COMM 352 Syllabus
How can one not speak about war, poverty, and inequality when people who suffer from these afflictions don’t have a voice to speak?
-Isabel Allende
Welcome to class!
Persuasion is a broad field of study. It is interdisciplinary. It is as prevalent outside academia as it is inside. It has everything to do with how we define ourselves, interact with other people, pursue our objectives, and live our convictions.
Persuasion is a practical art, and there are many ways to study it. This class is less oriented toward theory, more oriented toward application. Two driving questions underlie everything we will do this semester:
- How can I address controversial issues in non-confrontational ways in order to increase mutual understanding,
- How can I use the principles of persuasion to contribute to the common good?
The principles of persuasion are powerful, and mastering them will greatly increase your ability to influence others. My hope is that each of us will use the skills we acquire to make the world a better place, if only in a tiny way.
That which we do not believe, we cannot adequately say; even though we may repeat the words ever so often.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Course Outcomes
This course blends lecture, discussion, and application exercises to familiarize you with primary elements of persuasion. The course dynamic depends heavily on the BYU-Idaho Learning Model. Your preparedness and participation are essential to everyone’s experience in the course.
My hope is that each of us will leave this class committed to…
- Develop the practice of being conscious, fair-minded, rational consumers of media and participants in social discourse.
- Communicate using logos, pathos, and ethos strategically in response to the rhetorical situation and to the audience.
- Employ faith, reason, and empathy when examining complex, controversial issues or when assessing differing points of view.
- Use the power of persuasion to increase mutual understanding and to serve the public good.
Those that will not hear must be made to feel.
-German Proverb
My expectations
Pay attention to the news and current events. Communication and business majors should be aware of what’s happening locally and nationally. Attending to the news and the way it gets reported will heighten our consciousness of how persuasion is at play as we form our attitudes and opinions. You should regularly read the New York Times and/or other media sources and be prepared to discuss the issues they cover. National Public Radio (NPR) programs like Morning Edition and All Things Considered are also great resources.
Make a habit of preparedness. Throughout the semester, you’ll be assigned various readings and tasks. Complete the assigned work on time (or even early), will make our discussions deeper and more meaningful.
Be present in the course. More learning occurs when all students actively engage each other in discussion. This class will invite your consistent involvement, so please make a habit of actively participating and sharing your perspective with others.
Complete all work on time and to meet a high level of professionalism. Communication and business professionals work in a deadline-driven culture. Our class will reflect that reality. Most assignments will be due on near the end of the week--be sure to check the Calendar to see a list of all the due dates. Repeatedly finishing your assignments late has consequences that both compromise your grade and hamper other students' ability to do their best. Consequently, after a deadline passes, you will have no more than three days to submit your work. Your grade will be reduced by one full letter for each day it is late. So, if your work is one day late, you will lose one letter grade, two days two letters, three days three. After the third day, your work will not be accepted. Additionally, late work will not receive feedback.
Be excited to learn. This is a practical class. The central concepts we cover apply well beyond the boundaries of the classroom. You’ll have a great deal of freedom to explore issues of personal interest. Please take that freedom and run with it. I hope that together we’ll increase our ability to live as LDS contributors to our dynamic, diverse, and challenging culture and to communicate in ways that promote understanding and good will.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
-Margaret Mead
Assignments |
Points |
|---|---|
| Values Unit Total | 380 |
| Freedom of Mind | 15 |
| Family Values | 10 |
| Identifying Value Assumptions | 10 |
| Case Reflection David Millar | 20 |
| Values Beliefs Behaviors Quiz | 10 |
| Ophelia Syndrome Questions | 15 |
| A Question of Values/Partner Declaration | 10 |
| Values -> Principles -> Premises | 10 |
| Submit Presentation Outline | 125 |
| Case Reflection Enigma & Ultra | 20 |
| Check Out This Teaser | 10 |
| Presentation | 125 |
| Policy Unit Total | 520 |
| Deductive Reasoning - Enthymemes | 10 |
| Policy Panel Topic & Question | 10 |
| Addressing Questions of Policy | 10 |
| Case Reflection Daryl Atkins | 10 |
| Evidence Based Claims | 20 |
| Policy Panel Group Discussion Board | 10 |
| Refutation | 10 |
| Policy Panel Presentation DB | 10 |
| Fallacies Exercise | 10 |
| Policy Panel Group DB | 10 |
| Presentation Response | 10 |
| Individual Argument Outline | 175 |
| Facebook Policy Post | 50 |
| Presentation | 175 |
| Advocacy Unit Total | 620 |
| Engaging Citizens Quiz | 15 |
| Issue Book Examples | 10 |
| Strategic Research Assignment | 10 |
| Interview/ Interview Report | 10 |
| Preparing the Appendix | 10 |
| Issue Book Review | 10 |
| Issue Book Final Edits Submission | 10 |
| Class Book Response | 15 |
| Issue Book Progress DB | 30 |
| Booklet | 500 |
| Weekly Reports | approx. 188 |
| Mid-Course Feeback Quiz | 5 EC* |
| Syllabus Quiz | 10 |
Total |
1718/1723* |
*Please note: Each of the major projects will involve incremental assignments. Completing these smaller assignments will contribute to the total points you earn for the project. Meeting deadlines and creating high quality work will matter for both the smaller assignments and the completed project.
As you can see, for the Pilot semester we are unable to issue a final points value for the assignments. Please know that as the semester progresses the intensity and value of the assignments will increase.
Final Grade Breakdown
| A+ = 97+ | B+ = 87-89 | C+ =77-79 | D+ = 67-69 | F = below 60 |
| A = 93-96 | B = 83-86 | C =73-76 | D = 63-66 | |
| A- = 90-92 | B- = 80-82 | C- = 70-72 | D- =60-62 |
You must be the change you want to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi
Resources
Questions and Conversations
Use the discussion board at the top of each Lesson Module to post general questions/problems/concerns etc. Using this board will inform other class members, the instructor, and Online Course Improvement of the issues you find and allow the proper people to correct them for everyone. Please check this board throughout the semester. If you are experiencing the same problem, you can post as well so others know the seriousness of the problem. Or, if you know the answer to a problem, you are encouraged to post solutions. Helping your classmates fix posted problems is another way to teach one another. Additionally, your instructor and/or course improvement people are monitoring this board and will post fixes and solutions here. You should only email your instructor directly if the problem is of a personal nature. Otherwise, posting to this board is the fastest and most efficient way to report problems you encounter and get them resolved.
Schedule
Week/Lesson |
Readings and Assignments |
|---|---|
| Lesson 01 | Orientation to Online Learning
Introduction to the Course Online Orientation Checklist Getting to Know You DB Syllabus Quiz How to Use Jing Facebook Set-Up Class Website Social Issues Graphic Paradigm and Rationale What Other Questions Do You Have? Persuasion Overview Reading Weekly Report |
| Lesson 02 | Class Prep Reading: “Freedom of Mind”
Values, Beliefs, Behaviors Quiz Family Values Identifying Value Assumptions Case Reflection: David Millar A Question of Values Presentation Weekly Report |
| Lesson 03 | Class Prep Reading: “Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome
& The Perils of Indifference” Ophelia Syndrome Questions Topics of Interest DB A Question of Values Partner & Question Declaration Presentation Outline Values->Principles->Premises Case Reflection: Enigma & Ultra A Question of Values Presentation Weekly Report |
| Lesson 04 | Class Reading
A Question of Values Presentation Submission Teaser Exercise Presentation Response Questions Weekly Report |
| Lesson 05 | Policy Decisions
Breaking Down the Argument Policy Panel Topic and Questions Addressing Questions of Policy Enthymemes: Deductive Reasoning Case Reflection: Daryl Atkins Case Policy Issues Unit Presentation Weekly Report |
| Lesson 06 | Class Prep Reading
Assessing Evidence Evidence-Based Claims Policy Panel Group Discussion Policy Issues Unit Presentation Weekly Report Mid-Course Feedback |
| Lesson 07 | Refutation
Policy Panel Group Discussion Fallacies Reading Fallacies Exercise Policy Panel Presentations Weekly Report |
| Lesson 08 | Class Prep Reading
Policy Panel DB Policy Presentation Submissions Facebook Presentation Post Individual Argument Outline Presentation Response Weekly Report |
| Lesson 09 | Class Prep Reading
Engaging Citizens Reading and Quiz Issue Book Examples Issue Book Presentation Weekly Report |
| Lesson 10 | Class Prep Reading
Overview of the Final Project Selecting Roles DB Gathering Resources Strategic Resources DB Interview Preparation Writer/Editor Assignment Weekly Report |
| Lesson 11 | Class Prep Reading
Interview & Interview Report Issue Book Progress DB Weekly Report |
| Lesson 12 | Class Prep Reading
Writer/Editor Assignment Preparing the Appendix Issue Book Review Weekly Report |
| Lesson 13 | Issue Book Final Edits Submission
Submission Instructions Class Issue Book Response Weekly Report |
| Lesson 14 | Complete the Advocacy Self-Reflection
Issue Book Recommendations Evaluations Weekly Report |
Final Caveat
I am looking forward to this semester and the explorations of self, issues, and values we will inevitably have. It's going to be great!