COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES Official Description: An
introduction to major contemporary theories of rhetoric,
focusing in particular on semiotic and postmodern rhetorical
theories. Students will apply these theories to the design and
analysis of print and online texts composed in multiple modes
(e.g., using sound, images, writing, hypertext) and media. This
course is designed to introduce you to major contemporary
theories of rhetoric and composition as well as to the
application of these theories in the classroom, the workplace,
and the public sphere. In 15 weeks, we cannot possibly cover all
the “current” questions of our vast disciplines, but I have
structured the course around groups of recurring questions in
“rhet/comp,” particularly those that are dominating our
conversations because they ask the discipline to revisit
questions we’ve been asking for more than 50 years. Building on
the readings you completed in ENGW 3336, Theories of Rhetoric
and Composition, we will explore how earlier theories of