Honors Seminar: Voice to Power — Public Speaking and Civic Responsibility

Catalog description

This course focuses on developing oral and written communication skills in the context of civic communication and communication in the public sphere. Students not only learn oral communication skills involving diction, body language, audience awareness and delivery, but also demonstrate understanding of rhetorical theory and analysis. Using memorable speeches from history and the current day, students identify the rhetorical strategies used and learn how to apply these skills to their own public speaking. Emphasis is on informative and persuasive speaking occasions and on learning from successful public speakers of past and present.