everything.study
21W.011

Writing and Rhetoric: Rhetoric and Contemporary Issues

3-0-9 units. HASS-H; CI-HW · Undergraduate

Discusses rhetorical strategies that aim to increase public awareness of social and ethical issues and persuade readers of the value of particular positions or solutions. Explores perspectives on a range of issues including: poverty, homelessness, mental illness, racial and gender inequality, the politics of food, civic responsibility, and the role of mass media in society. Students analyze various classic and contemporary texts as well as the visual rhetoric of documentary photographs and films. Students also write personal essays, research papers, and grant proposals on topics of their choice. Limited to 15.

Fall 2015

Topics

  • Workshop: Essay 1
  • Representing Social Issues in Historical Context: Poverty and Wealth in the Industrial Era
  • Documenting Social Issues: Poverty in the Industrial Era
  • Writers Engage with Contemporary Social Issues: Homelessness: Contrasting Perspectives
  • Low Wage Jobs: Pathways Out of Poverty? (cont.)
  • Living in an Aging Society: Benefits and Challenges
  • Writers Engage with Contemporary Issues: The Politics of Food
  • Writers Engage with Contemporary Issues: The Politics of Food (cont.)
  • Writers Explore Contemporary Issues: Mental Health and Illness
  • Writers Explore Contemporary Issues: Mental Health and Illness (cont.)
  • Workshop: Essay 2
  • Living in the Age of Mass Media: The Influence of Advertising
  • Workshop: Assignment 3
  • The Pitch: Oral Presentations (cont.)

Readings

Prerequisites & course information

Prereq: None U (Fall, Spring) 3-0-9 units. HASS-H; CI-HW Credit cannot also be received for 21W.012 , 21W.013 , 21W.014 , 21W.015

Sources