This course will begin by examining the ancient history of rhetoric before turning to its more recent history and its probable future. The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with a broad overview of rhetorical studies. In particular, we will read texts that appear at crucial moments in the rhetorical tradition: the pre-modern, including the question of what is rhetoric, the historical roots of rhetoric, the significance and purpose of rhetorical theory and the relation between rhetoric and philosophy; the moderns, including the relation between enlightenment and modernity; and the postmodern, including the question of what is postmodernity, sexual difference and postmodernism, and questions of effectivity and performativity.

This course will engage you in the reading and discussion of the works of major rhetorical theorists both ancient and modern. If you do all the reading and attend class on a regular basis, at the end of the semester you will have a basic understanding of the rhetorical tradition and an understanding in depth of contemporary trends.