ENGL 580: Rhetoric, Writing, and Social Change

This course explores the role of rhetoric and written communication in recent political and social movements in the United States through the lens of scholarship in writing studies. We will review studies on social justice discourse; protest rhetoric, resistance, and civil disobedience; social media and hashtag activism; news media representations of social movements; and the rhetorical construction of history and historical events.
As we do so, we will consider such questions as: What impact do rhetoric and writing have on social activism and public protest? How does public discourse evolve through social movements? How does this work impact policy changes at local, state, and federal levels? In what ways has our nation’s history been rhetorically constructed and for what purposes? In what ways can we both intentionally and ethically use rhetoric and writing to elicit social change?
Please review the syllabus for full course information.
This course is offered during the Summer I semester. Participants may also register for a Summer II course, if applicable.
Related Courses by Institution
ENGL 535 Multicultural Literature (Winter/Spring 2021)
ENGL 580 Rhetoric, Writing, and Social Change (Summer I 2021)
ENGL 580 Popular Literature (Summer II 2021)
ENGL 550 Literary Criticism (Fall 2021)
ENGL 523 Teaching College Writing (Winter/Spring 2022)
ENGL 580 Special Topics: TBD (Summer 2022)
ENGL 580 Special Topics: TBD (Summer 2022)
ENGL 522 Issues in Literacy & Language (Fall 2022)
ENGL 551 Introduction to Creative Writing (Winter/Spring 2023)
University of Indianapolis
Instructor: Dr. Jessica Bannon
Graduate Credits: 3
Date: 5/17/2021 – 7/1/2021
Location: Online
Format: Asynchronous
Prerequisite: Qualified to teach content area