Aristotle’s Bringing Sexy Back: Contemporary Applications of Rhetoric
You’ve probably heard the word “rhetoric” used to describe empty, overinflated language. People will often say that politicians’ speeches are just rhetoric: all form and no substance. The common use of the word suggests that rhetoric is simply the way we say or write something, but not necessarily what we mean when we say it. However, rhetoric (an ancient art traced back to the writings of Aristotle) is also the study of the relationship between those two ideas. Rhetoricians study the ways that we say (and don’t say) something, how those words create meaning, and how that language persuades an audience. Rhetoricians can employ several different lenses to reveal the multiple ways texts work to persuade us.
In this class, you will get to pick an artifact to analyze the entire semester based on some general guidelines discussed in class. You might decide to look at a series of works from a particular author such as JK Rowling or Steinbeck, a television series like Battlestar Gallatica or South Park, a piece of legislation similar to No Child Left Behind or the newest stimulus package, a series of advertisements, a particular newspaper like The Wall Street Journal or The Chronicle, or anything else that interests you. Once you pick your artifact, we’ll apply different rhetorical theories to it to reveal why that text is successful (or not) in a particular context.
Each week, we’ll read a text that explains a theory and method for applying that theory to an artifact. We will also read a few articles that employ that theory and method. Every other week, you’ll apply one of those lenses to your artifact and write a short 3-5 page paper on what you discover. As a class we’ll workshop your writing and give you feedback on the strengths of the piece and what needs to be done if you decide to revise it. By the end of the semester, you will have applied at least 3 different lenses to your artifact and written at least three short papers. For your final paper in the class, you’ll pick one of those short papers and develop it into a larger research paper.
By taking this class, you’ll learn how to apply create claims, use evidence to support your claims, and give feedback to other writers on their work.
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