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years a number of rhetoric classes and teachers
have created a plethora of LinguaMoo resources
specifically designed for Rhetoric 1302 classrooms.
You can choose research spaces and materials and/or
role-play scenarios to incorporate into your course
design. An annotated list of these resources available
on the LinguaMoo is provided below. The detailed
instructions, found in each of the rooms listed
below will give you more information than these
brief summaries.
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Agora Classroom, Rhetoric Classroom,
and Humanities Classroom
LinguaMoo offers a number of virtual classrooms
that you may use at any time. To avoid scheduling
conflicts, however, many of these rooms feature
a room schedule where you may reserve the room
for your use at a certain time. Most of these
rooms come equipped with tables, to which students
can be assigned for discussion without "overhearing"
another table's discussion, an intercom with
which the instructor may interact with students
at tables, a clock, a recorder, and a blackboard.
Although only three such rooms are named here,
several more are available off the Agora Classroom.
These rooms serve as excellent discussion places
and reconvening points, particularly in class
activities where students are required to visit
a variety of different places on the Moo or
internet and then meet back together for discussion.
These classrooms are located off of the Library,
in the Agora Classroom.
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Backdoor Project
The Backdoor Project was produced through the
collaboration of two Rhetoric classes during
the months leading up to the US invasion of
Iraq. The project was designed to serve as a
research space for future rhetoric students
concerning the topic of politics and international
relations. The project hosts a variety of argumentative
essays, news articles, presidential speeches,
all of which may be used for discussion and
review. The project also hosts a variety of
resources such as research information on relevant
topics like UN policy and Middle East history.
In addition, rhetoric classes and students are
encouraged to add and expand upon the already
existing project. The Backdoor Project is an
ideal spot if you are interested in focusing
on rhetoric in news and journalism in your course.
The Backdoor Project is located off the Collaboratory.
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Keywords in Composition
The Keywords in Composition project is built
around the seminal text in Rhetorical Theory,
Keywords in Composition, edited by Paul
Heilker and Peter Vandenberg. As the site summary
explains, the project was built "as a way
of placing the terms into a real-time community
where readers may interact with other readers,
roving bots, and other interactive features."
Building on Heilker and Vandenberg, the creators
of this project formed rooms around each of
the keywords expounded upon in the text, and
each of the rooms includes an interpretive summary
of that keyword. Keywords in Composition makes
an excellent introduction for teachers new to
the field of Rhetoric and Composition. New teachers
may find this reference useful for gaining a
quick perspective on some of the major issues
in the discipline. Keywords in Composition is
located off of the Tower of Babble.
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Benetton AIDS Campaign
This project centers on an advertising campaign
promoted by Benetton, which featured photographs
of dying AIDS patients. This project specifically
displays one such photograph taken by David
Kirby called "Pieta," and the project
also includes a variety of research links regarding
the topic. The aim of this project is to promote
discussion around such pieces of visual rhetoric
and to serve as a place to have such discussions.
This project excellently serves visual rhetoric
discussion in the classroom and may be best
used as an in class assignment in which students
must read the image and respond with discussion
and a written assignment. The Benetton AIDS
Campaign is located off of the Agora Classroom,
in the Role-Play Chamber.
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Iraqi Role Play
The Iraqi Role-play was created shortly after
9/11 and just prior the US invasion of Iraq.
Much like the Backdoor Project, this role-play
focuses on rhetoric in politics and international
relations. The context of the role-play is as
follows:
The United Nations is about
to write and vote on a resolution authorizing
the use of force in Iraq when suddenly the representatives
from the five countries with veto power disappear.
You have been asked to serve on a committee
representing one of these countries, the United
States, Russia, France, Great Britain, and China.
Once assigned to your committee you must choose
a spokesperson to represent you at the final
UN meeting. Together your committee must help
create a resolution on this issue and decide
whether or not to veto the resolution based
upon the best course of action for the country
you represent. In order to make this decision,
you must meet with your committee in the room
set aside for your country and look through
a variety of texts which will help you to decide
what features the resolution must have and whether
or not to veto the final resolution.
This project also includes links and resources
to aid in the role-play. This role-play makes
an excellent in class assignment if you want
to introduce current issues, politics, or international
relations into your class. In addition, this
role-play works excellently in combination with
either the Backdoor Project, the 9/11 Role-play,
or the Israel/Palestine Role-play. The Iraqi
Role-play is located off of the Agora Classroom,
in the Role-Play Chamber.
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Isreal-Palestine Role Play
As with the Iraqi Role-play, the Israel/Palestine
Role-play focuses on politics and international
relations specifically related to the Middle
East. The goal of the role-play is to raise
awareness regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict
and encourages students to discuss the problems
concerning this issue. The context of this role-play
is as follows:
One clear summer day on the
outskirts of Jerusalem, two expensive cars simultaneously
collide with a merchant's truck. Perhaps all
three drivers were very clumsy. More likely,
they were drawn together by the mysterious and
irresistible tides of fate. Out of one car climbs
the irate Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.
From the other emerges Israeli leader Ariel
Sharon. A local policeman comes running at the
sound of the accident, and finds only Arafat,
Sharon, and the Palestinian merchant in the
area. All the vehicles are ruined. The policeman
puts in a call for help, but it may be more
than an hour before transportation arrives.
In the meantime, they have a lot to talk about...
Within this context, students are assigned
a character and are then asked to carry on a
discussion with the other characters. The aim
of this discussion is to devise a plan for peace.
This role-play would be a wonderful exercise
in Rhetoric and Mediation. Again, as with the
Iraqi Role-play, the Israel/Palestine Role-play
works well in combination with the other politically
geared resources on the LinguaMoo. The Israel/Palestine
Role-play is located off of the Agora Classroom,
in the Role-Play Chamber.
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JFK Role Play
This role-play is based on the widely-alleged
conspiracies surrounding the assassination of
John F. Kennedy. Within this role-play, all
of the possible suspects are given and assigned
as characters, and it is the students' role
to determine who shot JFK. The JFK Role-play
includes a variety of resources, including the
original Zapruder film of the assassination,
and is designed in such a way that students
do not have access to the same information.
As a result of this construction, the JFK role-play
makes for an exciting in-class activity for
students. In addition, this role-play functions
excellently as a demonstration in the forms
of argument and persuasion. You may want to
consider this resource for an introduction into
writing to convince or writing to persuade.
The JFK Role-play is located off of the Agora
Classroom, in the Role-Play Chamber.
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9/11 Role Play
The 9/11 Role-play aims at spurring discussion
around the current issues of terrorism and international
safety. This role-play also encourages students
to face current issues and consider them with
a critical/rhetoric eye. As the summary explains:
On September 11, 2001, on
a clear and cloudless day in New York City,
two commercial aircraft were commandeered and
used as weapons of mass destruction against
the United States government, its citizens,
and individuals from all over the global community.
The ramifications from this act have reverberated
throughout this small and fragile planet we
call Earth. Today, we meet here as representatives
for all of humanity in a collective act of negotiation
and mediation. Our goal is to find some solution
through consensus and compromise to safeguard
our planet, not only for today, but for the
generations to follow. You have all been summoned
by the United Nations for a debate prior to
the formulation of a response to the events
of 09/11. The key players in the debate will
be The U.S. Government, Voices of the People,
and Al Qaeda. Your responsibility is to establish
a dialogue in order to promote a better understanding
and/or enlightenment of the people and issues
involved and in order to prevent this from happening
in the future.
Like the Israel/Palestine Role-play, this role-play
makes an excellent exercise in Rhetoric and
Mediation. The 9/11 Role-play is located off
of the Agora Classroom, in the Role-Play Chamber.
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Cynthia Haynes
cynthiah@utdallas.edu
972-883-6340 |
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