Fall 2020 Teaching Materials: The Big Collection

Please note that a RWS100 wiki containing an entire package of integrated RWS100 teaching materials is at
this site https://rws100template.pbworks.com/.  It is designed to help TAs, new teachers, and anyone else
who wishes to use them. It has a package of linked material, from schedule to texts to homework, assignments
and class plans. It also has guides to teaching online. We organized it around the theme of racial justice.

Our one caveat is the schedule and homework listed is overly dense and more than you will probably want to attempt.
We included a lot so people could see choices, but it's more than can easily fit into one semester. Of course you are most
welcome to just consider adapting a few things from this.

The material below is for TAs and the lower division group to help them plan over summer. Newer versions of most 
of this is at the tempalte wiki, https://rws100template.pbworks.com/.

Teaching Files from the Fall 2020 Orientation - Google Drive

• Handouts, powerpoints and other materials from the 2020 fall TA orientation are in a Google drive taht anyone with a SDSU account 
  can acccess and edit.  

Links for Summer Meetings

• Schedule and activities for training sessions
• Zoom meeting link
• Recording of July 24 Zoom session 1  and July 29 recording session 5 
• The Google Docs of group work we did: July 30 (discussion of first weeks and use of short texts) and August 3 (Stevenson discussion) 
• Detailed sample class Plans for the First Three Weeks of the Semester 
• Karen's advice on getting your pay set up 

Class Plans for First Three Weeks

• Detailed sample class Plans for the First Three Weeks of the Semester

Textbooks

• Online access to Norton's They Say/I Say: the Moves that Matter in Academic Discourse, and the Little Seagull Reader
  (you will need your email address and login for the Norton site). 
• The free RWS100 Digital Textbook Reading, Writing, and Evaluating Argument    

If you plan on using the Norton ebooks They Say/I Say and Little Seagull handbook, and haven't talked to the bookstore
or Norton reps, you should do so asap. See the info below explaining how to do this.

Norton eBooks and the Immediate Access Program

The Norton reps Andrea Knab (knab@wwnorton.com) and Elizabeth Pieslor (epieslor@wwnorton.com) can help integrate
these books into Canvas or Blackboard.

The SDSU bookstore contact is Ben Compton, ben.compton@sdsu.edu. They Say/I Say and Little Seagull handbook

are part of the "Immediate Access" system, which is used by the bookstore and Norton to organize student access
to texts. In short, students are signed up for the texts and given access from day 1. If they do not opt out, they will
be charged $19 for both texts at the add/drop date. 

The bookstore asks that you include in your syllabus language such as the following to explain the system and
how students can opt out:

"Immediate Access Course: Some or all of the required course materials for this class are provided in a digital format
by the first day of classes and are free through the add/drop date.  Your SDSU student account will then be charged a special
reduced price for use of the materials for the remainder of the semester unless you opt-out of the content by 11:59 PM
on the add/drop date. Please visit www.shopaztecs.com/immediateaccess for additional information about Immediate

Access pricing, digital subscription duration, print add-ons, opting out and other frequently asked questions."

The bookstore provided this guide to faculty for the Immediate Access system.

Potential Readings for Fall 2020

Short texts that could be used to introduce Rhetorical Analysis

We have a collection of short texts on a range of topics that are often used to introduce rhetorical concepts and argument
analysis. There are teaching materials for many of those texts. 

If you wish to use some short texts that address racial (in)justice, and aspects of the current moment, we could also consider 
using some of the texts below. 

• The video and transcript of rapper Killer Mike’s Atlanta speech at the Atlanta mayor’s press conference. (There is
  also his interview with Stephen Colbert).

• President Obama’s Medium article – “How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change” and president
  Bush’s: “Statement by President George W Bush” Margaret Renkl, "An Open Letter to my Fellow White Christians."

• Some recent short texts on racial justice that could be used as supplements or alternatives to the texts bove. 

• An assortment of texts from the writings and social media accounts of people involved in the recent protests.

Unit 1 and Stevenson's "We Need to Talk about an Injustice"

• Bryan Stevenson’s TED talk “We Need to Talk about an Injustice” (transcript, video). This speech gets at some of the issues
  related to our current crises, but is hopeful and rhetorically interesting. There is a one page text by Stevenson that  covers
  similar ground, that could be used to introduce Stevenson’s TED talk, and to discuss how Stevenson modulates his
  argument for a different audience.

Unit 1 Teaching Materials

• Large collection of teaching materials for unit 1. This file also has links to Google slide presentations you can use if you wish. 
  It's in a Google doc and you will need a SDSU account to edit it.

Introducing Stevenson: pre-reading resources

• Stevenson’s Wikipedia page.
• A three minute video introducing Stevenson and some of his main ideas about racism and the criminal justice system. PBS Newshour
• There is a one page text from the 1619 project Stevenson wrote that  covers
  similar ground, that could be used to introduce Stevenson’s TED talk, and to discuss how Stevenson modulates his argument for a different audience.
• Bryan Stevenson’s bio page at the Equal Justice Initiative, the organization he founded.
• The HBO documentary True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality follows. The film explores 30 years of EJI’s work on behalf of the poor, the incarcerated, and the condemned. “Told primarily in his own words, True Justice shares Bryan Stevenson’s experience with a criminal justice system that “treats you better if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent.” The burden of facing this system is explored in candid interviews with associates, close family members, and clients.” (From the EJI web site).
• Stevenson interviewed about his memoir, Just Mercy, and the movie made about it, starring Jamie Foxx and Michael B. Jordan. WBUR Jan 10, 2020.

Stevenson on Racism, the Protests, and how we can Move Forward.

These texts could be used as part of a unit 3 project.

• “Bryan Stevenson: From the Courtroom to Hollywood.” 18 minute video from BookTube in which Stevenson discusses his work with young people. Stevenson discusses his book Just Mercy, which was made into a major Hollywood movie. The segment also covers some of the same ground as the TED talk, but updates it in a way that brings his work more squarely into conversation with more recent events. Excellent piece to help students think about how Stevenson’s work connects to our current moment.
• Stevenson on the George Floyd killing and our summer of protest. From the New Yorker, June 1, 2020. This could be a great text for students interested in Stevenson, the protest movement, and the issue of racial justice, to explore these issues further in unit 3.
• Bryan Stevenson on how America can heal. A conversation about truth and reconciliation in the US. Vox, Jul 20, 2020. Ezra Klein interviews Stevenson about the protests, race in America, and how we can move forward.
• Stevenson:  How we arrived at this moment and where we go from here. 4 minute video. A livestream event assembling artists and activists to listen, learn, and take action in support of the Equal Justice Initiative.
• Bryan Stevenson: There’s a Direct Line from Lynching to George Floyd. Jun 2, 2020. Stevenson  talks with Walter Isaacson about solutions, from a change in the culture of policing to an embrace of truth and reconciliation. 18 minute video.
• Nationwide unrest is about a history of racial inequality. Stevenson interviewed by Lester Holt about the response to the death of George Floyd.

Stevenson Videos

• A three minute video introducing Stevenson and some of his main ideas about racism and the criminal justice system. PBS Newshour.
• Bryan Stevenson:  How we arrived at this moment and where we go from here. 4 minute video. A livestream event assembling artists and activists to listen, learn, and take action in support of the Equal Justice Initiative.
• Bryan Stevenson: There’s a Direct Line from Lynching to George Floyd. Jun 2, 2020. Stevenson  talks with Walter Isaacson about solutions, from a change in the culture of policing to an embrace of truth and reconciliation. 18 minute video.
• Bryan Stevenson: There’s a Direct Line from Lynching to George Floyd. Jun 2, 2020. Stevenson  talks with Walter Isaacson about solutions, from a change in the culture of policing to an embrace of truth and reconciliation. 18 minute video.
• Nationwide unrest is about a history of racial inequality. Stevenson interviewed by Lester Holt about the response to the death of George Floyd.

Some background texts

• Ibram X. Kendi, “The Difference between being “Not Racist” and Antiracist.” TED talk, June 13, 2020. 

• Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff, Rashad Robinson, Dr. Bernice King and Anthony D. Romero. “The path to ending systemic racism in the US.” TED, June 3, 2020 

• TED radio hour “Ingrained Injustice.” Four short talks that explore different aspects of how racism became embedded in our lives.

• Video of Interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi.

• Baratunde Thurston, “How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time” and Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff, April 2019. How we can make
  racism a solvable problem — and improve policing.

Unit 2 Teaching Materials

• Large collection of teaching materials for unit 2 (Google doc). Includes some ideas for teaching Landrieu and Hannah-Jones.
• Google slides for introducing rhetorical strategies and doing in-class exercises 
• Google slides for teaching evaluation of arguments 
• Google slides on Fallacies 

Unit 2: Some Texts Chris and Jason are Considering

• Chris and Jason are considering using Nikole Hannah-Jones “America Wasn't a Democracy, Until Black Americans Made It.
  ”The pdf version is from the Pulitzer Center. There are also lesson plans. Hannah Jones explains her purpose and the intended
  audience for the 1619 project in an interview.Hannah-Jones’ text is a rich, complex argument for rethinking American history
  and democracy. Chris is thinking of teaching Hannah-Jones alongside Mitch Landrieu’s speech explaining why he removed
  confederate monuments from New Orleans.  Both Hannah-Jones and Landrieu make their arguments in part by inviting
  us to grapple with identity – to rethink who we are, who we have been, what our history is, and who we might become.

• Note that you can follow Hannah Jones on Twitter (her twitter handle is @nhannahjones).  

• Short videos of Hannah Jones describing the 1619 project and some of her arguments: CBS This Morning (4 minutes), her interview with 
  Trevor Noah on the Daily Show (6 minutes), her interview with Christian Amanpour on CNN (12 minutes).

•  Interview on MSNBC, 9 minutes. PBS interview, August 18, 2019. "The 1619 Project details the legacy of slavery in America" 

• Podcasts on the 1619 project.

• The Search for Racial Equity | The 1619 Project | Nikole Hannah-Jones & Dr. Kamau Bobb. Google Talks series, July 10, 2020.  This is a fascinating 55 minute 
  video that explains the 1619 project, goes into how it came to be, and why she led the project. It also connects to many unfolding events. This video could 
  be used instead of the written text, or it could be used as part of unit 3, to think about how Hannah-Jones work extends into other conversations. 
  
  The 1619 project works to "reframe the history of the United States by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the 
  very center of the US’s national narrative. Slavery is sometimes referred to as the country’s original sin, but it is more than that: It is the country’s very origin."  
  
  This part of the "Search for Racial Equity Series" assembled by Google. It is a global forum offering an in depth study and dialog of racial equity and 
  justice, through forthright discussion and a syllabus that intends to amplify the most authentic and powerful voices of our time and of this movement. 

   

• Debating the 1619 Project: Historian Leslie Harris's sympathetic but critical analysis of Hannah-Jones argument. 5 Historians 
  took issue with some of the claims Hannah-Jones makes, and the NYTimes replied. 

Texts with Connections to Hannah Jones and Landrieu

• Sal Khan of Khan Academy Interviews Nikole Hannah Jones. July 30, 2020. Video, 40 minutes. Wide ranging discussion that explains 
  the purpose of the 1619 project and how it connects to many aspects of contemporary life. 
• Hannah-Jones interviewed by Terry Gross on radio show Fresh Air (there is a transcript). "A Call For Reparations: How America Might Narrow The
  Racial Wealth Gap June." 24, 2020
• CBS News - 16 minute video with Nikole Hannah-Jones. "Nikole Hannah-Jones on protests and the roots of racism in the U.S."
• Nikole Hannah-Jones and and New Yorker staff writer Jelani Cobb on protests: Black Americans are ‘demanding their full citizenship’
• Oprah Winfrey's "Where do we go from here?" site has video clips that include Nikole Hannah Jones and many other writers
  and scholars who examine race and racism.