Rhetoric

This course is an examination of the theory, the practice, and the implications of rhetoric & rhetorical criticism. This semester, you will have the opportunity to deepen many of your skills: Analysis, persuasion, oral presentation, and critical thinking. In this course you will act as both a rhetor (a person who uses rhetoric to persuade) and as a rhetorical critic (one who analyzes the rhetoric of others). Both the rhetor and the rhetorical critic write to persuade; both ask and answer important questions. Always one of their goals is to create new knowledge for all of us, so no endeavor in this class is a "mere exercise."

This course is an introduction to the history, theory, practice, and implications of rhetoric, the art and craft of persuasion through * Analyzing persuasive texts and speeches * Creating persuasive texts and speeches Through class discussions, presentations, and written assignments, you will get to practice your own rhetorical prowess. Through the readings, you'll also learn some ways to make yourself a more efficient reader, as you turn your analytical skills on the texts themselves. This combination of reading, speaking, and writing will help you succeed in: * learning * to read and think critically * techniques of rhetorical analysis * techniques of argument * to enhance your written and oral discourse with appropriate figures of speech * some techniques of oral presentation and the use of visual aids and visual rhetoric.