Theories of Rhetoric

An extensive examination of contemporary ideas about the nature and function of rhetoric. Students will conduct in-depth readings into the works of such major figures as I.A. Richards, Jean-François Lyotard, Richard Weaver, Kenneth Burke, Jurgen Habermas, Stephen Toulmin, and Michel Foucault. Emphasis will be placed on the implications of rhetorical theory for notions of truth, ethics, knowledge, rationality, and the political order.