Persuasion!

Catalog description

In this class, we look at case studies from a range of historical periods and contexts to interrogate various methods by which people have attempted to persuade others. In Rhetoric, for instance, Aristotle argued that persuasion relies on three appeals: reason (logos), credibility and expertise (ethos), and emotion (pathos). Our Logos: What are the tactics of persuasion? Why does it work, and when does it fail? How do we think about persuasion outside of its most familiar modern home in politics and advertising? In pursuit of these questions, we engage written and visual texts, recorded speeches, staged performances, and monuments. While most of our texts in this class will draw from the premodern, this is not a “history” of persuasion. Rather, we approach persuasion as a method of communication that exists within historical and cultural contexts and is intended for particular audiences. Ethos: This class is co-taught by two Gallatin professors with a combined 40 years of scholarly research and teaching experience. Their expertise in the history of art and media studies, and practice in modes of social and political persuasion, will structure our interdisciplinary approach to Persuasion! Pathos: WORRIED that you need a deeper and broader understanding of how persuasion WORKS? This class is designed with versatility and effectiveness to meet YOUR individualized needs and get the results YOU desire. This could be the most TRANSFORMATIVE course you will ever take! You’ll be saying ‘WOW!’ at the end of every class!