This course will explore classical rhetorical theory and practice as reflected in literary representations of Western history, education, and democratic political systems. We will examine the Greco-Roman Rhetorical tradition as it has shaped our historical and current roles as citizens, rhetors, and scholars. We will focus on the rhetoric of the Classical Period beyond the Enlightenment with a special focus on Gorgias, Isocrates, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero as well as selected texts of influential women rhetoricians Sappho, Aspasia, Diotima, Sor Juana de la Cruz, and Sarah Grimké. Supplementary readings will be included to map the evolution of Athenian democracy and Socratic citizenship as these influence contemporary democratic thought and institutions. This course will emphasize the application and analysis of rhetorical theory (key terms and concepts) through the generation of multi-perspectival interpretations of classical texts.

Course Assignments include:

• Team Rhetorical Analysis Exercises (5)
• Class Discussion Presentations (2)
• Supplementary Reading Report & Presentation
• Mid-Term Take Home Exam
• Final Rhetorical Analysis Project

ENGL 542 Required Texts:
Aristotle. Aristotle on Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse. 2nd ed.  Ed. and trans. George A. Kennedy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Bizzell, Patricia and Bruce Herzberg. 2nd ed. The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from Classical Times to Present. Bedford Books, 2000.

Hauser, Gerald A. Introduction to Rhetorical Theory. 2nd ed. Waveland Press, 2002.

De la Cruz, Sor Juana. The Answer/La Respuesta, Including a Selection of Poems. Ed. and trans. Electa Arenal and Amanda Powell. New York: Feminist Press, 1994.

Glenn, Cheryl, ed. Rhetoric Retold: Regendering the Tradition from Antiquity through the Renaissance. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1997.

Jones, A. H. M. Athenian Democracy. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986.

Lanham, Richard A. A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms. 2nd Ed. University of California Press, 1991.

Villa, Dana. Socratic Citizenship. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001.