1. PWR91: Farmers,
Scientists, & Activists:
Public Discourse of
Food Economies
ERICA CIRILLO-MCCARTHY, PHD
ECIRILLO@STANFORD.EDU/ HUME CENTER, 207
OFFICE HOURS: MON & WED, 3:30-4:30PM AND BY
APPOINTMENT PLEASE NOTE: I AM ON CAMPUS MOST DAYS
OF THE WEEK; PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME TO MAKE
AN APPOINTMENT OUTSIDE OF OFFICE HOURS IF
THEY DO NOT WORK FOR YOU.
GRANT MEANS, B.S.’16, M.S. ’17
COMMUNITY ENGAGED LEARNING COORDINATOR
GHMEANS@STANFORD.EDU
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2. Course
Description
What are the possibilities in rethinking our food, the way we talk
about it, the way we grow it, and the way we eat it? Food has long
been identified as a socioeconomic marker, tied to income in ways
that have material effects for individuals and communities, e.g.
health disparities and food deserts. But who are the people and
organizations working on the intersection of food and justice, and
how can we as writers work with them to further their goals? In
this advanced PWR class, you will be paired with identified local
(Bay Area) non-profits concerned with food economies, such as
food activists, food banks, farmers, and farm collectives to
collaborate and produce websites, promotional materials, press
releases and other public documents. You will engage in food
activist projects that offer you opportunities to identify a client’s
needs and analyze audience, genre, and mode possibilities in order
to collaboratively produce public writing for a real audience.
Course objectives include:
• Communicate with a local community partner working on food
production for the 21st c or seeking to improve access for
under-resourced communities;
• Analyze and respond to a community partner’s interests and
writing needs;
• Design and compose a customized document or set of
documents suitable for a variety of professional writing
situations, such as a PR campaign, a policy brief and
accompanying white paper, or a grant proposal, in the voice of
an organization, incorporating feedback from the partner, your
peers, and me throughout the composing process.
At the end of the course, you will be able to:
• Recognize the affordances and limitations of various public
writing genres and articulate when particular communicative
strategies are appropriate;
• Adapt academic writing for public and online audiences, using
rhetorical and visual design principles;
• Identify and apply best practices of project management,
focusing on deliverables and benchmarking;
• Develop collaboration skills, such as teamwork and active
rhetorical listening;
• Critically consider the role rhetoric can play in social change.
The final public composition project will be a multimodal,
collaboratively-produced document or set of documents you can
add to your NSC writing portfolio and other public-facing
portfolios.
What I love about this course is that it complicates the idea of
audience, writer, and text so that it more closely matches
rhetorical situations outside of the university and asks us to
consider: how do we identify the audience and author in
collaboratively written, client-based writing contexts? As a class,
we will continue throughout the term to explore this and other
questions concerned with rhetorical situations. Ultimately, you will
gain new rhetorical listening strategies and understand the concept
of distributed expertise in complex ways.
Rhetoric is…
“…the art, practice, and
study of human
communication.” –Andrea
Lunsford
”…the study of
misunderstandings and
their remedies.”—I.A.
Richards
“…a form of reasoning
about probabilities, based
on assumptions people
share as members of a
community.”—Erika
Lindemann
”…the art of framing an
argument so that it can
be appreciated by an
audience.”—Philip
Johnson
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3. 3
My Teaching Philosophy: I extend the goal of
rhetorical acumen in all writing courses I develop,
for rhetorical acumen transcends disciplinary
genres to assist students in understanding the
rhetorical context of any writing or communicating
situation. Self-reflection aids students in
developing rhetorical knowledge, and this practice
extends to other aspects of my writing courses,
such as close reading, critical analysis, and
reflection and revision as part of the writing
process. My experience working in writing centers
also informs the ways I teach the writing process
and facilitate rhetorical knowledge. Two things I
emphasize throughout the term include: 1. writing
is not a solitary act; 2. the writing process must
always take into account the relationship between
author and audience.
The writing classroom I attempt to create with students is one that challenges
students to explore new knowledge about the world they inhabit. More
importantly, I encourage students to understand their rhetorical choices and
subsequent implications, and anticipate the audience’s reaction to each choice.
Multimodality offers a way for students to make new meaning, of themselves and
of their world. Cynthia Selfe has encouraged the creation of curriculum that
engages students in multiple modes of communication, “so that they can function
as literate citizens in a world where communications cross geopolitical, cultural,
and linguistic borders and are enriched rather than diminished by semiotic
dimensionality” (p. 618). I respond to Selfe’s call by crafting a multimodal
curriculum which positions students to not only function in more engaged ways
with their world but to also critique their world. My goal, as a teacher, is to help
students transform their composing practices so that they approach research,
writing, and representation in more inclusive and ethical ways as they strengthen
their rhetorical acumen.
4. Assignments
Major Projects
Proposal PowerPoint: Our course’s community
partners have asked us to create public writing
projects for them, including videos, webpage
content, and newsletters. Collaborating with
your group, you will create a PowerPoint
presentation detailing your plan for your project
and present it to your non-profit partner for
feedback. This is a scaffolding assignment to
ensure open communication between the
community partner and your group.
Public Project: Based on the plan presented in
your group’s Proposal PowerPoint, your group
will create a written or multimodal composition
for your food economy organization that they
can use to influence a public audience here in
the Bay area and beyond.
Final Reflective Paper: Drawing on themes and
theories from the course, you will analyze your
major assignments and group collaboration
process, reflecting on five key takeaways from
the course and one goal for continued growth.
Ongoing Writing Assignments
Reader Responses: You will respond to each set
of readings via the Discussion tab in Canvas, six
reader responses in total. My hope is that the
responses will lead to fruitful in class
discussions.
Reflections: In addition to the Final Reflective
Paper, you will have the opportunity
throughout the term to reflect on various
moments in working with and listening to
partners, drafting, and revising larger projects.
"...rhetoric is a mode of
altering reality, not by the
direct application of
energy to objects, but by
the creation of discourse
which changes reality
through the mediation of
thought and action.“—
Lloyd Bitzer
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7. 7
Conferences & Office Hours: Please feel free to visit me during my office hours, no
appointment necessary, to talk over your writing assignments at any stage of the writing
process. I will also answer short questions over email, but I am unable to read and respond
to all revisions and drafts of assignments. Instead, come on in to office hours with specific
questions regarding your writing and we can talk about it.
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The Hume Center for Writing and Speaking works with all Stanford students to help them
develop rich and varied abilities in every aspect of written and oral communication. In free
one-to-one sessions, trained consultants help students get started on assignments; address
and overcome writer’s block and speech anxiety; learn strategies for revising, editing, and
proofreading; refine their delivery; and understand academic conventions in their fields.
Whether students are working on a PWR or Thinking Matters essay, a writing project or
presentation in the major, a digital media project such as a website or PowerPoint, an
Honors thesis, a creative project, or a fellowship or job application, the Hume Center can
help them develop effective strategies to improve their written, spoken, and multimedia
arguments. Students can make an appointment or visit a drop-in writing or speaking
consultant in the Center, as well as writing tutors in many residences and at several satellite
locations across campus. For further information, to see hours and locations, or to schedule
an appointment with a consultant, visit the Hume Center website at:
http://hume.stanford.edu.
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Accommodations: Students who may need an academic accommodation based on the
impact of a disability must initiate the request with the Office of Accessible Education
(OAE). Professional staff will evaluate the request with required documentation,
recommend reasonable accommodations, and prepare an Accommodation Letter for
faculty dated in the current quarter in which the request is made. Students should contact
the OAE as soon as possible since timely notice is needed to coordinate accommodations.
The OAE is located at 563 Salvatierra Walk (phone: 723-1066, URL:
http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu).
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Financial Access Statement: Stanford University and its faculty are committed to ensuring
that all courses are financially accessible to all students. If you are an undergraduate who
needs assistance with the cost of course textbooks, supplies, materials and/or fees, you are
welcome to approach the course instructors directly. We have received a grant for the
course that covers almost all expenses. If would prefer not to approach us directly, please
note that you can ask the Diversity & First-Gen Office for assistance by completing their
questionnaire on course textbooks & supplies: http://tinyurl.com/jpqbarn or by contacting
Joseph Brown, the Associate Director of the Diversity and First-Gen Office
(jlbrown@stanford.edu; Old Union Room 207), he is available to connect you with
resources and support while ensuring your privacy.
8. 8
Winter quarter timeline:*
Week 1: Introduction to course goals and objectives; community partner visit; choose your
community partner and collab group. Theoretical framing readings: Bowden & Scott
“Service Learning in Technical and Professional Communication;” Ellen Cushman “The
Rhetorician as an Agent of Social Change;” T.P.Miller “Treating Professional Writing as Social
Praxis;” and Carol Rodgers “Defining Reflection.” Complete reader responses in “Discussion”
section of our Canvas site. Start planning your site visit.
Week 2 (no class on Monday): Visit your community partner for info gathering and
brainstorming session. This will be a listening visit. First opportunity for volunteer service.
Prepping for site visit readings: L.M. Kastman Breuch “The Overruled Dust Mite;” K. Ratcliffe
“Rhetorical Listening;” R. Pope Ruark “A Case for Metic Intelligence in Technical and
Professional Communication Programs.” Complete reader responses in “Discussion” section
of our Canvas site. Reflection #1 (listening and site visits) due.
Week 3: First draft of Proposal PowerPoint due in class at end of week 3. You will receive
feedback from me and your classmates. Skype or conference call with your community
partner to address any questions. Drafting your proposal readings: Bowden & Scott
“Refining Your Project;” Mara “Using Charettes to Perform Civic Engagement in Technical
Communication Classrooms and Workplaces.” Complete reader responses in “Discussion”
section of our Canvas site.
Week 4: Present Proposal PowerPoint to your community partners in person. Take careful
notes and ask to clarify any ambiguities, due dates, missions and goals of the documents.
Reflection #2 (PPP) due at end of week. No readings this week.
Week 5: Tech/Drafting Week. Begin drafting the Public Project. Conduct research, find
models, skype or conference call with community partner. Meet with me for conferences.
Drafting your public project readings: Bowden & Scott “Designing your Project;” Lupia
“Communicating Science in Politicized Environments;” Dixon “Rewriting the Call to Charity.”
Complete reader responses in “Discussion” section of our Canvas site. Mid term reflection
due at end of week 5.
9. 9
Winter quarter timeline cont’d:
Week 6: Present first draft of Public Project to you peers and to me. Receive feedback from
all of us. Set up presentation and volunteer visit with community partner for week 8. No
readings this week.
Week 7 (no class on Monday): Revision week. Consider multiple modalities, publishing
opportunities, frame alignment for amplification. Final revision and reflection readings:
Scott “Rearticulating Civic Engagement;” R.W. McEachern “Problems in Service Learning and
Techinical/Professional Writing: Incorporating;” Turnley “Integrating Critical Approaches to
Technology and Service-Learning Projects;” Blouin & Perry “Whom Does Service Learning
Really Serve?” Complete reader responses in “Discussion” section of our Canvas site.
Reflection #4 (PP) due end of week 7.
Week 8: Present your revision of Public Project to community partner at site. Take careful
notes and ask to clarify any ambiguities, address any changes. Second opportunity for
volunteer service.
Week 9: Presentation and revision: Site visit to present final draft of Public Project to
community partners. Receive and incorporate feedback.
Week 10: Complete Final reflection; Complete final revisions; Celebration dinner/public
works presentation with students and partners (Date and time TBD).
*Please note: this schedule is subject to change. The most updated version will be on our Canvas site.
One final word on collaborative work: Collaborative work is a key element of this course. In fact, two
major assignments will require you to act as co-developer. You and your team members are responsible for
updating one another and me about assignment progress. In addition, you are responsible for negotiating
all aspects of your work, including planning, drafting, revising, file managing, and scheduling of tasks.
If your group is experiencing challenges in collaboration or work distribution, you are responsible for
contacting me early in the process, so I can support your group. Do not wait until the group work
distribution form due at the end of the to share problems with me.
