BA English in Rhetoric and Writing

With its broad focus on the study of discourse, the rhetoric and writing concentration offers students the opportunity to develop their analytical and writing skills and to explore a wide range of issues in rhetorical and cultural theory. In addition to developing a critical consciousness of their own language use, students explore how rhetorical actions develop and are reinforced within communities, cultures, workplaces, professions, and classrooms.Core courses provide students with a foundation in rhetorical theory and advanced study in style, genre, writing for multiple audiences, and research technology. Students also have the opportunity for specialized study in public writing, technical writing, linguistics, legal writing, and teaching English as a second or foreign language. Special topics courses are regularly offered on a number of subjects; recent courses include Reading and Writing in the South, the Rhetoric of American Political Discourse, the Rhetoric of Domesticity, and Rhetoric and Human Rights on the Internet. The concentration allows students the flexibility to combine work in rhetoric with work in literary studies, women s studies, critical theory, and ethnic and cultural studies.