CMST224--Rhetoric of Social Movements Assignment Page
Leadership (10%)--After the class moves into the second phase, and we are reading public speech texts from social movements, you will be asked in groups of three (rotating throughout the semester) to help lead class. I will clarify in class what I expect from you, but in simple terms this means helping me with the discussion of the texts in question. You will come to class on those days prepared to make your observations as a critic clear to the rest of the class. If your rotation lands on a day marked "Contemporary Discourses," you will also be responsible for bringing in copies of a contemporary discourse to class for others to read one day before you help with the discussion of that speech. Finally, before class on the day that you are a leader, you are expected to post a two paged "position paper" about the readings on our newsgroup at vu.cas.cmst224 (We will discuss the specificities of position papers in class).
Call (322-2988) or email me with questions.
Return to the Social Movements page or my homepage.
Discussion/Participation (20%)--Regardless of the number of students in this course, we will approach it as discussion after the first several weeks. While I speak (and lecture) early in the semester, the course is centered around the idea that each of you will become a strong critic. Hence, this course is constructed around discussion. As a result, I will expect you to speak freely in and out of class. No small percentage of your education should result from such discussions. I ask for two commitments from each of you: 1. You must read all assigned texts thoroughly and 2. you must come to class prepared to intelligently discuss the readings. Anything less and you have cheated the entire community. I do not want "talking" for the sake of talking but instead want intelligent, thoughtful analysis and debate. Because I know that some of you think best outside of class, and because I have always found it to be a useful tool, I will include in your discussion evaluation contributions to our newsgroup at vu.cas.cmst224. You can ask me for an evaluation of your discussion/participation grade at any point of the semester.
Call (322-2988) or email me with questions.
Return to the Social Movements page or my homepage.
Short Paper (10%)
Topic--What should a movement critic do?
Specifics:
Description: When one sets out to criticize, one should do so with a purpose in mind. One might work as a literary critic, for example, for a variety of reasons: to read texts as products of political economies, to read for representations of people by gender or race, to explore beauty, or so forth. As you are setting out to become mass movement critics, I want you to write a short essay explaining the purpose of criticism. In two pages, and using any readings that you have done that might be helpful, describe what the purpose of movement criticism should be. Your response may be specific or general but must focus on the specificities of social movement criticism. You can approach it through the terms we have used in class (advance, control, or observe), but you must use the paper to justify WHY this would be your purpose as a critic (e.g., if you argue that we study social movements in order to control them, make it clear that you understand the political impact of taking that stance and be willing to justify it).
Call (322-2988) or email me with questions.
Return to the Social Movements page or my homepage.
Midterm Exam or Paper (30%)
At midterm, you can choose to either write a formal paper or take the midterm exam. I will discuss the structure of the exam in class early in the semester so you can make plans early. If you decide to take the paper option, following the following guidelines:
Specifics:
Description: Utilizing McGee's concept of the ideograph, choose an ideograph that you find interesting from our readings in class and trace out the struggle over this term both in the documents and speeches we will read in class plus additional speeches that you should search out in the library (I can suggest particular sources but this is something you should learn to do on your own). I fully expect that your "out of class" reading of public documents will far exceed what you will read in class for this assignment. The paper should focus on changes in the meaning of the term and, most importantly, discuss the implications of the different meanings of the term. For instance, you may want to trace out the meaning of liberty in the discourses of the Civil rights movement and respond to such questions as "What are the implications of pursuing Martin Luther King's meaning of 'liberty' as opposed to that provided by the SNCC? Look at uses of metaphor, narratives, myth, etc. in seeking out the implications of the different meanings of the term. Just as we played out the implications of MLK's "check" metaphor in class, you should push your analysis until you answer the "So what?" question (that is, don't leave me with a paper that I read and can only respond with a "So what?" Make the point of the analysis clear.
I realize that this may seem a little vague at first (as will our reading practice in class) but after you develop your critical reading skills during the semester, the assignment will become much clearer. Moreover, I promise to respond to any questions that you have and will help you by reading various drafts of your paper during my office hours (and other times when I'm available).
Call (322-2988) or email me with questions.
Return to the Social Movements page or my homepage.
Final Paper (30%)
Specifics:
Description: In this paper, it is your task to investigate the discourse of a contemporary social movement, to come to understand what it means by the term it uses, its "common sense." I want to leave the specific direction of your argument loose because each of you will have to deal with specific problems that will not be encountered by others. In short, it is your task to search out the meanings articulated by a contemporary social movement (e.g., abortion rights, gay rights, environmentalism, free speech, neo-militias, skinheads, straight edge punk, the men's movement). Whatever you choose, I want you to "understand" their discourse thoroughly, to understand how their meanings, assumptions, and ideology differ from that of dominant culture. You should "get at" their discourse by any means available--read pamphlets, interviews, books; watch videos; conduct interviews; attend meetings, etc.
Again, your paper should pass the "So what?" test before it is turned in. We do not want simple description here (e.g., "Here is what the men's movement believes . . . "). Instead, we want the implications of those beliefs, the means of communication, and so forth on those who are affected by the meanings of the movement's communication.
NOTE: If you wrote a paper for the midterm rather than an exam, you can choose to work with a partner on the final paper (the partner, of course, should also have worked on a paper at midterm). In such a case, you must run the idea by me immediately and the length requirements for the project, and my overall expectations of the depth of analysis, will double.
Call (322-2988) or email me with questions.
Return to the Social Movements page or my homepage.