Week 4 Readings

Reposting Gwen's email:


Hi, everyone -

I can't post this on the blog, but perhaps Dr. Parrish can copy and paste this into a blog entry, so that its all together neat and tidy.

As we work on CP Snow's work this weekend, I want to forward on some items that might prove helpful.

1 - Please read the book in the following order: The Rede Lecture, A Second Look, and finally, the Introduction by Stefan Collini (as near as I can tell, Collini's Introduction was written in 2012). I think reading it with eyes as the world saw it as they came about will be insightful as you develop your opinions on the works.

2 - While Collini's Introduction very ably summarizes Snow's life and place in academia, if you would like another, unofficial resource for learning more about Snow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._P._Snow. And Stefan Collini: http://www.english.cam.ac.uk/people/Collini/Stefan/

3 - This article was written 45 years after Snow's first lecture: Barash, David P. "C.P. Snow: Bridging the Two-Cultures Divide" The Cronicle of Higher Education. November 25, 2005 . If that link fails, try this: go to JMU Libraries homepage, select the "Background Information" icon in the center of the screen, enter CP Snow in "get background information about people", and the article should be one of the first to show up under "academic journals".

4 - And finally, as I finished Collini's Introduction, I was reminded of an essay by Wendell Berry, "Why I am not going to buy a computer". I haven't fully crystallized why I thought of it, but maybe we'll talk about it on Thursday.

Right, that's all for now. Gwen

Reading for Week 3

Rather than try to do too much, let's focus on Campbell next week. That way we can read a selection, and then delve into a little secondary material. Please read PoR preface, intro, and book 1. If you do not own it, here is a full-text e-version:

http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/Ulman1/Campbell/TPOR_Frame.htm

After reading the primary source, please read these two articles, available in pdf format from Carrier:

Walzer, Arthur E. "Campbell on the passions: a rereading of the Philosophy of rhetoric." Quarterly Journal Of Speech 85, no. 1 (February 1999): 72-85.


Bevilacqua, Vincent M. "Campbell, Vico, and the Rhetorical Science of Human Nature." Philosophy & Rhetoric 18, no. 1 (Winter1985 1985): 23-30.

While you are reading, pay close attention to Campbell's use of faculty psychology and resemblance theory. Hopefully our discussion leader can take some time to address these ideas and how they relate to the study of the rhetoric of science.

Aristotle E-Discussion

Here's how I suggest we make this e-discussion as interactive and engaging as possible:

Our discussion leader will make a short introductory comment on this post, highlighting briefly one aspect of this week's reading that struck her as important. Once she has introduced the subject, she will ask a question that the next commenter should attempt to address/explore. The respondent will then ask a follow-up question. Thus, we will create the intellectual equivalent of a chain thread on an internet forum.

Our starting point is completely at our discussion leader's discretion -- likely something about Aristotle and science writing, the rhetoric of science, technologies of writing, etc.


What I need each respondent to do:

1. Please post at least twice, allowing others to respond before you comment again.
2. Please attempt to address the question, even if it's just to say you don't know (and explain what confuses, challenges, or eludes you).
3. Please ask a follow-up question that allows some freedom of interpretation (i.e. yes or no questions won't propel the discussion very well).
4. Please cite relevant sections of the text in Book:Chapter:Line format.

I may or may not chime in on the discussion, as I really want to see how this unfolds organically; I haven't tried to do this on Blogger before. That said, if there is any confusion that you think I can clear up, please shoot me an email and I'll weigh in.

Happy reading!

Journals Assignment

For the "handed in" portion of this assignment, please include the information requested, plus one photocopy of the physical listing for one of your journals. (The online directory of periodicals at the MLA International Bibliography has a print feature that could save you some time.)

The information I would like you to share in your report is as follows:

• Who is the editor of this journal?
• What is its university or professional affiliation?
• What is the journal's acceptance rate?
• How does one submit an article?
• Do they accept noncommissioned book reviews?
• What is this journal's circulation?
• What length should submissions be?
• Does the journal follow a mainstream style guide, or use an in-house style?
• Is there anything else prospective authors need to know about this journal?

MLA Info Repeated

http://www.mla.org/news_from_mla/news_summary

2014 Presidential Theme: Vulnerable Times

Marianne Hirsch, MLA president in 2013, has chosen Vulnerable Times as the presidential theme of the 2014 convention. Vulnerable Times addresses the vulnerability of life, the planet, and our disciplines, as well as the acts of imagination and forms of resistance that promote social change—in our time and throughout history. Please consider this theme an invitation to think about how the arts and the humanities (and the textual, historical, theoretical, and activist work that we do in the framework of the MLA) can contribute to social, political, and scientific analyses of the vulnerabilities we share collectively and those that are socially imposed on particular individuals and groups. Members are encouraged to submit forum proposals, roundtables, division and discussion group programs, and special sessions that engage with this theme. To solicit papers for a session on the presidential theme, you may post a call for papers by 21 February. Session proposal forms for the 2014 convention will be available online by early March.

Added 4 January 2013

Submitting a Call for Papers

Do you want to organize a session for the 2014 MLA Annual Convention in Chicago? The MLA is accepting calls for papers until 21 February 2013. To submit a call, please click here. As the session organizer, you are responsible for acknowledging all submissions and inquiries regarding your call for papers. We recommend posting a submission deadline of not later than 15 March. Please note: a call for papers is not a session proposal but a way to solicit paper submissions for creating a session proposal. Proposal forms for the 2014 convention will be available at www.mla.org/ssp_menu by early March. Completed proposal forms must be submitted by 1 April 2013.

You may also search existing calls for papers or browse a list of calls for each session type. Note that all participants in convention sessions must be MLA members by 7 April 2013, and members should review other guidelines for the MLA convention before responding to calls for papers.

Added 31 December 2012

Aristotle Reading

For those who do not own a copy, here is a link to a decent translation:

http://rhetoric.eserver.org/aristotle/oneindex.html

Please read Book I carefully, and then skim Books II and III.


If you would like to read a common take on Aristotle's (assumed) views on the rhetoric of science, the introductory article, "Rhetoric of Science," in this reference work will be exceedingly helpful:

Enos, Theresa. Encyclopedia of rhetoric and composition : communication from ancient times to the information age / edited by Theresa Enos. n.p.: New York : Garland Pub., 1996., 1996. JAMES MADISON UNIV's Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed January 10, 2013).