Spring 2023: January 17th to May 5th
The intention for this course is for students to discover for themselves a new relationship to language as figural, leaving each student with an expanded writerly repertoire they are free to deploy within a variety of genres of writing.
|
Before our first class, please listen to this 30 minute interview between Writing Arts Professors Ron Block and Drew Kopp:
Week 1
Wednesday, January 18th
Introduction and Overview: the Intention of the Course
Ground Rules for Effective Participation
The sentence (the period)
For Monday's class, review these three figures in the "Rutilian Figures" document:
1 Prosapodosis 2 Isocolon 3 Tricolon Also for Monday, read: Heinrichs, Word Hero, Chapter 3 "Capture the Secrets"
and Read Robert Harris's Writing with Style and Clarity Chapter 1: "Balance" and Read: Forsyth Chapters 16 and 19 |
Aristotle, On Rhetoric Book Three, Chapter 9.
How is it possible that a being with such sensitive jewels as the eyes, such enchanted musical instruments as the ears, and such fabulous arabesque of nerves as the brain can experience itself anything less than a god? |
Week 2
Monday, January 23rd
Rhetorical Schemes
Copy, unwrite and emulate: 1 Prosapodosis 2 Isocolon 3 Tricolon Come to class having Read: Heinrichs, Word Hero, Chapter 3 "Capture the Secrets" Robert Harris's Writing with Style and Clarity Chapter 1: "Balance" Forsyth Chapters 16 and 19 For Wednesday: Copy, unwrite, and compose stylistic sentence types 4-6:
4 Antithesis 5 Antanagoge 6 Antisagoge and for Wednesday Read: Forsyth Chapter 3 and: Unwriting Sentences |
Intention for today's class: to introduce the central practice of the course, namely, the practice of unwriting a figure as the chief means to discover what makes the figure work as a figure, so that you might better emulate that figure.
“A benefit is pleasing when granted at the right moment to one who desires it, since the usefulness and desirability of receiving the benefit increases the honor of the one granting it. But a benefit is unwelcome when granted late to one who no longer desires it, since, with the moment of its usefulness having been missed, the desire of the one who is to receive it declines.”
--Demetrius of Phalerum |
Wednesday, January 25th
Copy, unwrite, emulate:
4 Antithesis 5 Antanagoge 6 Antisagoge Read Forsyth Chapter 3 and: Unwriting Sentences For Monday: Copy, unwrite, and compose sentence types 7-9:
7 Synathroismos
8 Scesis Onomaton 9 Exemplum Read Forsyth Chapters: 37, 38
Harris, Chapter 5: "Exemplum" |
"One can only suggest to these stubborn gentlemen that if, instead of insisting that their own mythology is history, they would work the other way and dehistoricize their mythology, they might recover contact with the spiritual possibilities of this century and salvage from what must otherwise be inevitable discard whatever may still be of truth to life in their religion."
From Joseph Campbell's The Flight of the Wild Gander "The Secularization of the Sacred" 225. |
Week 3
Monday, January 30th
Copy, Unwrite, Emulate:
7 Synathroismos 8 Scesis Onomaton 9 Exemplum Read Forsyth Chapters: 37, 38
Harris, Chapter 5: "Exemplum" For Wednesday (10-14):
10 Paronomasia 11 Paradiastole 12 Antanaclasis (Anaclasis) 13 Anastrophe 14 Hypallage (transferred epithet) Read: Forsyth, Chapter 30; Harris, Chapter 10 (transferred epithet) |
To paraphrase Kenneth Burke, from his "Lexicon Rhetoricae":
A sentence "has form in so far as one part of it leads a reader to anticipate another part, to be gratified by the sequence" (Counter-Statement 124). |
Wednesday, February 1st
Copy, Unwrite, Emulate:
10 Paronomasia
11 Paradiastole
12 Antanaclasis (Anaclasis)
13 Anastrophe
14 Hypallage (transferred epithet)
Read:
Forsyth, Chapter 30;
Harris, Chapter 10 (transferred epithet)
10 Paronomasia
11 Paradiastole
12 Antanaclasis (Anaclasis)
13 Anastrophe
14 Hypallage (transferred epithet)
Read:
Forsyth, Chapter 30;
Harris, Chapter 10 (transferred epithet)
For Monday (15-18):
15 Antimetabole (chiasmus)
16 Anaphora
17 Epistrophe
18 Symploce
Read:
Harris Chapters 1 (chiasmus) and 11
Forsyth Chapters 15, 24, 39
15 Antimetabole (chiasmus)
16 Anaphora
17 Epistrophe
18 Symploce
Read:
Harris Chapters 1 (chiasmus) and 11
Forsyth Chapters 15, 24, 39
Week 4
Monday, February 6th
Copy, unwrite and compose 15-18:
15 Antimetabole 16 Anaphora 17 Epistrophe 18 Symploce Read:
Harris Chapters 1 (chiasmus) and 11 Forsyth Chapters 15, 24, 39 For Wednesday (19-23):
19 Polyptoton 20 Epanalepsis 21 Diacope 22 Ploce 23 Epizeuxis Forsyth Chapters: 2, 12, 17, 32 |
Recommended reading:
Holcomb and Killingsworth Chapter 7 "Schemes" Intention for today's class: to begin to reflect on the following questions (from Holcomb and Killingsworth 107):
Holcomb and Killingsworth give us a few good places to "look," when we focus on the social interaction schemes can perform. They can:
|
Wednesday, February 8th
Copy, unwrite, emulate 19-23:
19 Polyptoton
20 Epanalepsis
21 Diacope
22 Ploce
23 Epizeuxis
Read:
Forsyth Chapters: 2, 12, 17, 32
For Monday, copy, unwrite and compose 24-28:
24 Auxesis
25 Anadiplosis
26 Conduplicatio
27 Polysyndeton
28 Asyndeton
Read:
Forsyth Chapters 9 and 11
Harris Chapters 12 and 13
19 Polyptoton
20 Epanalepsis
21 Diacope
22 Ploce
23 Epizeuxis
Read:
Forsyth Chapters: 2, 12, 17, 32
For Monday, copy, unwrite and compose 24-28:
24 Auxesis
25 Anadiplosis
26 Conduplicatio
27 Polysyndeton
28 Asyndeton
Read:
Forsyth Chapters 9 and 11
Harris Chapters 12 and 13
Week 5
Monday, February 13th
Copy, unwrite and compose 24-28:
24 Auxesis 25 Anadiplosis 26 Conduplicatio 27 Polysyndeton 28 Asyndeton Read: Forsyth Chapter 9 and 11 Harris Chapters 12 and 13 For Wednesday: Read: Controlling Value
|
Anaphora
Epistrophe Simploce Anadiplosis Conduplicatio Epanalepsis Polyptoton Diacope Epizeuxis Ploce |
O__. O__. O__. O__.
__O. __O. __O. __O. O__X. O__X. O__X. __O, O__ __O___, O____ O_____O O___O--___ O_O OOO O___O__O____O___O_O |
Wednesday, February 15th
Review day
Read: Controlling Value
For Monday (29-32):
29 Metanoia
30 Parenthesis
31 Appositive
32 Merismos
Read:
Forsyth Chapter 4
Harris Chapters 5 and 7
29 Metanoia
30 Parenthesis
31 Appositive
32 Merismos
Read:
Forsyth Chapter 4
Harris Chapters 5 and 7
Week 6
Monday, February 20th
Copy, unwrite, and compose types 29-32
29 Metanoia
30 Parenthesis
31 Appositive
32 Merismos
29 Metanoia
30 Parenthesis
31 Appositive
32 Merismos
Read:
Forsyth Chapter 4
Harris Chapters 5 and 7
Forsyth Chapter 4
Harris Chapters 5 and 7
For Wednesday (33-37):
33 Paromologia
34 Anankaeon
35 Ethopoeia
36 Prosopopoeia
37 Characterismus
Read:
Forsyth Chapter 33
Harris Chapter 9
33 Paromologia
34 Anankaeon
35 Ethopoeia
36 Prosopopoeia
37 Characterismus
Read:
Forsyth Chapter 33
Harris Chapter 9
Wednesday, February 22nd
Copy, unwrite, emulate 33-37
33 Paromologia
34 Anankaeon
35 Ethopoeia
36 Prosopopoeia
37 Characterismus
Read:
Forsyth Chapter 33
Harris Chapter 9
33 Paromologia
34 Anankaeon
35 Ethopoeia
36 Prosopopoeia
37 Characterismus
Read:
Forsyth Chapter 33
Harris Chapter 9
For Monday: Copy, unwrite, and compose types 38-42
38 Metabasis
39 Apostrophe
40 Dikaeologia
41 Procatalepsis
42 Horismos
Read:
Forsyth Chapter 36
Harris Chapter 4
38 Metabasis
39 Apostrophe
40 Dikaeologia
41 Procatalepsis
42 Horismos
Read:
Forsyth Chapter 36
Harris Chapter 4
Week 7
Monday, February 27th
Copy, unwrite, and compose types 38-42
38 Metabasis
39 Apostrophe
40 Dikaeologia
41 Procatalepsis
42 Horismos
Read:
Forsyth Chapter 36
Harris Chapter 4
38 Metabasis
39 Apostrophe
40 Dikaeologia
41 Procatalepsis
42 Horismos
Read:
Forsyth Chapter 36
Harris Chapter 4
For Wednesday (43-48)
43 Zeugma
44 Diazeugma
45 Prozeugma
46 Mesozeugma
47 Hypozeugma
48 Syllepsis
Read:
Harris Chapter 6
Forsyth Chapters 18, 22
43 Zeugma
44 Diazeugma
45 Prozeugma
46 Mesozeugma
47 Hypozeugma
48 Syllepsis
Read:
Harris Chapter 6
Forsyth Chapters 18, 22
Wednesday, March 1st
Copy, unwrite, and emulate:
43 Zeugma
44 Diazeugma
45 Prozeugma
46 Mesozeugma
47 Hypozeugma
48 Syllepsis
Read:
Harris Chapter 6
Forsyth Chapters 18, 22
43 Zeugma
44 Diazeugma
45 Prozeugma
46 Mesozeugma
47 Hypozeugma
48 Syllepsis
Read:
Harris Chapter 6
Forsyth Chapters 18, 22
For Monday (49-52)
49 Synoikeiosis
50 Aporia
51 Hypophora
52 Erotesis
Read:
Forsyth Chapters 13, 23
Harris Chapter 15
49 Synoikeiosis
50 Aporia
51 Hypophora
52 Erotesis
Read:
Forsyth Chapters 13, 23
Harris Chapter 15
Week 8
Monday, March 6th
Copy, unwrite, and emulate:
49 Synoikeiosis
50 Aporia
51 Hypophora
52 Erotesis
Read:
Forsyth Chapters 13, 23
Harris Chapter 15
49 Synoikeiosis
50 Aporia
51 Hypophora
52 Erotesis
Read:
Forsyth Chapters 13, 23
Harris Chapter 15
For Wednesday (53-58)
53 Paralepsis
54 Litotes
55 Paromoion
56 Epitrope
57 Parrhesia
58 Aetiologia
Read:
Forsyth Chapters 1 and 28
Harris Chapters 3 and 14
53 Paralepsis
54 Litotes
55 Paromoion
56 Epitrope
57 Parrhesia
58 Aetiologia
Read:
Forsyth Chapters 1 and 28
Harris Chapters 3 and 14
Wednesday, March 8th
Copy, unwrite, and emulate:
53 Paralepsis
54 Litotes
55 Paromoion
56 Epitrope
57 Parrhesia
58 Aetiologia
Read:
Forsyth Chapters 1 and 28
Harris Chapters 3 and 14
53 Paralepsis
54 Litotes
55 Paromoion
56 Epitrope
57 Parrhesia
58 Aetiologia
Read:
Forsyth Chapters 1 and 28
Harris Chapters 3 and 14
For Monday after spring break (59-67):
59 Irony
60 Meiosis
61 Hyperbole
62 Simile
63 Analogy
64 Metaphor
65 Catachresis
66 Metonymy
67 Synechdoche
Read:
Forsyth Chapters 27, 29, 34
Harris Chapters 3, 8, 9
Heinrichs Thank You for Arguing, chapter 19: "Get Instant Cleverness" and chapter 20: "Change Reality."
59 Irony
60 Meiosis
61 Hyperbole
62 Simile
63 Analogy
64 Metaphor
65 Catachresis
66 Metonymy
67 Synechdoche
Read:
Forsyth Chapters 27, 29, 34
Harris Chapters 3, 8, 9
Heinrichs Thank You for Arguing, chapter 19: "Get Instant Cleverness" and chapter 20: "Change Reality."
Spring Break (week 9)
Spring Break: Week of March 13th
The life of a mythology derives from the vitality of its symbols as metaphors delivering, not simply the idea, but a sense of actual participation in such a realization of transcendence, infinity, and abundance, as this of which the upanishadic authors tell. Indeed, the first and most essential service of a mythology is this one, of opening the mind and heart to the utter wonder of all being. And the second service, then, is cosmological: of representing the universe and whole spectacle of nature, both as known to the mind and as beheld by the eye, as an epiphany of such kind that when lightning flashes, or a setting sun ignites the sky, or a deer is seen standing alerted, the exclamation "Ah!" may be uttered as a recognition of divinity.
(Joseph Campbell The Inner Reaches of Outer Space: Metaphor as Myth and as Religion 18)
Week 10
Monday, March 20th
Copy, unwrite, emulate:
59 Irony
60 Meiosis
61 Hyperbole
62 Simile
63 Analogy
64 Metaphor
65 Catachresis
66 Metonymy
67 Synechdoche
Read:
Forsyth Chapters 27, 29, 34
Harris Chapters 3, 8, 9
Heinrichs Thank You for Arguing, chapter 19: "Get Instant Cleverness" and chapter 20: "Change Reality."
59 Irony
60 Meiosis
61 Hyperbole
62 Simile
63 Analogy
64 Metaphor
65 Catachresis
66 Metonymy
67 Synechdoche
Read:
Forsyth Chapters 27, 29, 34
Harris Chapters 3, 8, 9
Heinrichs Thank You for Arguing, chapter 19: "Get Instant Cleverness" and chapter 20: "Change Reality."
Wednesday, March 22nd
Proposing the Unit 2 project
Week 11
Monday, March 27th
Read from Stanley Fish's How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One, chapters 1-4.
Workshopping the proposal
Wednesday, March 29th
Read from Stanley Fish's How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One, chapters 5-7
Workshop final project
Week 12
Monday, April 3rd
Read from Stanley Fish's How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One, chapters 8-10
Workshop final project
Wednesday, April 5th
Workshop final project
Week 13
Monday, April 10th
Workshop final project
Wednesday, April 12th
Workshop final project
Week 14
Monday, April 17th
Conferences
Wednesday, April 19th
Conferences
Week 15
Monday, April 24th
Conferences
Wednesday, April 26th
Conferences
Finals Week
Monday, May 1st