Monday June 30
Course Overview and administration. 
Introductions, readings for Wednesday
What constitutes a good argument?
 
Wed July 02
Read & Discuss: 'Literacy & Orality in Our Times', Ong. 'Why Write?', 
Young & Sullivan. Cuneiform extract.
Issues: Writing, reading and thought.
What relationship does literacy have to thought/consciousness? 
How important a 'technology of communication' is writing?
What is the relationship between writing and 'invention', or the generation of ideas?
Rethinking assumptions about writing and language
 
Thursday July 03
Read & Discuss: 'Literacy in 3 Metaphors', Scribner. KGN, Ch. 3 (pp. 32-72)
Issues: What is literacy? Definitions.
Literacy as individual attribute
Literacy as social achievement vs. having an 'essence'
Transitions in an argument. Main, Faulty and Return paths.
Consider structure of Scribner, Young, Ong, based on concepts in KGN Ch. 3
 
Friday: Independence Day (No Class) 

Monday July 07
Do: skim Scribner again
Read & Discuss: 'The Social Construction of Race, Class and Gender', Rothenberg.
'What is Social Construction?' (handout, and available on web page). 
KGN chapter 4 (pp 73-96), 'Milestones'.
Issues: Essentialism & social constructionism.
What sort of arguments are 'essentialist', and what are 'social constructionist'?
Finding examples of each from everyday reasoning.
What sort of evidence, counterexamples, counter-arguments are each most vulnerable to?
Consider structure of Scribner, and Young & Sullivan based on chapter 4 of KGN.
A particular discourse theory: milestones.

Wed July 09 
Read & Discuss: Handout on 'Assumptions, Implications, & Counterexamples'.
Read summary assignment, assignment criteria, and example summary papers.
Support, quotation, topic statements, patterns of organization (see web page).
KGN Chapter 5.
Read & Discuss: Hirsch, 'Literacy and cultural literacy'.
Issues: Discovering assumptions, implications, and counterexamples
Uses and nature of cultural literacy; literacy, assimilation, enfranchisement
In class: Do milestone sketch for Hirsch
 
Thursday July 10 		
Exchange summary drafts with peer, & do peer review.
 
Friday July 11
Read & Discuss: (Skim) Applebee, Langer, & Mullis, 'Learning to be literate 
in America'; Gee, 'Literacy, discourse and linguistics'
Issues: Functional & discourse approaches to literacy
What is literacy? Literacy as social practice
In class: Video screening of 'American Tongues'
Analyzing the varieties of discourse in the United States
Hand in: summary paper.

Monday July 14
Read & Discuss Ogbu, 'Literacy and schooling in subordinate cultures'
Kozol, 'Children of the city invincible', and extracts from Will, Suri, Schwebel, 
Viadero, Heaney.
Issues: Literacy, schooling, and society
Who is literate? Why?
Literacy and debates about Education				

Wed July 16
Read & Discuss: KGN Chapters 6 & 7
Synthesis and analysis
Establishing common points of discussion
Building new knowledge about agreements and disagreements
Building a synthesis tree and analysis grid.
Read & Discuss: Materials on formal & informal logic, fallacies, critical thinking, revising and composing.
 
Friday July 18
Read & Discuss: Media Literacy Readings, part 1. Harvard Resolutions on Media 
Literacy; 'Images of Media', Meyrowitz. 'Questioning the Media', Downing & 
Mohammadi.
Read & Discuss: Analysis assignment, criteria and examples; KGN chapter 12.
Thinking critically about argument & persuasion continued.

Monday July 21
Media Literacy 2: The issue of Sources & Advertizing. Kirkpatrick's 'Foreword'; 
Steinem's 'Sex, Lies & Advertising'; Solomon, 'Consider the Sources', FAIR's 'News or 
Nikes?' Video: 'Signal to Noise'.
 
Tuesday July 22
Exchange analysis drafts with peer, & do peer review.	

Wed July 23
Read & Discuss: Paradigm case assignment, criteria & examples. KGN chapter 9.
Media Literacy 3: 'Hollywood Movies, Society, & Political Criticism' Rothman et. al.
Issues: Generating ideas for paradigm cases
Narration and argument; Problem cases
Hollywood and the Liberal/Conservative Media			
In class: Discuss possible paradigm cases
Hand in: analysis paper	
 
Friday July 25
Media Literacy 4: Political Economy of Media 
Read & Discuss:Herman, 'Media in U.S. Political Economy'; Bagdikian, 'Lords of the 
Global Village'; Hamelink, 'Information Imbalance'.

Monday July 28
Media Literacy 5: Media, Culture and Technology	
Extracts from McCluhan; Winston, 'How Are Media Born?'
	
Tuesday July 29
Exchange paradigm case drafts with peer, & do peer review.	
 
Wed July 30
Media Literacy 6: Activist and Alternative Visions of the Media
Read & Discuss: Downing, 'Alternative Media & the Boston Tea Party'. FAIR extract, 
'The Importance of Youth Produced Media'. 'The Future of Public TV.'
Hand in: paradigm case paper

Friday August 01
Media Literacy 7: The Internet & New Information Technologies.
Readings, TBA.
Read & Discuss: Contribution Assignment, criteria, examples.

Monday August 04
Workshop contribution drafts.
 
Wed August 06
Workshop contribution drafts.
 
Thursday August 07
Final day: summing up course.
Hand in: Contribution papers.