| Date |
Reading |
Assignment
due |
Week 1
Aug 29 |
Course introduction |
|
Week 2
Sept 5 |
Boiarsky, Ch.1
Kreps, Ch. 1 |
Assignment #1: The case study of the Chicago flood may
be viewed as a failure to coordinate internal and external communication. Write a
1-2 page analysis of how the city's internal communication in this case related (or failed
to relate) to its relevant environment. |
Weeks 3 -
7: Perspectives on Writing in Organizations |
Week 3
Sept 12 |
Kreps, Ch. 3 ("The Classical Theory of
Organization") Boiarsky, Ch. 8 (Case study of Three Mile Island nuclear accident)
Tonight's in-class
work |
Assignment #2: Respond to question #9 on p. 375 of
Boiarsky and Soven. What do the Chicago Flood and Three Mile Island reveal about the
benefits and drawbacks of bureaucracy in large, complex organizations? |
Week 4
Sept 19 |
Kreps, Ch. 4 ("The Human Relations
Theory of Organization")
Boiarsky and Soven,
Ch. 9 (Case study of the Challenger Disaster) |
Assignment #3: Respond to question #11 on page 407 of
Boiarsky and Soven. Would the Classical and Human Relations theories account for these
communication failures differently? If so, how might these perspectives differ? |
Week 5
Sept 26 |
Kreps, Ch. 5 ("The Social Systems Theory of
Organization") Bouldin and Odell, "Surveying the Field and Looking
Ahead: A Systems Theory Perspective on Research and Writing in the Workplace"
(pp. 268-281 in Spilka, ed.) |
Assignment #4: In their article, Bouldin and Odell use
Systems Theory to critique and analyze research on writing. Write a one-page summary
of their argument. |
Week 6
Oct 3 |
Kreps, Ch. 6 ("Weick's Model") Debs,
"Corporate Authority: Sponsoring Rhetorical Practice" (pp. 158-170 in Spilka,
ed.) |
Assignment #5: Analyze Case 6.2 (Weick, pp. 118-120)
from the perspective of Weick's theory of organization. |
Week 7
Oct 10 |
Kreps, Ch. 7 Kleimann, "The Reciprocal Relationship
of Workplace Culture and Review" (pp. 56-70 in Spilka, ed.)
In-class assessment of group behavior styles |
Assignment #6: The two dimensions of the GAO might be
seen as representing the dichotomy between the "human-intuitive" and
"rational" perspectives on writing in organizations. Do you see these
perspectives at work in your organization? If so, how do they play out? |
Weeks
8-15: Planning and Writing the Research Proposal |
Week 8
Oct 17 |
Boiarsky and Soven, Ch. 5 ("Proposals") |
|
Week 9
Oct 24 |
Research reading |
Assignment #7: E-mail your proposal for the course
project: · Identify a problem or issue in professional
writing. What is your guiding question?
· Describe the issue briefly. What are some key positions
on the issue? What are the key sources you have consulted (or will)?
· Why is the issue important to researchers or
practitioners in professional writing?
· Why is it important to you? What is your interest in this
topic? |
Week 10
Oct 31 |
Class cancelled Library research and reading |
Assignment #8: Create a Venn diagram that illustrates the relationships
among several topics or concepts related to your research. Post your diagram on the
VennDiagram.com web site, and send the link to our WebBoard. |
Week 11
Nov 7 |
Research reading |
Annotated bibliography due |
Week 12
Nov 14 |
Research reading |
|
Week 13
Nov 21 |
Research reading |
Bring three copies of current draft of research
proposal to class Assignments #9 & 10: Peer critique of two research proposals |
Week 14
Nov 28 |
Conferences on research proposal |
Bring current draft of research proposal to class |
Week 15
Dec 5 |
Research reading |
In-class oral presentations of research proposals Research
proposal due during scheduled exam time (no final exam) |
Graduate