Studies in the Rhetoric of Nonfiction

3 credits · Undergraduate

(3 hrs Seminar/Discussion) This course examines nonfiction as a creative, constructive art that draws on a wide range of literary and rhetorical resources to entertain, inform, and persuade readers. Nonfiction encompasses a variety of genres--travel and adventure literature, memoir and biography, nature writing, the personal essay, the polemical essay, and New Journalism. The focus in any given year depends on the instructor's interests and selection of readings. Whatever the focus, the course considers each text as both rhetorical and literary, taking into account the context of its writing and intended audience, its author's purposes, its central ideas, its structure, and its style. The course involves intensive close reading and examination of assigned texts using literary and rhetorical approaches. The class consists of short lecture presentations and a great deal of class discussion. Restrictions: Students may not hold credit for this course and the former RHET-3150. Requisite Courses: Completion of 42 credit hours [prerequisite(s)].