Disciplinary Report: A Decision
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Transcript of Disciplinary Report: A Decision
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The Table of Contents:Overview- ........................................................Error Bookmark not defined.
Useful Websites: .............................................Error Bookmark not defined.
Interviews Nickole Brown Assistant ProfessorError Bookmark not defined.Dr. George Jensen Chair of Rhetoric and Writing Department .......ErrorBookmark not defined.Diann Shaddox Miles Author, A Faded CottageError Bookmark not defined.Alex Sanford Author, Big Bad China .........Error Bookmark not defined.Charlie McConnell Masters Student ..........Error Bookmark not defined.
Fun Facts ........................................................ Error Bookmark not defined.Reflection .......................................................Error Bookmark not defined.
Helpful WebsitesFor a Rhetoric MajorThe Basics
The History
For an English Major
The Studies
The Value
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/ap06_englang_roskelly_50098.pdfhttp://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/11/30/history-of-rhetoric/http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/11/30/history-of-rhetoric/http://www.businessinsider.com/what-you-actually-learn-as-an-english-major-2013-10http://voices.yahoo.com/ten-ways-english-degree-9817247.htmlhttp://voices.yahoo.com/ten-ways-english-degree-9817247.htmlhttp://voices.yahoo.com/ten-ways-english-degree-9817247.htmlhttp://www.businessinsider.com/what-you-actually-learn-as-an-english-major-2013-10http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/11/30/history-of-rhetoric/http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/ap06_englang_roskelly_50098.pdf -
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OverviewWhat is Rhetoric? By definition it is theart of effective or persuasive
speaking or writing. Rhetoric is about knowing how to choose words and then
finding ways to place them on paper as to make the readers minds come alive. I seeit as an art, where with the words you
write or speak you have the ability to
express to a blind person the beauty of
a sunset
The art of rhetoric is how we
have the literature that we have today.
We have amazing literary works that
have lasted through the ages by artists
like Homer, Shakespeare, Voltaire and
Browning. This literature has shapedlives and changed minds.
The fact that these people were
able to express themselves in such a
passionate way that it doesnt matter the time that has passed, And it doesnt matter
that the way our generation expresses themselves is completely different than that
of those in the time of Shakespeare, and yet when read those words still touch
hearts. There is a power in words; there is power in learning how to write
effectively and how to read with comprehension .
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InterviewsNickole Brown Assistant Professor (UALR)
It only takes moments to know where
Professor Browns heart lies. She absolutely loves
what she does with all of her heart, and it shows on
her very expressive face.
The sunlight comes in the window behind
her, its not enough to blind me but it gives the
strawberry blonde curls that surround her face an
ethereal effect.
She gushes over poetry and her students like
a 16 year old girl would the boy she has a crush on.
She lovingly deems them nerds and claims that they
are the kind of people who would rather have theirnose in a book than anywhere else.
Shes been a professor at the University of
Arkansas at Little Rock for about two and a half years
and has nothing but good things to say about the staff
in the English
department.
Theyre a
wonderful group of people she states.
Prior to working at UALR she was in publishing and
editing for 12 years. She didnt move too far from her roots since
she leads a group of students in publishing UALRs literary
magazine, Equinox.
Speaking with ease in a soft, melodic voice she tells me
what the differences, in her opinion, are between the English
department and the Rhetoric and Composition departments.
English would be access to Literature classes, American, African
and British Literature, along with the concepts of critical reading,
linguistics and creative writing.
The Rhetoric department would be more about writing, she tells me. They house things like
technical writing, creative non-fiction, grant writing etc. She made a little face and informed me
that she used to teach creative non-fiction; I took this as she believed it should be housed under the
English department.
I learned a bit about what classes she is teaching; one of her favorites is a prose-poetrymesh seminar, which sounds amazing. Currently her focus is on poetry, publication (Euinox) and
creative writing. Shes been published numerous times, acollection titled Sister is among those
poems.
The advice I got from her is something I believe we should all carry with us as we make our
way into the careers that we dream of. She told me to do what makes you happy. She told me that
what you do should be seamless with your life, that there shouldnt be a distinction between yourwork life and your real life, things should just have a flow to them.
girl,
wild horses wouldn't drive
that crazy mama
from you. Besides, I
promise we'll
keep that bombshell
blonde-
From 1979, A Poem by
Nickole Brown
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Im not sure yet if I will join the English department, or where my life will lead me. But, I
hope that whatever it is that I choose to do, whatever you choose to do that you do it with the same
amount of passion and pizazz that Professor Brown does. Her words of wisdom are something to
live by: she told me, If someone were to say, You dont have to work anymore, Id say Okay and
continue doing what Im doing. And I believed her.
Dr. George Jensen Chair of Rhetoric and Writing
Department (UALR)
If you walk by the exterior of the Writing Center,
which is where Dr. Jensens office is housed, youd never
guess that the man you meet would be late 40s to 50sdressed in a tie. There are random music posters and a
glowing OPEN sign that looks like it could be hanging on
the outside of a bar.Dr. Jensens office is kind of what youd expect of
an office. To the right is a bookshelf covered in books, in
the middle of the room there is a table with a few scattered chairs and directly behind that lies his
slightly cluttered desk.
He rises from his desk to greet me. Hes not an especially tall man but you can tell he likes
his presence to be known. I like him immediately.
Hes not a man of many words, but he seems eager to help and answer whatever questions I
ask him. He tries to offer up as much information as he can, but takes pauses to make sure Im
gathering everything that hes saying.
As the Chair of the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, you can sense his pride in the
career and department. He lets me know that if I were to declare Rhetoric and Writing as my major,
all I would have to do is email him, I would be the one to approve you. He seems more thanwilling, which makes me happy.
He shows me a list of the classes required for the major and points out the ones that seem to
be the most useful, The students who take these courses rarely have an issue finding a job after
they graduate he says. Most of the classes he pointed to were in technical writing, editing andpublishing. Other classes he mentioned are in persuasion and creative non-fiction.
Most people think that technical writing sounds boring. I emphatically agreed. I thought
so too at one time, he continued; but now I think if I went back that may be something that I
would have done instead.
He goes on to tell me about the internships that are available, the most prevalent is with
Axiom, They love our students at Axiom, and most likely if you do well when youre done with your
internship you will have a job offer waiting for you.
It is always good to know that there are courses out there, such as grant writing, thatinvolve things that not everyone knows. This course, along with others like Technical Writing and
Editing, are what graduates get hired for. Not everyone has this knowledge, and its something to
consider when choosing a major or a career path.
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Interviews ContinuedDiannShaddox Miles Author, A Faded Cottage
Diann has been a published author since March of 2013 and
while her novel may not be on the best seller list, you can tell
that she loves the idea of being a published author.
You can hear the bubbling of personality spilling out of her
southern accent. She hasnt always lived in South Carolina but
grew up in Nashville, Arkansas and still carries a bit of the
twang with her.
Both her brother and herself were raised by their
grandmother, a strong, capable and handicapped woman. I was regaled with stories of how this
elderly woman worked her way around life and into their hearts without an arm or anyone there to
help. Some of the favorites I heard were in regards to punishment and how she would thump Diann
and her brother on the head with the stump that remained.
Diann struggles with a neurological disorder called Essential Tremors, or ET. Having been raised
by a woman who wouldnt let anything stop her, there was no way she was
going to allow this disorder to get the best of her.
After discovering what was making her hands incessantly shake, she took
control of her life by learning everything she could about this disorder and
finding ways around it and ways to strengthen herself. She stands strong today
in the knowledge that she can overcome anything. Also, a portion of all proceeds
for her book,A Faded Cottage, go to the International Essential Tremor
Foundation.
Shes always loved writing, but it wasnt until recently that she actually was able
to take the time to sit down and write.
Writing will, in most cases, consume your life. She told me, Itsnot a 9 to 5 job, and your nights
become a time when books and protagonists are born.
With other books in the works she talks a bit more about the path it took to get where she is andsome of the things that she would have done differently, Paths in lifebecome twisted, but in
hindsight, which is always nice to have, I would have turned my sights more toward a literary pathShe went to school to work in Elementary education and ended up working in interior design, life
really can throw us some curve balls.
When talking about choosing a career path she claims fate has a part of what happens, But
everyone needs to go with a career that brings passion to their life.Her favorite part of her job is writing the story, and the least is in the editing and preparing it for
publishing, she calls that process long and tedious.
You have to learn to handle rejections, she reminds me. Top authors like John Grisham and JK
Rowlings werentimmune to the rejection letter. The most important thing is to never give up.
When it comes to writing, I respect Dianns experience and struggle. Overall it was a privilege to
get to know her and know more about some of the steps it may take to become a published writer.She gave me information on assisting agents and publishers. Working alongside publishers would
put you into a position where youd have access to alot of information and the experience that onewould need to know in order to become published, or at least understand the process.
I think that should the goal be to become published, seeking out an assisting position would be very
useful in not only gaining experience, but also in directing life and ensuring that the writing and/or
publishing route would be the way to go.
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Alex Sanford Author, Big Bad China
Alex lives about 7 kilometers outside Vientiane,
Laos in a place called Nong Da. Hes an attorney, a father,
and a dreamer. But beyond that we can add author, editor
and publisher to that list. Hes truly one of the mostintelligent and remarkable men Ive had the honor of
knowing. Even before discussing his current work, I look
forward to hearing everything that he says.
Hes worked on fiction books in the past but, as
with most people who love to write, he has many
manuscripts, some half written and some complete, that
havent been published and are lying around gathering
dust.
BIG BAD CHINA, thats the title he chose for this
work of creative non-fiction, the story goes with the title to
be sure. Why creative
non-fiction? Thetopic, He says. I chose to write about the risks that China
presents to the world, and that is non-fiction rather than fiction.
However, I recognize that most people hate the idea of reading a
lengthy historical / political / economic analysis of China Idecided to make the content as accessible as possible.
With a background in technical writing due to many
years of writing legal documents, things seemingly fell into
place. The hard part for him was deciding to go ahead and write
a book on his own rather than to co-write with someone else.
Alex likes a challenge and you can tell by the eagerness
he shows for what is yet to come, the publishing. He made the
decision to publish on his own, which is something not everyonehas the means to do The best partis trying to figure out how
to support the book when it is released, to make it a commercial
success. Many great books are never found by the public, and many poorly written or un-
compelling books actually do surprisingly well.
He willingly forks over a piece of advice that made me laugh a little to myself, Get off your
fat ass and do it! Fairly obvious for those of us who have started, but he elaborates.
Talk is cheap; you can say Im a writer... Im working on a book etc., but words on paper dontmaterialize by themselves. You actually have to write them, then revise and polish and sew it all
together into a finished produce. The process is hugely fun, more than I ever imagined it would be,
but its important not to get stuck, or lost, in the process. Finishing is what determines whether
someone is a writer or a wannabe-writer.
As someone who loves to write and someone who also doesnt want to be coined awannabe, his speech was something of a kick in the butt for me. He didnt say to stay in school or
focus on certain classes, he didnt really have much more advice than Yoda gave Luke, Do or donotBut there comes a point where we all need to hear, Get off your fat ass and do it!
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Interviews ContinuedCharlie McConnell Masters Student
Charlie is working on her
masters in English, I knew I wanted to
be a librarian and that would require a
mastersdegree, she told me. We have
a similar background in schooling, we
were both home-schooled, we also
both share a love of reading, speaking
to her was refreshing to me.
Excitedly she tells me, Ivealways loved to read and the degree
was technically English Language and
Literature they gave me credits for
reading; that was my kind of deal!
You can tell by her cheery disposition
that she was being completely honest
about her love of literature.
Our love of books and
homeschooling background are where our similarities end, she stands at about 6, the super tallblonde towers over me. She has a huge smile that engulfs her face, and speaks with her hands for
emphasis.
When I think about English, I think more about the
mechanics of writinggrammar, pronunciation, spelling,
word meaning etc., speaking of her major. I perceive
Rhetoric to focus more on the message; that is putting together
a work that accomplishes a goalinspiring, persuading,
explaining etc., She elaborated on her ideas of how a personcan have an amazing message but could find it lost without the
ability to punctuate, spell or use the proper word for
emphasis. On the same side of a different coin you have the
person who has wonderful grammar and punctuation but lacks a message, neither of these are
going to be effective ways to write, so English and Rhetoric are something that should be learned
hand-in-hand.
British literature and Shakespeare were among her favorite classes so far. She enjoyed
working on a few language papers as well, one was for a class and the paper was about the common
elements among all languages, how they evolve and how language is acquired. I love the concepts of
all of this, languages and different cultures mixed in with one of my true loves, the written word.
Watching Charlie is motivating for me. I know that she has to be extremely busy but is
willing to take time for the things that she loves. She loves books, she loves to read, she also loves tohelp people she wouldnt want to be a librarian otherwise. I think that we could all take a page out
of her book. Shes goal-oriented, driven, and loves what shes looking to do.
Motivation, thats what all students need, motivation with better time management is something
the more non-traditional student like myself needs. A definition of motivation that Ive heard
recently is, when your goal is bigger than your everyday desires. In other words, when you can
keep focused on your goal and it is more important to you than the daily distractions, you can
achieve.
A definition of motivation
that Ive heard recently is,
when your goal is biggerthan your everyday desires.
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She also told me not to go to class just for a degree, to know what I want to do with the
degree and most importantly, the knowledge that I obtain on my way to getting the degree.
Fun FactsPlato didnt care for the art of rhetoric; he thought it was just a form
of flattery used to appease the ignorant masses.
Rhetorical questions can be rather humorous &/or nonsensical, like
something a blond would ask in all seriousness:
Do fish get thirsty?
Does a man eating shark eat women too?
If you have a cold Hot Pocket, is it just a pocket?
The most expensive book ever sold was the original copy of Chaucers
Canterbury Tales, in 1998 it sold for $7,429523.40.There is a book out there that has no verbsLe Train de Nulle Part
(The Nowhere Train) by Michel Thaler.
ReflectionIve always been aware to some extent of the power of words. Ive loved the
written word since I sat down at four with my first Nancy Drewbook. Reading has
changed my life.When it comes to learning, there are many ways to do it, but the most common
that youll see is in book form. Someone out there has learned to write so effectively
that schools and universities around the globe use their words to teach others. That, to
me, is incredible.
Ive spent quite a bit of time debating between what I want to learn, rhetoric or
English. The choice is simple; to me, you cant have one without the other. It would be
like having a peanut butter sandwich without the breadyouve got something healthy
and quite delicious, but its missing something. I, personally, want the whole nine yards.
I truly believe that as students, as lovers of books, poetry and prose that we should be
able to express in many formats anything that wed like to get across.We should be able to read with appreciation and understanding things that
others might brush off as dull.
So, I say, find the things that you love the best within these two very compatible
majors and use the rest to compliment what you want to learn. Theres so much out
there to be read and to be written. Personally, Im looking forward to the rest of this
wonderful well written, well-read journey.