Instructor: Dr. Kristine Fitch
Office: 145 BCSB
Office hours: T 2:30-4 - Th 11-12 and by appt
Phone: 353-2264
e-mail: kristine-fitch@uiowa.edu
Where there is meaning, there is persuasion - Kenneth Burke
Persuasion can be seen and heard all around us. Its presence extends far beyond the advertisements, political speeches, and sales pitches where we expect to encounter it. We are persuaded in a wide variety of interpersonal contexts, by people with whom we have an equally wide variety of relationships. This course will concentrate on persuasion in interpersonal contexts, though we will not completely ignore the public sphere. Theories of persuasion will be presented from three points of view in this course: the psychological, the social, and the cultural aspects of persuasive processes.
The goal of this course is to increase your understanding of persuasive processes, both in the sense of leaving you a more sophisticated consumer and producer of them, and in increasing your grasp of why some strategies seem to work more (and less) often than others. We will approach theories of persuasion as explanations put forth to make sense of widely varied contexts and experiences of persuasion. Those theories will be examined and questioned in light of data we collect and analyze, and will be put to use in the analysis of a persuasive appeal directed at a current problem in US American culture. The processes of collecting and analyzing data, of theorizing, and of constructing and analyzing persuasive appeals, are learning experiences that should help you to observe and think about the social world around you.
Cialdini, R. (2001) Influence: Science and practice (4th Ed.) New York: Harper Collins.
This text is available at the University Bookstore in the IMU. Additional required readings will be linked to the Web CT site, part of the University Course Web Services of the University of Iowa, for this course. To log in you will:
Your grade in this course will be based on the following components:
Exam 1 (short answer and short essay, approx. 9/16): 25%
Interaction
analysis exercise: 10%
Persuasion in interaction paper (6-8 pages): 25%
Persuasive appeal analysis
paper (6-8 pages): 30%
Participation/daily assignments: 10%
Exam. There will be one exam in this class, consisting of true/false, matching, and short essay questions. It will cover the psychological perspective (i.e. the first third of the course).
Interaction analysis exercise. Because the interaction analysis described below involves, for most students, an unfamiliar kind of intellectual task, you will have a chance to practice the kinds of thinking and writing about conversation you’ll need to do for that paper, before you do one on your own. The exercise is linked to the course web site, and will require a couple of hours either in the library or on your own computer (if you have the high speed Web access, a sound card and the right media player software).
Interaction paper: For this assignment you will transcribe a segment of everyday talk either from a "reality TV" show (Big Brother 2000, MTV's Real World, or certain others), or one which you record and transcribe with the advance permission of the participants. You will write a paper in which you present the transcript and use concepts from the social perspective (face wants, sequence, accounts, impression management) to analyze the persuasive nature of the interaction.
Cultural analysis of a persuasive appeal. You will locate a persuasive appeal related to a cultural problem in the US (we will discuss domestic violence/date rape, drunk driving, and eating disorders in class; you may choose one of those or talk to me about another cultural problem, if you prefer). You will apply concepts from cultural persuadables theory (premises, norms, socialization, cultural codes, relational codes), along with information about the problem collected from traditional sources such as the library and the Web, to provide an expert assessment of the cultural bases for the appeal you choose. These papers will be roughly 6-8 pages long and will be evaluated according to the depth of the analysis, the adequacy and appropriateness of supporting information, and how accurately course concepts are applied in the analysis.
Participation/daily assignments: Because theories are most useful when they’re applied to the world around you, an important element of this course is your thinking about and putting to use the material we read and discuss. There will be several written responses to readings as we go along that provide structured ways for you to do that, as well as an opportunity to get extra credit by addressing relevant Questions to Ponder (we’ll talk about that in class). The written responses are due in class on the day we discuss the reading they pertain to; I will not accept any late ones. These responses should be typed, a page or two long, and PLEASE be sure to put your name on them.
In addition, I expect regular attendance and active participation in class.
Other expectations. . I will use the WebCT Mail function to communicate with you, so it is important that you either (a) check that mail almost every day or (b) set the mail function to forward e-mail from WebCT to an e-mail address that you check regularly. To do the latter, log on to this course in WebCT and click on Mail in the left hand menu column. Click on the right hand bar that says Message Settings. Check the box that says Forward My Mail and enter the e-mail address that you check most often. Click Update and log off.
Although the expectations outlined in this document will not change, you will need to check the schedule on line for updates at least once a week!
I expect all of your work in this course to be your own, and I expect you to uphold the highest standards of academic honesty. This includes awareness of what constitutes plagiarism with respect to the specific assignments in this course, and avoidance of it. Following the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences guidelines (http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/) plagiarism and cheating include, but may not be limited to:
Students unclear about the proper use and citation of sources, or the details and guidelines for any assignment, should discuss their questions with me.
Students may or may not be eligible for extra credit points this semester, depending on what options emerge as the semester progresses. Many times, Communication Studies researchers seek participants for their studies from students enrolled in undergraduate Communication Studies courses. If researchers would like to seek your participation in exchange for extra credit, I will ensure that you have a choice in whether to participate in these studies or earn extra credit through a comparable option that does not involve participation in a research study (see Questions to ponder). If extra credit options beyond the Questions to Ponder become available, they will be announced to the class in a manner that enables students to choose among all available options. Participation in a given study cannot be counted for extra credit in more than one course.
E-Mail the Department of Communication Studies: commstudies-inquiry@uiowa.edu -
Page updated
March 29, 2006
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