Mar 28, 2024  
2019-2020 Graduate Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ENG 6940 History of Rhetoric


This graduate seminar focuses on the history of rhetoric, specifically the development and meaning of the term through (and in) Western civilization and thought. Beginning with the origins of rhetoric, the course offers an historical examination of rhetoric through the classical, medieval, Renaissance, Enlightenment, and twentieth century, focusing on both the shifts in definition and the changes in use of the term as revealed through the literature of the periods examined. Readings may include definitive texts by Gorgias, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Boethius, Locke, Nietzche, Bakhtin, I.A. Richards, Derrida, and others. Students produce weekly journals in response to the readings. In addition, they are responsible for presenting at least one theorist/author from our readings to the class, placing that author and their text in historical context.
Credits: 3.0