ENG 4020 Spring 2018 Graban

Spring
2018
ENG 4020
Rhetorical Theory and Practice: Rhetoric as a Living Practice
Tarez Samra Graban
WMS 221

In this course, we consider "rhetoric" as a way of making knowledge in the world. The way in which we interpret, respond to, or perceive ourselves to be involved in things like ecology, digital revolutions, globalism, feminism, ethnic profiling, and even war is inherently rhetorical because it requires our understanding of how symbols act on us and on others—what Kenneth Burke has famously called "equipments for living." Thus, this course will involve you in the study and practice of rhetorical criticism by introducing you to some theoretical landmarks that make it a living practice for the 21st century.

In a single course, we cannot cover every school of thought, every intellectual movement, or every theory vital to rhetorical criticism, but we can engage with a set of problems or dilemmas that have shaped contemporary understandings of rhetoric, writing, culture, and text. In fact, much of what challenges us as writers, readers, students, workers, and citizens often boils down to four dilemmas of agency, signification, textuality, and representation. Those are the areas in which we will read.

Whether or not you consider yourself a rhetorical theorist, much critical work is often done to meet real demands in real contexts. So, we will use films, graphic novels, and other web, print, and video texts as "cases" or situations on which rhetorical criticism can be practiced. No prior theoretical background is required to do well in this course, but you will need to be willing to spend considerable time working through some difficult texts and writing about them thoughtfully.

In addition to a critical glossary and a graphic novel, our required readings will include a digitally secured Course Packet of articles and essays available for downloading and/or printing prior to the start of the term.