COMM 463 - Rhetorical Theory

This course surveys the history of rhetoric, the oldest of several disciplines making up the field of communication. Public persuasive discourse has exerted an unparalleled influence on the western world’s direction and development. Philosophers, politicians, lawyers, theologians, poets – all have tried to determine what takes place when one person sets out to persuade another by the use of symbols, and in particular by means of rational aesthetic and emotional appeals. The tradition of their thought on the subject makes up the discipline known as “rhetoric,” a discipline dating back more than 2,000 years, and a topic of study currently undergoing an important renaissance.

Credits: 4
Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisites: COMM 101, COMM 151, COMM 260 or COMM 270, COMM 280