Communication Studies 220: Public Speaking 0859

Winter 2013 Course Syllabus

 

Words have incredible power.
 They can make people's hearts soar, or they can make people's hearts sore. 



-Dr. Mardy Grothe

 

Instructor:             Amanda Jankus

Class meetings:     R 211from 9:30-10:20 a.m. daily

Office Location:    R230L

Office Hours:         Available by appointment

Phone:                   Office – (425) 564.2120

Email (BEST):        a.jankus@bellevuecollege.edu

 

Required Textbooks: David Zarefsky, Strategic Public Speaking: A Handbook (Pearson Education, 2007)

          Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker (O’Reilly, 2009)

 

You will be responsible for checking Mybc daily and printing other necessary documents as well as reading in class handouts.

 

Course Description: This course is designed to enhance your ability to construct and deliver speeches in a public forum. The method for improving your public speaking will be a combination of theory, critical analysis, and practice. By applying rhetorical theories to public speeches, you will develop the capacity to critically reflect upon rhetorical practices. This critical awareness will be put to use in the strategic planning of your own speeches. By examining the speeches of others, you will begin to see what is effective and ineffective in a given speech situation, and by preparing and delivering your own speeches to the class, your ability to address an audience will improve. Consistent attendance and active participation are essential to your success in this course. You must have a college level reading and writing ability for successful completion of this course.

 

Course Outcomes:

1. Identify and analyze the four elements of the rhetorical situation (audience, occasion, speaker, speech).

2. Explain and apply the understanding of ethical considerations and responsibilities as a speaker.

3. Demonstrate critical thinking through critique and analysis of one’s own speeches as well as others’ speeches.

4. Evaluate credibility of evidence.

5. Identify and analyze lines of argument and fallacies.

6. Present speeches that apply recommendations for effective application of the canons of rhetoric (invention, arrangement, style, and delivery).

 

Methods of Evaluation:   1000 Total Points

Informative Speech           200

Persuasive Speech                     200

Special Occasion Speech            50

I Am Speech                               25

Attend/Participate              100

Outlines (3 @ 25)                        75

Quizzes (5 @ 10)                        50

Class Critiques (2 @ 25)             50

Self Critiques (2 @ 25)                50                                   

 

You will be directed to attend to various handouts regarding your role as an audience member on speech days. The reflection assignments will give you the opportunity to constructively critique classmates speeches orally or written. This is an active class that requires you to come to class ready to share thoughts, opinions, questions, and work well with others.

 

Attendance During Speech Days

Because participation and cooperative learning are essential to the academic design of this course, your absence on a day when you are scheduled to speak or critique hurts your fellow classmates and impairs your own learning process. Tardiness on speaking days is unacceptable and may result in an absence for the day. In addition, failure to give a speech at the proper time, or produce an oral critique indicates a lack of kairos (ability to recognize and respond to what is timely). This is one of the most serious rhetorical errors that one might commit. The following rule is enforced with NO exceptions:

 

*If you do not appear on a day when you are scheduled to speak, you will receive a “0” for that assignment.

 

There are some ways that you can avoid these penalties:

          *If you know you will not be able to make it to class on a day when you are scheduled to speak (or critique) you may notify me and we will plan accordingly (we may switch dates with other classmates, or change speaking order).

          *If serious illness or emergency keeps you from performing your duties, you should do everything you can to contact me as soon as possible. Prompt consultation with me (within 24 hours) AND possibly required documentation of the unavoidable event (note from doctor, copy of accident report, etc) might result in the scheduling of a make-up speech.

Assignments

You will be given an appropriate amount of time to complete all assignments. Deadlines for all assignments will be announced in class and posted online. Assignments must follow assignment guidelines in order to be graded. In the event that you will be absent on the day that an assignment is due, you must make arrangements with me regarding the due date BEFORE it passes. All assignments must be handed in IN CLASS unless otherwise specified. Late Assignments will not be accepted.  Seriously.

 

Course Policies

Respectful behavior is expected at all times during class. The purpose of this class is to embrace the diversity that comes from different communication styles with an open mind. Offensive language or behavior of any kind will not be tolerated.

 

Students are expected to come to class prepared and ready to participate. Any form of disruptive behavior will not be tolerated, including but not limited to: cell phone use/texting, talking, sleeping, etc.  If you are doing something in class other than participating in the class you will be asked to leave, this will count as an absence.

 

If your behavior is in any way disrespectful to your classmates or myself you will be asked to leave class for the day, this will count as an absence.

I encourage you to share your stories as I will share mine. By analyzing real life situations we will be able to learn the material using both the text and ourselves.

 

Attendance

Attendance is mandatory for the successful completion of this course. Attendance will be taken daily at the beginning of class. You are responsible for signing in every class on the attendance sheet. Excessive tardiness is unacceptable and will not be tolerated; this includes arriving late and leaving early. If you are more than 15 minutes late it is considered an absence. In accordance with the Arts and Humanities attendance policy, missing more than 10 classes will result in failure of the course. If you are absent for a course period it is your responsibility to obtain the notes and assignments for the day.

Statement on Academic Integrity

You should know that plagiarism is a serious violation of your contract as a student and will be treated severely. It is important for you to understand that plagiarism is any representation of another person’s words or ideas and in a manner that makes it seem as if they were your own, in either oral or written form. Obviously, this means that you may not copy another person’s papers. Students caught cheating on an exam or assignment will not receive any credit for that portion of the class and will be reported to the Dean of Student Programs.

Special Needs

The Disability Resource Center serves students with a wide array of learning challenges and disabilities. If you are a student who has a disability or learning challenge for which you have documentation or have seen someone for treatment and if you feel you may need accommodations in order to be successful in college, please contact us as soon as possible.

If you are a person who requires assistance in the case of an emergency situation, such as fire, earthquake, etc., please meet with your individual instructors to develop a safety plan within the first week of the quarter. The DRC office is located in B 132 or you can call our reception desk at 425.564.2498. Deaf students can reach us by video phone at 425.440.2025 or by TTY at 425.564.4110. Please visit the DRC website for application information into our program and other helpful links at www.bellevuecollege.edu/drc. Please meet with me if you have any questions.

 

Important Links

Bellevue College Email and access to MyBC: All students registered for classes at BC are entitled to a network and e-mail account. Your student network account can be used to access your student e-mail, log into computers in labs and classrooms, connect to the BC wireless network and log into MyBC. For your account: https://bellevuecollege.edu/sam. Find current campus locations for all student labs by visiting the computing services website: http://ac.bcc.ctc.edu/Labsinfo/ComputerLabs.aspx.

 

Public Safety: The Bellevue College (BC) Public Safety Department’s well trained and courteous non-commissioned staff provides personal safety, security, crime prevention, preliminary investigations, and other services to the campus community, 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. Their phone number is 425.564.2400. Public safety is located in K 100 and on the web at http://bellevuecollege.edu/publicsafety/.

 

Academic Calendar: The Bellevue Academic Calendar is separated into two calendars. They provide information about holidays, closures and important enrollment dates such as the finals schedule.

Schedule

You will be responsible for checking in on Mybc every Monday to see the week’s schedule. I regularly post updates about current events or new topics for discussion. The goal is to urge you to print out required reading and homework assignments as well as getting into the habit of checking our class site if you are absent. Quizzes will be announced via Mybc (It is important that you keep up on your readings… Hint hint)

Week 1 (January 2-4)

Introductions/ SPS Chapter1/ Confessions Chapter 1

Week 2 (January 7-11)

I am Speech/ SPS Chapter 2/ Confessions Chapter 2

Week 3 (January 14-18)

SPS Chapter 3/ Confessions Chapters 3-4

Week 4 (January 22-25) No Class 1.21

SPS Chapter 15/ Confessions Chapters 5-6

Week 5 (January 28-February 1)

Special Occasion Speeches/ SPS Chapter 13/ Confessions Chapter 7

Week 6 (February 4-8)

SPS Chapter 4-5/ Confessions Chapter 8

Week 7 (February 11-15)

SPS Chapters 7-8/ Confessions Chapter 9

Week 8 (February 19-22) No class 2.18

Informative Speeches/ Chapter 14/ Confessions tba

Week 9 (February 25-March 1)

SPS Chapters 6, 10/ Confessions tba

Week 10 (March 4-8)

SPS Chapters 9, 11, 12/ Confessions tba

Week 11 (March 11-15)

Readings tba/ Persuasive Speeches

Week 12 (March 18-20)

Persuasive Speeches