First Year Seminar: The Art of Rhetoric from Cicero to Social Media

CLASSICS 118

In Barack Obama's victory speech after the 2008 election, he said, "It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America." He did indeed promise change, but in making that promise he relied on rhetorical rules -- like the climactic tricolon -- that were first formulated in classical antiquity and have been passed down in an unbroken tradition right up to today. In this class we will study the uses and abuses of rhetoric from the ancient world to the present. The course combines a study of rhetorical theory with observation of its practice from Cicero to contemporary advertising, and also includes a significant public speaking component. The meticulous deconstruction of complex texts and ideas in this course will give students a tool for cutting to the heart of the issues that continue to face the modern world, and the participants' own speaking and writing will also benefit. Students will analyze both ancient and modern attempts at persuasion in light of classical rhetorical theory, and they will write and deliver two short speeches on topics of their choice.
Course Attributes: FYS; BU Hum; AS HUM; AS LCD; FA HUM; AR HUM; EN H

Section 01

First Year Seminar: The Art of Rhetoric from Cicero to Social Media
INSTRUCTOR: Keeline
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