Course Description
Rhetoric has been defined as the "art of persuasion." People attempt to use various means of persuasion all the time, but often lack the knowledge and expertise necessary to persuade effectively. That´s where the art of rhetoric comes in. For several thousand years, beginning in ancient Greece, a body of wisdom dealing the theories and techniques of persuasion has developed to provide the tools necessary for persuasive communication. Rhetoric may be an ancient discipline, but the basic insights of how to persuade others, I believe, are as relevant today as they were when they were first conceived.
The object of this course will be to study the theories of rhetoric developed by the greatest thinkers in ancient world (Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Quintilian, and Augustine) and to see how these theories might apply in contemporary situations where persuasion is often employed--for example, in the realms of business, advertising, politics, and even religion.
Your one assignment in this class, in fact, will require you to apply all of the insights you learn from our course reading in order to persuade other to accept a controversial position of your choice. To do this, you will be making use some of the most important technological tools available today to persuade others. These include a web-design program (your choice, although I´d recommend Blogger for novices), a blogging program (Blogger), a video-editing program (Windows Movie Maker), a photo-editing program (We´ll use Photoshop), and, of course, Facebook or Twitter. Most of these programs are available for free (except Photoshop, which is available at any Molloy computer lab) and instructions on how to use them effectively will be provided during class.
In the end, you should leave this class with a fairly thorough understanding of how to persuade just about anyone about just about anything. How you apply the theories you learn in your daily life, of course, will be entirely up to you!
Class Hours and Structure
This course will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:40-12:05.
In general, our Tuesday classes will involve a detailed discussion of the classical theories of rhetoric about which you have been assigned to read. Most of our Thurday classes--which will usually be held in Lab A--will be designated as lab classes During these sessions, which will be very hands-on, you will learn how to use various forms of technology in order to persuade a contemporary audience. It is my sincerest hope that, by breaking up the class in this way, our three hours per week together will prove to be not only educative, but fun as well!
Course Text
A.J. Grunthaler. The Art of Persuasion: Classical Rhetoric for Modern Communicators. New York: SophiaOmni Press, 2011.
