CMM 308:  Persuasive Communication

Fall 2009

Sec. 101:  MWF 10:00-10:50                  Sec. 102:  MWF 11:00-11:50

414 Smith Hall     

Course Instructor

                       Susan S. Gilpin, Ph.D.                                                  (304) 696-2476

                       251 Smith Hall (enter at 257 Smith Hall)        gilpin2@marshall.edu        

Office Hours

                      Monday: 1:00 – 4:00                                     Wednesday: 1:00 – 2:30

          Tuesday: 10:30 – 12:00                         Thursday: 3:45 – 4:45

Additional times by appointment

Required Texts 

1.      Borchers, Timothy A.  2005.  Persuasion in the Media Age, 2^nd ed.  New York: McGraw Hill.

2.      Occasionally I will post additional readings to our Blackboard course page.  You will be responsible for printing out these supplemental readings as assigned.

Course Description, Credits, and Prerequisites 

Introduction to the understanding, practice, and analysis of persuasion.  Behavioral and rhetorical theories of persuasion will be examined and applied to contemporary persuasive communication. 3 credit hours.  PR:  CMM 103, 104H, 207, 305, or YGS 161

Course Philosophy and Themes

We are surrounded by persuasive messages.  The persuasive qualities of many messages, such as commercial and political campaign advertisements, are direct and obvious – they invite our critical analysis.  However, other more subtle persuasive messages, such as news broadcasts and public opinion polls, present themselves as less open to critique, and audiences often accept such messages as “facts.”  This course will introduce you to the nature of persuasion, particularly as we experience it through electronic and print media, and to effective strategies and skills for becoming intelligent, critical consumers of persuasive messages.  You also will learn to become a more successful persuader yourself.

Desired Learner Outcomes/Objectives

At the end of the semester, you should be able to do the following:

• Define persuasion from a rhetorical perspective
• Describe the persuasive qualities of media in contemporary culture
• Describe at least four major theoretical models of persuasion
• Analyze persuasive messages from the perspectives of major theoretical models
• Understand the ethical responsibilities of persuaders and their audiences
• Understand how persuaders use audience analyses to create effective messages
• Explain how persuaders use visual symbols and language to construct their audience members’ social realities
• Identify persuasive components of source credibility, motivational appeals, and a variety of reasoning processes
• Recognize key elements of persuasive campaigns and movements
• Understand how interpersonal communication variables function in persuasive interaction

Evaluation of Learner Outcomes

You will demonstrate your achievement of course objectives via three unit exams, a Context and Connections essay and discussion panel, and participation in various in-class activities.  The exams will include an application component, such as a persuasive artifact analysis, essay question, or a brief proposal.  The Unit 1 Exam essay questions and the Context and Connections assignment are on pages 7-9 of this syllabus.

You can improve your grade by being a responsible class community member, particularly by attending class regularly prepared to participate in discussions and activities, arriving on time, leaving your cell phones turned off and out of sight, and observing course policies. 

These assignments and expectations will carry the following weight in determining your final grade:

                        Unit 1 Exam (Chapters 1–4)                             25%

                        Unit 2 Exam (Chapters 5-8)                              25%

                        Unit 3 Exam (Chapters 9-12, 14)                      25%

                        Contexts and Connections Essay                         

                             and Discussion Panel Presentation                20%

                        Community Involvement                                       5%

                                                                                               100%

You will receive additional details about these evaluations, including guidelines for preparing for them and an explanation of they will be evaluated, well in advance of their due dates. 

The final grade you earn for the course will reflect your semester percentage of 100 points on the following scale:  90 – 100 = A, 80 – 89 = B, 70 – 79 = C, 55 – 69 = D, 0 – 54 = F.  For example, if you earn an 80% on an exam, you will have earned 80% of 25, or 20 points toward your final grade.

Course Policies

1. Attendance.  Students who miss more than five classes for other than university-sponsored/excused reasons or religious holidays can earn no higher than a C in the course.  You must be present when I circulate the attendance sheet and stay for the entire class period in order to be counted present for that class meeting.
2. Community Involvement.  This is not a lecture course.  In order to meet the objectives of the course, you will need to attend each class on time having completed the assigned reading and writing and having prepared yourself to be an informed participant in class discussions and in-class activities.  Keep cell phones and laptops put away.
3. Academic integrity.  We will follow the policies fully described on pages 103-106 in the Marshall University Undergraduate Catalog 2009 – 2010 (available online at < http://www.marshall.edu/catalog/undergraduate/ug_09-10.pdf>).  During the semester we will talk more specifically about the implications of this policy for particular assignments.

4.      Accommodation for Students with Disabilities and Student Athletes.  Please examine the syllabus carefully to identify the class activities for which you will require special accommodation and schedule a meeting with me about this early in the semester.  I will work with you to develop a plan to accommodate your needs and help you meet course requirements.

5. Make-up exams and panel presentation.  Make-up exams and presentations will be available only for documented medical emergencies and university-excused absences.  Please schedule optional activities around exam and presentation dates.  If you have an unavoidable conflict, please let me know as far in advance as possible so that we can arrange an appropriate accommodation.  Make-up exams may differ significantly from the exams given in class.
6. Due dates.  The components of the out-of-class written assignments are due in hard copy on or before their scheduled dates.  Please retain an electronic copy of your work until I have commented on your hard copy and returned it to you with your grade.
7. Missed classes.  When you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out from a classmate what notes, handouts, assignments, or other course material you missed.  Most handout materials will be available on our course web page.  Depending upon the nature of the assignment, you might not be able to make up informal, in-class writing and activities for credit.
8. Office hours.  I will keep the office hours posted at the beginning of this syllabus, and I welcome your visits during those times.  I am available to meet with you at other times by appointment only.
9. Class communication.  From time to time, I will send course updates, links to additional readings, and other information via the class e-mail list as maintained by the Marshall University Registrar.  Please check your Marshall University e-mail account frequently, or arrange to have your MU e-mail forwarded to the account you do read regularly. I ordinarily respond to student e-mail within 48 hours between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Course Schedule

Our schedule may need to change from time to time as the semester progresses.  I will announce schedule changes in class and via e-mail.  It will be your responsibility to record these changes on your copy of the course schedule.

The asterisk (*) denotes a soft grade assignment that will affect your Community Involvement evaluation at the end of the semester.  Occasionally during the semester, I will assign additional soft grade in-class activities and writing.  You will receive credit for being in class that day and participating in the activity or writing.  In general, you cannot make up these assignments if you are absent.

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

Unit 1 Exam Essay Questions

            Two of the following questions will appear on the Unit 1 Exam.  You will choose one on which to write an essay in class.

Chapter 1:  Define persuasion, identification, and symbol.  Discuss their relationship to each other and their significance for the study of persuasion in the media age.

Chapter 2:  Discuss the functions of theories.  Summarize the key elements of one of the following theories and describe a useful contemporary application of the theory.

Semiotics (Ogden and Richards)

Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger)

Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty and Cacioppo)

Symbolic Convergence Theory (Bormann)

Cultivation Analysis (Gerbner)

Chapter 3:  Describe one of these approaches to ethical decision making and illustrate with a practical contemporary application of the process.

Universal vs. Situational Ethics (Kant vs. Mill)

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution

 Richard Johannesen’s Standards

Universal Pragmatics (Jürgen Habermas)

From Chapter 4:  Describe the components of media and how they persuade us.  What type of mediated persuasion is most effective with you, and why?

Contexts and Connections Assignment

How do I know what I think until I see what I’ve said?

 – E.M. Forster[1]

Overview

Once during the semester you will submit an essay in response to something we have viewed together in class, describing how it relates to a particular chapter in our course text and to your experience.  You may also choose to address other questions or concerns the video raises for you.  In addition, you will be a member of a panel of your classmates who will draw on their essays to facilitate a class discussion on the day your essays are due.

Preparation Guidelines

You will successfully prepare for your written essay and role as discussion leader by doing these things:

·        Attending class on the days before your assignment, having read the assigned chapters (see page 9) and being ready to apply concepts and theories from the readings to the application context presented in class

·        Paying close attention to the application context presented in class and noting 1) what text connections you want to comment on and 2) the ways in which theory and the application context connect and fail to connect with your experience

Requirements

On your assigned day as Contexts and Connections presenter, come to class having prepared these things:

·        An approximately 750-word (3-4 page) essay that responds to these questions:

o       What in this context surprised you or challenged previously held views?  If nothing was new or surprising, explain why you have the perspective you do and why you think that others might be challenged by the content.

o       What connections do you make with this context and our textbook (especially the chapters associated with this presentation)?  These connections should comprise the majority of your discussion.

o       Describe something you have learned from this context.  If you think you have learned nothing new, discuss what you would like to know more about and what you think the likely sources for information would be. 

o       What have you learned about yourself from this assignment?

·        Ideas about what you will contribute to our class discussion.  If you’d like, you can read part of your essay to us.  You are free to collaborate with other student members of your discussion panel.

Evaluation

            Your Contexts and Connections essay will be evaluated according to the following scale[2]:

The D Essay (10 – 13 points)

The unsatisfactory essay either has no focus or else it has one that is strikingly vague, broad, or uninteresting. There is little indication that the author understands the material he or she is presenting. Paragraphs do not hold together; ideas do not develop from sentence to sentence. The essay may repeat the same ideas or insights again and again, perhaps in somewhat different language. The D or F essay is filled with mechanical problems and errors in grammar and spelling.

The C Essay (14-15 points)

The C essay has a focus, but it is vague, uninteresting, or obvious. It does not reflect much intellectual effort by its author. Instead of a grounded judgment, the C essay may express a personal opinion that is not well defended by the evidence that follows. Or, a C essay may make an intriguing claim that is inadequately supported. The author demonstrates limited familiarity with the course text.  The C essay often has mechanical faults and errors in grammar and spelling.

The B Essay (16-17 points)

The B essay is clearly focused and presents interesting claims that are supported by sound evidence presented in a neat and orderly way. The reader is certain of what the author wants to say.  The author demonstrates an accurate understanding of the course text.  Some sentences may be awkward, but they all are clear. Paragraphs are organized around one main idea. Rarely will the reader have to reread a paragraph to understand the author’s intent. The B essay has only a few problems with mechanics, grammar, and spelling.

The A Essay (18-20 points)

The A essay has all of the qualities of the top B essay and distinguishes itself by being more than competent – it is lively, well paced, and exceptionally interesting. All evidence supports the writer’s claims and observations exactly. The reader has a clear impression of the writer’s voice, intellect, and insight into the course text. These essays stand out individually within their class of papers. The ideas in A essays linger with their readers.

To earn maximum credit for your work, submit a hard copy of your essay in class on the due date and participate on the panel.