Textbooks

• Online access to They Say/I Say: the Moves that Matter in Academic Discourse, and the Little Seagull Reader
  (you will need your email address and login for the Norton site). 
• The free RWS100 Digital Textbook Reading, Writing, and Evaluating Argument 

Short texts to introduce Rhetorical Analysis

The RWS textbook uses many of the short texts in this collection, and the syllabus and homework described below also uses these
same texts. We have a bigger collection of short texts on a range of topics that are often used to introduce rhetorical concepts
and argument analysis. There are teaching materials for many of those texts. 

If you wish to use some short texts that address racial (in)justice, and aspects of the current moment, we could also consider 
using some of the texts below. 

• The video and transcript of rapper Killer Mike’s Atlanta speech at the Atlanta mayor’s press conference. (There is
  also his interview with Stephen Colbert).

• President Obama’s Medium article – “How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change” and president
  Bush’s: “Statement by President George W Bush” Margaret Renkl, "An Open Letter to my Fellow White Christians."

• Some recent short texts on racial justice that could be used as supplements or alternatives to the texts bove. 

• An assortment of texts from the writings and social media accounts of people involved in the recent protests.

Unit 1 and Stevenson's "We Need to Talk about an Injustice"

• Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk “We Need to Talk about an Injustice” (transcript, video). This speech gets at some of the issues
  related to our current crises, but is hopeful and rhetorically interesting. There is a one page text by Stevenson that  covers
  similar ground, that could be used to introduce Stevenson’s TED talk, and to discuss how Stevenson modulates his
  argument for a different audience.  

Unit 2: Nikole Hannah-Jones and Landrieu

• Chris and Jason are considering using Nikole Hannah-Jones “America Wasn't a Democracy, Until Black Americans Made It.
  ”The pdf version is from the Pulitzer Center. There are also lesson plans. Hannah Jones explains her purpose and the intended
  audience for the 1619 project in an interview.Hannah-Jones’ text is a rich, complex argument for rethinking American history
  and democracy. Chris is thinking of teaching Hannah-Jones alongside Mitch Landrieu’s speech explaining why he removed
  confederate monuments from New Orleans.  Both Hannah-Jones and Landrieu make their arguments in part by inviting
  us to grapple with identity – to rethink who we are, who we have been, what our history is, and who we might become.
• Note that you can follow Hannah Jones on Twitter (her twitter handle is @nhannahjones). Short videos of Hannah Jones
  describing the 1619 project and some of her arguments: CBS This Morning (4 minutes), her interview with Trevor Noah
  on the Daily Show (6 minutes), her interview with Christian Amanpour on CNN (12 minutes).
• Interview on MSNBC, 9 minutes. PBS interview, August 18, 2019. "The 1619 Project details the legacy of slavery in America"
• Podcasts on the 1619 project.
  The Search for Racial Equity | The 1619 Project | Nikole Hannah-Jones & Dr. Kamau Bobb. Google Talks series, July 10, 2020.  This is a
  fascinating 55 minute video that explains the 1619 project, goes into how it came to be, and why she led the project. It also connects to
  many unfolding events. This video could be used instead of the written text, or it could be used as part of unit 3, to think about how
  Hannah-Jones work extends into other conversations.  
• Debating the 1619 Project: Historian Leslie Harris's sympathetic but critical analysis of Hannah-Jones argument. 5 Historians 
  took issue with some of the claims Hannah-Jones makes, and the NYTimes replied. 

Unit 3

• Students will choose from a range of texts they select that relate to one of the conversations we have explored earlier in the class.