Dartmouth's Institute for Writing and Rhetoric, a new program aimed at improving students' writing and speaking skills, offered courses for the first time this Fall term. The institute combines the existing Writing Program for freshmen with more advanced writing courses and a new speech curriculum.
The new speech courses include Public Speaking, Persuasive Public Speaking and Speech Writing. Public Speaking is the only new course offered this term.
The speech course has generated strong student interest, Joshua Compton, who teaches the course, said. He said at one point last week more students were on the waitlist than enrolled in the course, which has a 14-person limit. Compton said he will not expand the class size, in order to ensure that there is ample time to hear students speak.
Dartmouth's former office of speech was comprised of one professor, Jim Kuypers, who resigned in 2005. In his resignation letter, Kuypers cited frustrations with the administration and compared Dean of the Faculty Carol Folt and former Associate Dean for the Humanities Lenore Grenoble to the mythical monsters Scylla and Charybdis, according to an article in The Dartmouth from 2005. The speech program was discontinued following Kuypers' resignation.
The Dartmouth was unable to reach Kuypers for comment.
Kuypers had requested and been denied additional faculty and resources for the program, Lindsay Whaley, associate dean of the faculty, said, adding that Kuypers' program did not fit clearly into the existing framework of the College's curriculum. The College always saw the need for courses in rhetoric, according to Whaley, but found it difficult to integrate speech courses into Dartmouth's curriculum.
"[Kuypers] occupied an unusual position in that the office of speech was not a department or a program, yet it was clearly curricular," he said.
The goal of the new speech courses, Compton said, is to create a "learning community" where students can strengthen their communication skills through feedback and advice.
"With the formation of the institute we're taking a two-tiered strategy," Whaley said. "On the first tier, we want to provide broad exposure to training and speech through the introductory writing courses, which is important for all students attending a liberal arts college. The second tier will allow students who want to develop their communication skills to a greater degree of sophistication. We have a pool of individuals who are ripe to take [their public speaking skills] to a new level, and we serve them well when we provide them with the resources to take that next step."
Compton said he is excited to continue working with Dartmouth students.
"The students are very eager to improve their speaking skills and are grateful for the very opportunity to be able to improve," Compton said. "They have been very open to constructive criticism, and I've already seen significant growth just after a couple of classes."
Shayla Mars '11 decided to enroll in Compton's speech class because she is looking to pursue a career in public relations, and Dartmouth lacks a communications program or department.
"I hope that by taking this course, I will develop a better understanding of what the job of a speaker is in relation to the message he or she is presenting to an audience," she said. "This course is definitely a step in the right direction, but it would be great if the College went on to develop a minor or major track in speech or communication."
The College plans to expand the institute's writing program to include students who are currently exempt from Writing 5 based on their SAT scores, Whaley said. Resource limitations currently preclude those students from taking Writing 5 classes, Whaley said, but he believes every student can benefit from taking introductory writing courses.
"We are definitely looking to hire additional faculty in the future," he said. "We are committed over the next couple of years to making sure that every incoming student will be able to enroll in either Writing 5 or the corresponding Writing 2-3 class."
Another goal of the institute is to ensure that professors teaching first year writing courses understand the program's purpose and are able to help one another with teaching strategies. In previous years, Writing 2-3, Writing 5 and freshman seminars were offered through different departments and professors rarely consulted with one another, Whaley said.
