Teaching

Makers, Crafters, Hackers: The Rhetoric of DIY

In this writing and oral/multimodal communication course we delve into the fascinating world of creators and Do It Yourself enthusiasts in a variety of fields and contexts. We consider communities of makers, crafters, and hackers and examine the values, politics and ethics of DIY, such as what making has to do with empowerment and resistance, or whether our ideas of making and makers are gendered or attached to assumptions about class, ethnicity, and ideology. Students consider questions such as: How does making change our relationship to the world around us? Who is considered a maker? What does it mean to hack, remake or redesign your life? We will look at a variety of perspectives on making from the philosophical to the comedic, from Mythbusters to transcendentalists.

Beyond! The Rhetoric of Space Exploration

“To infinity and beyond!” This call to adventure and discovery has been repeated by millions of children since it was first uttered, ironically, by an earthbound plastic space crusader in the animated film Toy Story. While we may smile at its childish naïveté, this phrase, and the character Buzz Lightyear, reflect crucial, longstanding facets of our human reach for the stars. Despite centuries of turning our gaze toward space, are we inescapably bound to the fate of our own planet? Is our view of astronauts just as stereotypical as this toy? In this course we critically consider our role in the universe: Does space exploration enact a type of global manifest destiny? How does NASA inspire the support of its missions, and how do domestic concerns pull us back to Earth? What does the exploration of the cosmos allow us to learn about ourselves? Students learn to identify rhetorical strategies used to advance the agendas of stakeholders in space exploration and gain the tools of writing and research to create their own rhetorical arguments.

Podcasts to Broadcasts: The Rhetoric of Radio

In the midst of the rush for new media technologies, one veteran medium—radio—has actually experienced a rejuvenation. Millions listen to podcasts of This American Life. Serial became a pop culture phenomenon. President Obama made a guest appearance on a garage-made podcast. In this course, we study characteristics of radio/podcast programs and consider questions in a variety of arenas from political rhetoric to gender representation. We learn how radio uses storytelling elements like voice, persona, aural ambience, and editing to rhetorically engage a broad range of audiences, instigate meaningful action, and amplify perspective. We examine works from Radiolab to "War of the Worlds" and read about radio in modern society from scholars and media experts such as Jeffrey Sconce and Henry Jenkins. We examine the immersiveness of audio storytelling, the place of radio in key historical moments, and examples of podcasting used to highlight hidden voices and bring complex research to the public. Students learn to identify rhetorical strategies across radio genres, practice writing in different modes, and explore a radio-related research topic of their choice.