RHE309

Paradox and Puzzles: Zen Rhetoric in Word and Image

Spring 2003

Professor M. A. Syverson
syverson@uts.cc.utexas.edu

Division of Rhetoric and Composition
University of Texas at Austin

Unique Number: 41240
Tuesday/Thursday 11:00-12:30
PAR 102
Office: PAR 124
Office Hours: Tuesday 2:00-5
Phone: 512.471.8734

Welcome to Paradox and Puzzles: Zen Rhetoric in Word and Image, a substantial writing component course!

This Web site contains important information about the policies of this course. You should read and understand the information posted here. If you are not clear about any aspect of the course, its requirements, activities, or method of evaluation, please let me know. You may save the text of any page by choosing the "Save As" command in the File menu of Netscape. Students who remain in the class after the 12th class day are assumed to accept these policies.

Course Description: Zen Rhetoric

What is the sound of one hand clapping? Does a dog have Buddha nature?

These and other familiar Zen koans are often viewed as riddles from an ancient culture, puzzles to be solved by earnest Zen monks sitting in mediation in monastic practice. Stories of Zen "wild men," ferocious teachers, and mountain hermits seem exotic and strange. The cryptic pronouncements of Zen masters seem impenetrable. They appear to defy our western rhetorical traditions that depend on logic and formal reasoning as the key to building knowledge. Zen teachers complicate the issue by insisting that language is only "the finger pointing at the moon, not the moon itself." If you have ever tried to write about a meaningful experience, you will recognize the problematic relationship between language and reality. This course engages students in exploring the surprising uses of language and image to create meaning in Zen tradition and practice.

This class also explores how new technologies are affecting language and meaning. How do the web, multimedia, video games, chat rooms, email, "virtual reality," or digital cinema shape our experience of the world? What are the relationships between technology and the ancient teachings of Zen?

We will begin with background on Zen rhetoric in traditional Chinese and Japanese writings, then consider the emergence of the American Zen rhetorical tradition, and finally explore the influence of new technologies on Zen practice and teachings. This class is not an introduction to Zen practice, but rather an exploration of an alternative rhetoric, a different method of using language to construct meaning and shape relationships.

Projects and written work:

1. Short research paper of 2 pages, plus a project memo of two pages

3. Collaborative project designed in the MOO environment, with a substantial writing component, plus a project memo of two pages

4. Learning Record Online

Informal writing on email, the MOO, and message forums.

Evaluation: by Learning Record Online, a portfolio assessment

Please note: This course does not teach fundamental computer skills; students who would like to enroll for the course, but lack computer skills can gain the necessary skills in classes offered by the computation center and the library. Students should be able to handle basic word processing, email, and Web searches. They should be familiar with disk and file management including formatting, copying, and saving files to a disk. Students are required to have a computer account with both email and web posting privileges.

I enjoy meeting with students to discuss concerns and questions about the class. Please feel free to stop by my office during office hours, or email me with questions or suggestions for the class.

Grading Policy: Grades in this course are determined on the basis of an Online Learning Record, which accompanies a portfolio of work presented at the midterm and at the end of the course. These portfolios present a selection of student work, both formal and informal, completed during the semester, ongoing observations about student learning, and analysis of student work and interpretations with respect to the student's development across five dimensions of learning: confidence and independence, knowledge and understanding, skills and strategies, use of prior and emerging experience, and reflectiveness. This development centers around the major strands of work in the course: rhetoric and composition, research, technology, and collaboration. The criteria for grades are posted at the Learning Record web site. Please also notice the DRC policy on absences, which can affect your grade. Three unexcused absences will lower your final grade, four unexcused absences results in automatic failure of the course.

Coursework:

Students will work individually and collaboratively in a workshop format. Our goal is not only to study an alternative form of rhetoric as expressed in Zen writing, but also to gain knowledge and skills for research, collaboration, and the use of technology. Plan on a high level of interaction and participation.

Please note: All assigned work, including informal writing, proposals, rough drafts, finished projects, peer critiques, the midterm LRO and final LRO must be completed and submitted on time to receive a passing grade in this course. Except under extraordinary circumstances, there will be no incompletes in this class.

Students with disabilities: I will make every attempt to support your work in this class. The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic adjustments for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471.6259, 471.4641 TTY.

Please note: The Computer Writing and Research Lab (CWRL) is both a teaching and a research lab. Students in CWRL classes and CWRL instructors have made valuable contributions to research in teaching writing. Some of this work has found its way into research journals and books intended to help improve writing instruction. To continue this research, the CWRL is required to get student signatures on a release form. On the 12th class day, all students taking classes in the CWRL are asked to sign a release that states:

"All work that you produce for this class and in online class discussions is public and is archived for future research. Faculty and graduate students who teach in computer classrooms are conducting on-going research to make writing instruction more effective. These and other researchers may read and quote from these archives. If you wish to take a course in the CWRL, you must sign an agreement that your work for the course, including Internet postings, is in the public domain and may be read and reproduced (edited as appropriate) in future publications by researchers.

The CWRL will not assume responsibility for personal views or any offensive material that you may post to a public forum as a result of your work in this class. Neither will the CWRL assume responsibility for further distribution of any work that is posted to a public forum."

home | today | objectives | schedule | texts | students | assignments | resources | Learning Record

Contact: Peg Syverson syverson@uts.cc.utexas.edu

Syverson Home Page

Computer Writing and Research Lab

Division of Rhetoric and Composition

University of Texas at Austin