Course Description
A survey of key issues and figures in rhetorical theory, especially in the classical, modern, and contemporary eras.
Athena Title
SEM RHET THEORY
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in SPCM 8200
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1. Students will be able to identify the most influential theorists in the western tradition of rhetorical theory. 2. Students will be able to identify the key topics and the major positions on these topics, as they have been discussed in the western tradition of rhetorical theory. 3. Students will learn to read theoretical essays critically and constructively. 4. Students will learn to construct and present a conference-quality paper in rhetorical theory.
Topical Outline
1. Treatments of key classical concepts (e.g., ethos, pathos, logos, tropes) 2. Theories of language, messages, or tropes 4. Theories of speakers, sources, or personae 5. Contested conceptualizations: audiences, situations, genres, contexts, ecologies 6. The relationship of rhetoric to governance, social change, or culture 7. The impact of demographic groupings and globalization 8. Classical Figures: e.g., Plato, Aristotle, Gorgias, Isocrates, etc. 9. Renaissance/Modern Figures: e.g., Blair, Campbell, Whately, etc. 10. Contemporary Figures: e.g., Burke, Perelman, Toulmin, McGee, etc.
Syllabus
Public CV