Coates, A.J. The Ethics of War. Manchester UP, 1997.
Hacker, Diana. Research and Documentation in an Electronic Age. Bedford Books, 1999.
Tuchman, Barbara. The Guns of August. Ballantine Books, 1994.
Kosovo Packet Online
Various photocopies
PC Formatted ZIP disk

Books available at the University Co-op and (except Hacker) are on reserve at the PCL.

Course Description

In this course we will analyze the rhetoric of war by looking at how people employ language to make arguments about why they fight, what they gain by it, and how they interpret past conflicts. By using a variety of sources - historical texts, government documents, news reports, web sites - we will look critically at not only depictions of atrocities, but at how war is presented, reported, interpreted, and dramatized. Our discussions will lead us to ask important questions about the rhetoric of war: Is declaring war ever justified? What exactly is ethnic cleansing? Who sets the line between a war crime and a "legitimate" act of war? How do the media and the Internet manipulate the way the general public perceives war? Is the United States really as altruistic as it imagines?

Although the course will involve a substantial reading component, our primary focus will be on your writing. You will write two short papers (4 - 6 pages) and one extended research paper (8 - 11 pages). I'll expect you to hand in rough and final drafts of each short paper, and three rough drafts and a final draft of the research paper, as well as an annotated bibliography. You will also complete essay proposals and peer responses. It's important for us to understand that we each have our own interpretation of current events, most likely because of our convictions about previous wars and their subsequent victories, defeats, and atrocities, and atrocious victories and defeats. Ultimately, this course will challenge us to rethink how we came to believe what we do, and how the rhetoric of what we see on TV and in the news shapes - and often distorts - our perceptions of war.

Unit I: Justifying War

This unit will introduce us to war theory and the rhetoric governments use when attempting to justify declarations of war. Our readings from Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August will focus on the seemingly inevitable start of World War I, and you will write an essay analyzing the language employed and actions taken by of one of the four countries who first declared war in 1914 - England, France, Germany, or Belgium - in order to justify declaring war.

Unit II: War and the Internet

This unit will build on Unit I by looking critically at a variety of representations of war, primarily those in which civilians are killed. We will consider the relative objectivity of representations in the media and on the Internet of actions taken during the Kosovo Crisis by looking at biases hidden within the arguments being made. The sources of some of our readings will be web pages, and in our readings of those pages we will discuss their rhetoric, politics, and reliability.

Unit III: The Research Paper

The research paper will involve a substantial, researched response to a topic in keeping with the subject matter of the course, but of your own choosing. The paper will be completed over the course of the semester, with topic proposals due toward the end of Unit I and refined toward the end of Unit II. Three drafts of increased length will be due during the second half of the semester, and must be completed in order to receive a passing grade in the course.

Attendance

Since writing is an activity, you will be learning by doing and by becoming more self-aware about what you are doing. For this reason, much of your time in class will be spent in activities, not in lectures. Therefore, it is more than usually important that you come to class faithfully and that you participate in the activities planned. If genuine disaster should befall you and you must miss a class, please check with other students to find out what you have missed. After SIX absences for any reason you will fail the course. After two absences your final grade will drop one full grade for every absence. For example, if a student has 3 absences, they will receive no higher than a B in the course; 4 absences no higher than C; 5 absences no higher than a D. A student is considered late if they arrive after the sign-up sheet has gone around the room - lateness equals .5 absences.

Office Hours

Office hours are designed for you, giving you a more private environment in which we may talk about your papers, your performance in class, etc. If you are unable to see me during my office hours, do not hesitate to make an appointment to see me at a different time. My schedule is flexible to fit yours. We will have two required conferences -- the first during Week 10, the second during Week 14.

Grading

Grades in this course are determined on the basis of a Learning Record Online, which accompanies a portfolio of work presented both at the midterm and at end of term. These portfolios present a selection of your work, both formal and informal, plus ongoing observations about your learning, plus an analysis of your work 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 on the major strands of work in the course: rhetoric and composition, research, technology, critical thinking, and collaboration.

Late coursework will be factored into your final grade in the following way: for every 3 late assignments, your final grade will be lowered by one full letter grade.

Final grades for the course are: A, B, C, D, and F.