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Rhetoric & Writing Studies San Diego State University

Courses

Courses in the M.A. Program

The MA Program in Rhetoric and Writing Studies draws on the strengths and interests of faculty in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing Studies and in other departments within the University: Communication, Educational Technology, English, Linguistics, Women's Studies, and Education. Courses available to students include:

  • Reading & Writing Rhetorically
  • History of Rhetoric
  • Modern Rhetoric and Composition Studies
  • The Theory & Practice of Teaching Composition
  • Rhetoric of Science and Technology
  • Text Analysis
  • Technical Writing
  • Problems in Technical Writing
  • Editing
  • Tools for Technical Communicators
  • Writing Project Management
  • Technical Communications in Non-Profit Organizations
  • Literacy, Rhetoric & Technology
  • Rhetoric & Culture
  • Rhetorical Analysis
  • Intercultural Communication
  • ESL Reading and Writing
  • English for Specific Purposes
  • Organizational Communication
  • Nonverbal Communication
  • Persuasion
  • Public Address
  • Conversation Analysis
  • Communication and Politics
  • Communication and Gender
  • Instructional Design
  • Multimedia and Hypermedia
  • Research Methods in Rhetoric and Composition

Course Schedule Spring

  1. RWS 602 Modern Rhetoric & Composition Studies
  2. RWS 609 Theory and Practice of Teaching Composition
  3. RWS 640 Research Methods
  4. RWS 744 Special Topics
  5. RWS 510 Rhetoric and Culture
  6. RWS 503W Technical Writing
  7. RWS 504 Problems in Technical Communication
  8. RWS 508W Scientific Writing
  9. RWS 507 Technical Communications in Nonprofit Organizations

Course Schedule Fall

  1. 503W Technical Writing
    503W Prof. Writ. M 19:00 21:40 AH 3140 Fielden
    503W Prof. Writ. T 19:00 21:40 AH 3137 Merriam
    503W Prof. Writ. MW 15:30 16:45 AH 3137 Manley
  2. 505 Writing Project Management
    W 19:00 21:40 AH 4157 Bekins
  3. 507 Professional Communication in Nonprofit Organizations
    TH 19:00 21:40 AH 3140 Merriam
  4. 508W Scientific Writing
    M 16:00 18:40 AH 3140 Tomlin
  5. 509 Intro To Teaching Composition
    TTH 14:00 15:15 AH 3157 Minifee
  6. 511 Literacy Rhetoric & Technology
    T 16:00 18:40 AH 3137 Werry
  7. 596 Tutoring: Theory & Practice
    W 16:00 18:40 AH 4157 Underwood
  8. 600 Reading & Writing Rhetorically
    M 15:30 18:10 TBA McClish
  9. 601a History of Rhetoric I
    T 15:30 18:10 TBA Quandahl
  10. 609 Theory & Practice of Teaching Writing
    TH 16:00 18:40 TBA Boyd
  11. 640 Research Methods in Rhetoric & Writing Studies
    M 19:00 21:40 AH 3117 Ornatowski
  12. Feminist Rhetorics
    W 15:30 16:10 TBA Bordelon
  13. 796A Teaching Internship ARR
  14. 796B Writing Internship ARR
  15. 799A Thesis ARR
  16. 799B Thesis Ext ARR


Detailed Course Descriptions Spring

RWS 602 Modern Rhetoric and Composition Studies

This course will survey rhetoric and composition theory of the 20th and 21st centuries, using the work of Kenneth Burke as the scholar who most fully records and refracts the intellectual and social trends of the period. Studying the range of roles and materials that Burke took on will be the compass for examining the field of rhetoric and composition studies as it emerges for our time. The course will invite a range of projects—pedagogical, theoretical, archival—and encourage students to deepen their understandings of those recent rhetorical developments most useful to their interests.

RWS 609 Theory and Practice of Teaching Writing
Introduces students to both theoretical and practical issues involved in teaching writing. Theoretical issues covered rhetorical and literacy issues, composing process research, various perspectives on writing, and approaches to the its teaching. Practical issues include: planning and structuring a writing class; sequencing and designing writing assignments; responding to and evaluating writing; conducting and managing a writing class; conducting peer workshops and student conferences; and using available resources and technologies. The course is required of students who want to be tutors or TAs in DRWS, as well as for graduate students in the Teaching of Writing specialization within the MA program in Rhetoric and Writing Studies.


RWS 640 Research Methods in Rhetoric and Writing Studies
The course is an introduction to social research in general and to research in rhetoric/ composition studies in particular. It will examine the basic tools, concepts, approaches, and vocabularies of social research, as well as the major methods and methodological issues specific to the discipline(s) of rhetoric and composition studies. We will also review major areas of research in rhetoric/composition. In the course, you will have the opportunity to focus on a research area of your choice and to design a research project in preparation for a major paper or thesis. The course is required for students planning a thesis in rhetoric and writing studies.

RWS 744 The Rhetoric of Public Memory
This course explores the contested nature of public memory and how the symbolic constructions of memory can be understood as deeply rhetorical. We will explore the nature of public memory, how it is perpetuated in societies, how it is configured to privilege some historical interpretations over others, and how it can be modified over time. In addition to texts like memoirs, written historical accounts, film, and various kinds of oral testimony, we will also examine examples of visual rhetoric such as iconic photographs, public memorials and commemorative art, national parks, and a variety of private and public buildings. Our goal will be to understand how memory persuasively reflects, shapes, sustains, resists and transforms cultural and political meanings in the present, and provides a powerful vision of a collective future. After beginning the course with some theoretical readings from figures like Kenneth Burke, Fredric Jameson, and Michel Foucault, we will concentrate on concrete manifestations of the rhetoric of public memory, with particular attention on post-apartheid South Africa and the 1960s United States.


RWS 510 Rhetoric and Culture
This course will explore the interaction of rhetoric and culture in shaping private and public identies. We will examine the rhetorics of nineteenth-century women's suffragists and African American slaves and twentieth-century Civil Rights and Feminist/Womanist movements, considering particularly how these marginalized communities constructed symbols of self-representation in public discourse in efforts to secure social and political power. A tentative reading list includes the following authors and activists: Sojourner Truth, Jarena Lee, Angelina and Sarah Grimke, Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglass, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Gloria Steinem, Amy Tan, and Alice Walker.


RWS 503W Technical Writing
Rhetoric and Writing Studies 503 is designed to help upper-level students develop the communication skills needed for successful professional careers. The course builds on the rhetorical model that students are introduced to in earlier 100, 200, and 300-level courses: Attention to audience, purpose, presentation (genre and organization), evidence, and language.

The course provides you with the opportunity to write in the variety of forms you are likely to encounter in your professional lives (i.e., memos, manuals, proposals reports), and focuses on the following principles:

  • Technical writing is usually devoted to solving and/or communicating problems in an organizational context, and good communication is an essential part of such work;
  • Good technical writing is fundamentally rhetorical;
  • Your most important readers in a professional setting will probably be under great time pressure;
  • There are very few hard-and-fast rules in good writingbeyond the mechanics of grammar, punctuation, etc.


RWS 504 Problems in Technical Communication
Rhetoric and Writing Studies 504 is designed primarily for students who intend to pursue a professional career as writers, editors, documentation specialists, media designers, or who see such activities as a major part of their professional responsibilities. The course builds on basic technical writing knowledge and skills taught in RWS 503W (audience and context analysis, foundations of document design, basic genres of technical writing, and principles of technical writing style) to explore more advanced areas and issues in technical communications. Major topics we will explore over the course of the semester include user and task analysis for interface design, document design and typography (print & online), collaboration and interpersonal communication, ethical and cultural issues in technical communication, managing small groups and usability testing.

NOTE: San Diego State has designated RWS 504 as a service-learning course. The Center for Community Based Service Learning at SDSU defines service learning as a pedagogy “rooted in a real-world context of activity that creates structured opportunities for students to learn through active participation and community involvement.” In other words, service-learning courses allow students to apply what they learn in the classroom to community-based contexts, and then reflect on what they learn. We will apply our knowledge of writing rhetorically effective documents to organizations that need our skills.

RWS 508W Scientific Writing
Rhetoric and Writing Studies 508W is designed to help upper-level students majoring in the sciences develop the skills needed for scientific research and communication. The course builds on the rhetorical model that students are introduced to in earlier 100, 200, and 300-level courses: Attention to audience, purpose, presentation (genre and organization), evidence, and language.

The course provides you with the opportunity to write in the variety of forms you are likely to encounter in your professional lives (i.e., memos, proposals, reports, presentations) and focuses on the following principals:

  • Scientific writing is usually devoted to communicating problems in an organizational or peer reviewed context;
  • Good scientific writing is fundamentally rhetorical;
  • Your most important readers in a professional setting will probably be under great time pressure;
  • There are very few hard-and-fast rules in good writing beyond the mechanics of grammar, punctuation, etc.

RWS 507 Technical Communication in Nonprofit Organizations Steve Merriam
This course is open to all graduate, advanced undergraduate and Open University students. Members of the class research, choose and partner with a local nonprofit organization (NPO) to research and write a winnable grant proposal with their partner. They work closely with the San Diego Foundation downtown to identify and research organizations dedicated to regional issues such as homelessness, affordable housing, social welfare, education and the environment. We develop strategies for writing typical foundation, corporation and government proposals, and focus on how those strategies can migrate to other genres, such as business and strategic plans. We dedicate the first hour of each class period to a problem addressed by local and international NPOs. Discussions are facilitated both by regional experts and representatives from these organizations.


Detailed Course Descriptions Fall

Coming soon...




OTHER RWS COURSES OPEN TO RWS GRADUATE STUDENTS

  • RWS501 Editing (Merriam) W 16:00 -18:40
  • RWS 503W Technical Writing (Fielden)

  • RWS 503W Technical Writing (Merriam)

  • RWS 503W Technical Writing (Manley)

  • RWS 503W Technical Writing (Merriam)

  • RWS 511 Literacy, Rhetoric and Technology

  • RWS596 Writing Tutor Theory and Practice