Rhetorical Disc Demo Theory

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

In this course we will explore the role of speech in a democracy by examining the ways in which rhetorical discourse constitutes democratic practice. Historically, democracy in America has always been a rhetorical construction, complete with its own narrative thread, idioms, themes and images. Many of these were informed by classical political theory, and so in the first third of the course we will read parts of those works that deal directly with speech, rhetoric, and politics—Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War, Plato’s Republic and the Gorgias, Aristotle’s Politics and Rhetoric. At the same time, we will read speeches from the early days of the American republic, including the New England theocracy and speeches surrounding the American revolution and the constitutional debates. As American culture changed over time, however, so too did the relationship between speech and politics. In the second third of the course we will read selections from modern and Enlightenment political theorists, such as J.S. Mill, Hobbes, and Tocqueville to explore the shifting meanings of speech and democratic practice. For this section of the course we will read speeches on the American Frontier, the rise of commercialism, and of course speeches about slavery and the civil war, including selections from Gary Wills' breathtaking book Lincoln at Gettysburg. For the last third of the course we will look at contemporary political theory’s treatment of discourse and democracy, with a special focus on deliberation and citizenship. Here we will explore the important rhetorical functions of critique and dissent, focusing on speeches and texts concerning civil rights, economic freedoms, and other contentious political issues. Political theory readings will be drawn from John Rawls, Iris Young, Chantal Mouffe, Susan Bickford, Hannah Arendt and Richard Rorty.