Professor Nicholas Anderson MWF 2:00-2:50 ENC1101-U3M Professor Nicholas Anderson MWF 2:00-2:50

Today’s goals Summarize the most important course policies and expectations Introduce ourselves Introduce (or review) rhetorical appeals and critical thinking

All class materials available at: ProfessorNAnderson.com Daily Powerpoints Class announcements Conference schedules Contact information Syllabus Please locate and bookmark this page on your phones or computers now Then open our class ENC1101-U4MC and select the syllabus

Important course Policies This course will require reliable access to a computer with internet access. If you cannot meet this requirement, a different section of ENC1101 may be preferable. You will be required to maintain an online blog of your writing and experiences in ENC. You may use text, podcast, or vlog format for your entries. Computer use in class is a privilege. If this becomes a distraction to students, that privilege will be revoked Missing 6 or more classes will result in automatic failure of the course as per departmental policy Failure to turn in one of the four major essays will result in automatic failure of the course Respect your peers as well as their thoughts and opinions

Introductions & Catching Up Name Major How did your first semester (or first two semesters) at FIU go? Are you satisfied with your experience & progress? Which classes and activities have you enjoyed or found most easy? Which have you found difficult or unenjoyable? How do you plan to improve your writing or performance in ENC this semester?

Class Discussion: Civil Disobedience Who is Henry David Thoreau? Have you read “Civil Disobedience” or any of his other works? What is the believing and doubting game? Have you ever played it before?

Civil Disobedience "Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once? Men generally...think that they ought to wait until they have persuaded the majority to alter them. They think that, if they should resist, the remedy would be worse than the evil. But it is the fault of the government itself that the remedy is worse than the evil. It makes it worse. Why is it not more apt to anticipate and provide for reform?....If the injustice...is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine.” -Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” What is Thoreau’s main point here? How could you explain this in your own words?

Believing and Doubting Game Do you believe it is ever right, as a matter of conscience, to deliberately break a law you regard as unjust? Why or why not? Have you ever broken laws? Have you ever broken a law as a matter of conscience? What is the difference between breaking a law incidentally vs. intentionally? For personal gain vs. conscience?

Believing Game “We argue eagerly for our own opinions; we listen to opposing arguments mainly to find flaws and, when we do, interrupt and attack them. We are more interested in proving ourselves right, in winning the argument, than in considering seriously another viewpoint, in continuing to think. The idea behind the believing game is to suspend judgment, promote continued thought, open oneself to the strengths and values of a perspective with which one does not agree in part or in whole, and work at believing that perspective.” -Alan Shapiro When is breaking the law justified? What is an example of an “unjust” law in your home country or the US? What would be the consequences of breaking it? What are other ways to fight against unjust laws aside from breaking them? What is an example of a law you could willfully break that most of your peers would not condemn as morally wrong?

Doubting Game "Knowing and questioning, of course, require one another. We understand nothing except in so far as we understand the questions behind it." -I. A. Richards When does breaking the law become “justified?” What would happen to our society if everyone who thought a law was unjust broke it? Do you consider US gun laws, abortion laws, and immigration bans to be just?

Class Discussion: Civil Disobedience According to attorney and author Harvey Silverate, the average American commits 3 felonies a day “If the federal government had access to every email you’ve ever written and every phone call you’ve ever made, it’s almost certain that they could find something you’ve done which violates a provision in the 27,000 pages of federal statues or 10,000 administrative regulations. You probably do have something to hide, you just don’t know it yet.” Supreme Court Justice Gerald Breyer “For instance, did you know that it is a federal crime to be in possession of a lobster under a certain size? It doesn’t matter if you bought it at a grocery store, if someone else gave it to you, if it’s dead or alive, if you found it after it died of natural causes, or even if you killed it while acting in self defense. You can go to jail because of a lobster.” Source: Washingtonsblog.com

Class Discussion: Civil Disobedience

New vocabulary Critical Thinking: Rhetoric: Rhetorical Appeals: Ethos Pathos Logos

New vocabulary Critical Thinking: The objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment Rhetoric: the art and skill of using language (or symbols) to accomplish a specific purpose Rhetorical Appeals: three main rhetorical strategies identified by Aristotle. Ethos: related to “ethics.” This rhetorical appeal uses ethics, morality, or personal experience. Pathos: related to “empathy.” This rhetorical appeals uses emotions, values, beliefs, or the five senses. Logos: related to “logic.” This rhetorical appeal uses logic, reason, data, numbers, statistics, or facts.

Group activity instructions Initial groups will be randomly assigned Whenever a group activity is assigned, you are responsible for turning in one sheet of paper with everyone’s names and the answers to the group activity Groupwork requires the cooperation of everyone in the group; if you do not participate, you group can request for you to leave and you will be responsible for completing all group assignments by yourself until new groups are formed

Group Activity: Civil Disobedience In your unit 1 groups Answer the following questions based on our prompt and discussion of “Civil Disobedience” Give three reasons to persuade an audience that it can be considered “right” to break “unjust” laws. Make sure to use each rhetorical appeal once Try to think of examples or specific situations our classmates know about or that you have experienced firsthand Give three reasons to persuade an audience that it is not “right” to break laws simply because you consider them unjust.

Homework Obtain class textbooks and materials (we will begin using the A&B textbook on Wednesday)