Ceremonial

=The Rhetoric in Syllabi=

I believe that syllabi are part of the entire rhetoric of a course. As such, there are pieces of the syllabi that are written in ways that are forensic, ceremonial, and political (see Aristotle Rhetoric Book I, Part 3). This page is titled ceremonial because I feel that there are pieces of the syllabi that are written to comply with the ceremonial aspects of persuasion. What then is the ceremonial? Ceremonial writing takes place when the rhetor strives for honor in the current setting, honor is achieved by including items that help or hinder the audience. In the case of this syllabus, I find that items such as the office hours, location of instruction, instructor's office and so on to be ceremonial in nature, especially as these items are consistently placed in all syllabi, often at the head. The first aspect of syllabi a student sees is in fact this information about who and what the course is.

I believe that part of the ceremony of the syllabus is the thought that the syllabi represent a legal document for between the students and the instructor. Michigan State University does not recognize the syllabus as a legal document, but instead as a guide for the instruction of the course (see the Michigan State University Ombudsman's website see []). If instructors have the sense of legality, the tone shifts to a legal document and the ceremonial language becomes more recognized.

In my TE 801 syllabus, I had to include certain statements that were written by the elementary team or the department. The tones of these sections are different from the tones in other sections of the syllabus. I provide two examples:

(1) //Elementary Math Team Policy for Late Assignments// Assignments are due on the due date as determined by the instructor, through electronic submission via ANGEL, unless otherwise specified. Conflicts with an assignment deadline should be discussed and resolved with the instructor before the class of the assignment's due date. Justifiable late assignments (i.e., ones with extreme extenuating circumstances as determined by the instructor) will be accepted with point deductions determined by the instructor. Unexplained late assignments will not be accepted and a grade of zero will be assigned. If you are absent on a due date, you must make other arrangements to get the assignment to the instructor on the due date or it will be considered late.

(2) //Classroom Policies// In accordance with the Teacher Preparation Program’s Professional Conduct Policy, attendance and punctuality in class meetings and field experiences are critical to your success in this course and in the Program. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the policy that is in your Guidebook (and on the web: @http://ed-web3.educ.msu.edu/infostu/infostu/conductpolicy.htm). In the case of recurring absences or tardiness, your Coordinator will be notified and you may be required to attend a meeting regarding your attendance. More than two absences in class or in your field placement will affect your grade and may result in a failing grade for the course.

The inclusion of such statements is purposefully to establish authority in the classroom, but they are written by ceremony and included by requirement.

I do recognize that in my attempts to write this syllabus, I make no mention to Michigan State University or to the College of Education, although I do the name of the department. Is this a serious omission? I think that is not completely destroying to the syllabus, but I recognize now that with the modern age of computing, I need to become more aware of the availability of such syllabi. I recognize that there will be others outside of my classroom that will be able to access syllabi like this. I believe that part of the ceremonial portions of syllabi will start to include moves like placing syllabi on letterhead or attaching to the University in order to bolster the ethos in the syllabi.