RWPD-387

How do language and symbols influence how we understand and experience the world? Rhetorical criticism is a set of analytical tools used to illuminate the problems-and pleasures-of contemporary (and historical) public life. Changes in how we use technology and receive information in a mediated environment have fractured our capacity to pay attention. In this course, we will practice slowing down in order to hone the essential skills of paying attention to detail, critical thinking, research, and writing. Using the tools of rhetorical criticism, you will become a nuanced interpreter of media, politics, power dynamics, and popular culture. You will write three short essays that build to a longer piece of critical writing on a topic of your choice that poses a complex research question about a speech, image, or another specific rhetorical object. Though course readings are grounded in the field of rhetoric, the course is open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors of any major who are interested in the topic and looking to improve their critical thinking and writing skills. Distribution areas: Humanities, Textual Analysis, Writing Across Contexts.