Courses

ENGL 300-01, Texts and Contexts

This course introduces students to critical traditions and techniques in the analysis of a wide variety of texts, including those produced in professional, academic, and domestic settings. Central to this analysis will be consideration of the historical contexts in which these texts are created and experienced, and the people and tools involved in these processes. Students enrolled in the course will gain insights into the rhetorical dimension of communication by examining how texts composed in various media – oral, written, visual, blended – are produced, responded to, circulated, and adapted to new purposes. Students will be required to produce texts using various sorts of media.

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ENGL 385 New Media and Digital Literacy

Featuring a compelling list of the most thought-provoking research in Media Studies, this course introduces students to a range of pressing issues that link media literacy to questions concerning democracy, online extremism, equity and inclusion, digital divides, social networking platforms, and many more. Students will engage and compose research with attention to the evaluation and application of rhetorical theory to digital media and communication technologies.

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ENGL 493/631 African American Rhetoric

This course explores the intersections of race, ethnicity, discourse, media, and communication systems. In addition to introducing students to social theories, cybercultures, and other aspects of digital communication, students will explore issues of representation, identity, education, justice, inequality, and power. Students will also grapple with the impact of digital media on social movements, such as Black Lives Matter, as well as its impact on more traditional African American rhetorical themes (racial uplift, the African American Jeremiad, etc.) and rhetorical practices (call and response, signifying, African-American Vernacular English, etc.) in conjunction with online networking activity (Black Twitter) and the creation and maintenance of Black public spheres.

Follow this link to access the course syllabus.

Follow this link to access the course schedule.