Rhetoric and Activism

Catalog description

What is the role of rhetoric-the art of persuasion-in social change? What factors affect whether persuasive strategies work? How are people moved along with and on behalf of others? In this course, we will read documents and speeches associated with social and political movements in the U.S. We will cover major issues from the US in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, such as civil rights, environmental protection, AIDS activism, and labor movements, among others. We will also read about documents and speeches from these movements: analysis of individual documents, and of social movement rhetoric in general. Our task is to try to better understand the role of persuasion in making social change, and to better understand cultural factors that shape possibilities for rhetoric, including economics, politics, and media. Students who undertake this study of socially effective rhetoric will come away with a deeper understanding of factors shaping rhetoric, including political exigencies, ideological principles, and material realities.