete copy of the marker’s original text and a complete version of your revision.

Final Multimedia Project (30%) Re-Branding Texas

For this creative project, you will choose a product, cause, or policy to advocate for in Texas and create a marketing campaign that will appeal to specific Texas’ audiences. (For example, you could create a Twitter campaign to market public transportation to people who drive lifted trucks that get 12 miles to the gallon.) Your marketing campaign must include visuals, slogan examples, and a design brief that explains your campaign’s target audience and vision. We will talk later about digital tools you can use for this project, but please know that I don’t expect anyone to learn Adobe Photoshop in a week for this assignment (unless you really want to); use tools you are comfortable with and can leverage effectively.

Schedule

This list offers a rough, topical outline of this semester with major project due dates. Topics, timelines, and texts may shift as the semester progresses and events unfold. Please watch Canvas carefully for updates and announcements. Remember, you have reading log entries due every Sunday by midnight, asynchronous activities due every Monday by midnight, and synchronous class via Zoom every Wednesday from 11:30am-12:45pm.

Week 1: January 19-22

Class Introduction and Syllabus

Readings: Excerpt from Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen by Larry McMcMurty

Week 2: January 25-29

Unit 1: The Basic Rhetorical Situation: Texas Brands & Personas

Readings: Becoming Rhetorical Introduction and Chapter 1

Week 3: February 1-5

Unit 1: EthosLogosPathos in Texas Foods

Readings: “I Proposed a New Geography Course But the Curriculum Committee Turned It Down” by James Corder; “What Makes Texas Texas” by Manny Fernandez

Week 4: February 8-12

Unit 1: The Expanded Rhetorical Situation: Songs About Texas

Readings: “On Getting Lost: A Journey Into Big Thicket” by Edward Carey; Becoming Rhetorical Chapter 2

Week 5: February 15-19

——TEXAS POWER OUTAGE——

Week 6: February 22-26

Unit 1: The Lone Star State: Visual Rhetoric, Symbols, Typefaces, Iconography, Texas Bingo, and Rugged Individualism

Readings: Becoming Rhetorical Chapters 3-5

Week 7: March 1-5

Unit 1: Take Me Home, Country Roads: The Political Power of Pathos, Memory, and Place

Readings: “Recirculating Our Racism: Public Memory, Folk Lore, and Place in East Texas" by James Sanchez;

Week 8: March 8-12

Unit 1: Everything’s Bigger In Texas: Language, Logic, and Anti-Logic

Readings: “Remembering the Trashy Roots of ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’” by Johnathan Baker; “Do you Speak Texan?” Interview with Lars Hinrichs; “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldúa

SPRING BREAK: March 15-19

Week 9: March 22-26

Unit 1: Writing Week

Unit 1 Paper Due: Friday March 12

Week 10: March 29-April 2

Unit 2: “You May All Go to Hell. I’m Going to Texas”: Textbooks, Historical Markers, and the Frontier

Readings: Excerpt from An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz; Excerpt from Gone to Texas by Randolph Campbell

Week 11: April 5-9

Unit 2: “Come and Take It”: Unintended Audiences, Confederate Statues, and Alamo Memorials

Readings: Excerpts from Empire for Slavery by Randolph Campbell; Dr. Gordon’s vritual Racial Geographies Tour

Week 12: April 12-16

Unit 2: “Don’t Mess with Texas:” The Border and the Violence of a Museum’s Myth of the West

Readings: With His Pistol In His Hand by Americo Paredes; excerpt from Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers by Doug Swanson

Week 13: April 19-23

Unit 2: Mapping, Redlining, and Gerrymandering

Readings: Excerpt from Shadows of a Sunbelt City by Elliot Tretter; “Lights in Windows” by Naomi Shihab Nye

Week 14: April 26-30

Unit 2: Writing Week

Unit 2 Paper Due: Friday, April 30

Week 15: May 3

Project Prep & Course Evaluations

FINAL PROJECT DUE: Friday, May 14th