Course Information
Instructor: Jessica O’Hara, Ph.D / Teaching Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences
Email: jessicaohara@psu.edu
Instructor: Jessica O’Hara, Ph.D jessicaohara@psu.edu
Office Hours: Office hours are on Mondays from 12:30-2:30 PM and Thursdays from 11 AM-12 PM, or by appointment.
Sometimes we will have unit conferences that will be scheduled through signupgenius.com. These meetings will take place on Zoom. If you can’t find a time that will work for your schedule, please email me to suggest alternate times.
Office Hours Zoom Link: https://psu.zoom.us/j/3432186867
Section 9: 9:05-10:20 AM Tuesday/Thursday, 209 Thomas Building
Section 11: 1:35-2:50 PM Tuesday/Thursday, 151 Willard Building
Section 12: 3:05-4:20 PM. Tuesday/Thursday, 118 Thomas Building
Teaching Assistant: Emma Hoebler esh5289@psu.edu
Textbooks and Readings:
Keywords online textbook: https://sites.psu.edu/caskeywords/. Passcode: since1959
Easy Writer by Andrea Lunsford. 8th edition. IBSN: 978-1319244224
Linked PDF course readings
Sample student work at Penn State RCL: sites.psu.edu/pennstatercl
Voice Thread: psu.voicethread.com
Rhetoric and Civic Life, a two-semester honors course, offers comprehensive training in oral, written, visual, and digital communication for the twenty-first century. It unites these various modes under the flexible art of rhetoric and uses rhetoric both to strengthen communication skills and to sharpen awareness of the challenges and advantages presented by oral, written, visual, and digital modes.
In this course, the second of a two-part sequence, students will hone their rhetorical skills within the context of civic life by 1) developing stances and persuasive arguments 2) learning to deliberate effectively and 3) crafting advocacy appeals with attention to mode of delivery.