The course objectives are to:
(1) understand key elements that constitute the rhetorical dimensions of discourse and be able to identify potential sources, purposes, effects, and interactions;
(2) research the historical, social, and political contexts of rhetorical messages;
(3) apply methods of critical analysis in several written exercises to various subjects of rhetorical interest.

This version of the course will be taught as writing intensive, which means that the course will include substantial and ongoing writing assignments that:
a) relate clearly to course learning;
b) teach the communication values of the discipline—for example, its practices of argument, evidence, credibility, and format;
c) prepare students for further writing in their academic work, graduate school, and professional life.

The written assignments will include four papers that incorporate a significant and diverse body of written work (the equivalent of 6000 words or 25 pages) and the instructor (and/or the teaching assistant assigned to the course) will be closely involved in student writing, providing opportunities for feedback, and substantive revision and other staged writing processes.

Week 1 Introduction: The Concepts of Rhetoric and Rhetorical Criticism
Week 2: Rhetorics Are Contextual: Situations, Genres, Histories
Week 3: Rhetorics are Contextual: Audiences, Goals, and Media
Week 4: Style Communicates: Tropes and Images
Week 5: Narratives and Dramatic Form Shape Understandings
Week 6: Ideology and Ideographs
Week 7 & 8: Ethos, Identities, and Personae in Rhetorics
Week 9 & 10: Reasoning with Audiences
Week 11: Delivery Matters: Rhythm, Movement, Physical Entrainment
Week 12: Pathos Turns Affects into Emotions
Week 13 & 14: Cultures and Voices in the Constitution of Rhetorics
Week 15: Interactions Among Rhetorical Components

“Academic honesty is – defined broadly and simply – the performance of all academic work without cheating, lying,  stealing, or receiving assistance from any other person or using any source of information not appropriately authorized or attributed” (From the Preamble to “A Culture of Honesty”). The University, the Department of Communication Studies, and I personally take academic honesty very seriously. Every student at the University of Georgia should be familiar with the  booklet, “A Culture of Honesty: Policies and Procedures on Academic Dishonesty.” If you are not, please obtain one of these booklets and read it carefully. This document has a thorough presentation of four types of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, unauthorized assistance, lying/tampering, and theft, as well as the procedures that are in place to adjudicate alleged incidents of academic dishonesty. The policies and procedures described in “A Culture of Honesty” will be strictly followed.