ENG 4020 Summer 2024 - Browdy

This course offers a survey of multiple rhetorical theories and traditions, including western rhetorical theory, feminist rhetorical theory, and cultural rhetorical theory. The purpose of the course is to engage diverse rhetorical theories and then use those theories to conduct analyses of texts from various media and socio-cultural contexts. For example, after gaining an understanding of feminist rhetorical theory, we may use this lens to analyze the rhetorical messages about gender discrimination, misogyny, and sexism in the 2023 film Barbie. At the completion of this course, students should have a broad understanding of the many histories, meanings, and functions of rhetoric, as well as how to employ multiple theories when interpreting texts and situations.