What graduate courses will be offered in Fall 2012?

The following are course descriptions for courses being offered in Fall 2012.  Please note that I don’t have all the descriptions yet.  More descriptions will be posted as they become available.

ENGL 6470 AO1 3 Online Ryan Moeller 2012-06-25 2012-08-10English 6470: Specialized DocumentsProposal Writing
Professor Ryan "rylish" Moeller

course description and objectives
This course will introduce you to genre of the proposal. Johnson-Sheehan (2008), the author of one of our textbooks, defines a proposal as a "tool for managing change" (p.1). Mikelonis, Betsinger, and Rampf (2004) define proposals as solutions to particular problems: "a proposal is a persuasive document that defines a problem or need, proposes a solution to that problem, and requests funding or other resources to implement the solution" (p.474). However you define the genre, it is clear that technical and professional writers are key players in the proposal genre, acting as proposal writers, development team members, and as consultants.

We will investigate the genre of proposal writing using genre field analysis as our primary methodology. Genre field analysis allows researchers and proposal writers the ability to map the systems in which genres operate by identify the various agents, transformative locales, and play scenarios available at any given time. As a student of this course, you will either identify a particular problem in your workplace or in the field of technical communication and suggest a solution (or solutions) by applying genre field analysis and writing an effective proposal, OR you will conduct research on proposal writing and write up your results for an appropriate publication in your field.

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the proposal as a generic construct central to the field of technical communication (IDEA Objective I.1).
• Identify, explain, and illustrate the implications of a particular problem in your field(s), the solution to which requires funding or resources beyond the scope of your current employment to implement, and propose a well-researched solution to the problem you identify, using the generic conventions of the proposal to create an effective argument (IDEA Objective II.4).
• Create an effectively designed, persuasive document that proposes a solution to the problem you have identified and requests the necessary resources for implementing that solution OR create a publishable article in an appropriate venue of your choice that documents graduate-level research on proposal writing in the field of technical and professional communication (IDEA Objective V.9).

Required Texts
Johnson-Sheehan, R. (2008). Writing proposals. 2nd ed. New York: Pearson/Longman. ISBN-13: 0-205-58314-0
Mikelonis, V.M., Betsinger, S.T., and Kampf, C. (2004). Grant Seeking in an Electronic Age. New York: Pearson Longman. ISBN: 0-321-16007-X

Assignments
Weekly discussion forum posts
Short position papers
Problem Statement/Proposal
Proposal or article

Fall 2012 OnlineEnglish 6410/7410: Theory and Research in Professional CommunicationProfessor Ryan "rylish" Moeller

course description and objectives
This course will introduce you to many of the major contemporary theories of written discourse as they are influencing research in professional communication. By reading and writing about this material, you will have an opportunity to explore the complexities of communication: how communication has been differently defined and circumscribed and why these differences matter to people who study and produce practical documents.

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

• Define and map differences among some of the major theories that are currently most influential within the community of scholars studying professional and technical communication.
• Explain and illustrate the implications of some of these theories on our perceptions of what texts are and how they function in organizational life. Some examples include: transferring information, constructing realities, regulating conduct, and creating identities.
• Explain and illustrate the implications of some of these theories for people conducting research. For example, what questions do researchers decide to ask and how do those questions affect the outcome of the research? What aspects of communication do researchers decide to look at? How do researchers interact with subjects? What do researchers perceive as their role with respect to the research site and elsewhere?
• Explain and illustrate the implications of some of these theories for communication specialists. For example, how do practitioners understand their roles in ways both similar and different from researchers? How do practitioners carry out their communication tasks? How are practitioners implicated within wider systems both inside and outside organizations?

Students' progress and achievement will be assessed through weekly posts to class discussion forums, a midterm paper, a book review, and a final paper.

Required Texts
Spilka, R. (2009). Digital literacy for technical communication. New York: Routledge. ISBN-13: 978-0-8058-5274-5Required for 7410 only: Zachry, M., & Thralls, C. (2007). Communicative practices in workplaces and the professions. Amityville, NY: Baywood. ISBN-13: 978-0-89503-372-7

English 6330-Kris Miller, Topics in Literary Studies

This course will focus on post-9/11 literature, art, and culture. We will read non-fiction (The 9-11 Commission Report, news stories, some literary critical and cultural essays), comics (Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón’s The 9-11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation and Art Spiegelman’s In the Shadow of No Towers), and fiction (including Patrick McGrath’s Ghost Town, Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jess Walter’s The Zero, Amy Waldman’s The Submission, Matt Ruff’s Mirage, and Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin). Students will learn to analyze the cultural narratives that shaped public understanding of 9/11 and to compare those cultural narratives to both the artistic narratives of post-9/11 comics and the literary narratives of post-9/11 fiction.

 

English 6350-Paul Crumbley, American Literature and Culture

This course centers on the work of Jack London and coincides with a London conference scheduled to take place at Utah State in October. Students will attend the conference and get to know leading London scholars. In preparation for the conference, class members will read important London texts, such as The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and Burning Daylight. The class will also look at London manuscripts and correspondence that are part of USU’s Special Collections. Following the conference, the class will look at other writers from the London circle, such as Mary Austin, and develop individual projects linked to London.

 

English 6700-Steve Siporin, Folklore Theory and Methods

This course serves as an orientation for new graduate students in folklore and for other students who want to learn the theories and methods of folk cultural studies.  The course introduces students to the history of folkloristics, comparative annotation, folklore indices, oral-formulaic theory, psychoanalytic theory in folklore, performance theory, contextual analysis, and other approaches.  We also learn and practice the conventions of scholarly writing, including proper citation form and style.  We develop critical abilities through writing and discussion.

English 6820-Brock Dethier, Teaching English Practicum

English 6820 is a course for those teaching English 1010 for the first time; as such, enrollment is required and reserved for first year Graduate Instructors. We discuss the theory and practice of teaching composition. Students write several papers and lead a whole-class presentation.