English 151 is an introduction to college-level writing, basic rhetorical concepts, argumentation, and the processes of composing written discourse in a variety of rhetorical situations, from composing formal essays and World Wide Web projects to the less formal interchange of on-line discussion forums. The activities and assignments in this course are designed to help writers think through real problems. We will do this primarily through conversation, debate, writing, responses to writing, and through research into information about and various possible perspectives on a problem. In deciding how best to approach an audience, we consider their beliefs, what they do and do not know, and the specific situation that shapes each communication. The art of rhetoric also stresses the ethical consequences of writing and persuasion. In most persuasive writing, ethics and truth may conflict with the most effective means of persuasion. In our writing, we will strive for some balance between effectiveness and responsibility.
The focus of the course is primarily on argumentation, on writing whose purpose is to persuade someone of the truth of some principle, a particular interpretation of an event or text, or of a specific course of action or policy. Much writing in and outside of college employs argument strategies and structures and research in the on-going conversation of published material. Even though we will focus on argumentation, we will also write to express ourselves, to inform others, and to entertain the audience and each other. At times, your writing may incorporate all of these purposes in one composition. We will consider the rhetorical effectiveness of a variety of possible structures and genres, from the traditional, linear essay to the flexibility of on-line hypertext and the conversational interchange of on-line discussion forums.
The Macintosh Computer Lab Classroom (Ellis 18): We will divide our class time between two classrooms, Ellis 116 and Ellis 18. We will spend at least two hours per week in the department's Macintosh lab. There we will work on writing projects, and use the Internet as a means of research, communication, and persuasion.
For part of the term we will be actively involved in an Internet discussion forum, called Cultural Contact, with some students in a first year composition course taught by an American, Professor Michael Davis, at the University College of Karlskrona/Ronneby, in Karlskrona, Sweden. Both classes will read some common materials, discuss the materials and issues, and complete a project based on the forum discussion. Some of your project work will be composed in electronic form for "publication" on the World Wide Web and some will be word processed and printed in the traditional way. We will use e-mail a lot. We all will subscribe to an e-mail listserv for the course, so *check your e-mail at least one a day.* We'll devote some class time to forum and Web composition, but you'll need to access the course sites, especially the interclass forum, Cultural Contact, on a regular basis once we begin writing to the forum.
