General provisions

Responsible department is the Department of Literature. Instruction may be given in either English or Swedish.

Entry requirements

60 credits within the same subject

Learning outcomes

After this course students should be able to:

• Understand and describe the historical development of contemporary rhetorical theory in primarily the North American context.
• To read theoretical texts closely and critically lay out the arguments in the texts.
• Analyze forms of communication and frame rhetorical problems in texts, using concepts from contemporary rhetorical theory.
• Critically evaluate strengths and limitations of contemporary rhetorical discourse.

Content

This course highlights some pivotal moments and debates in the development of Rhetoric as an academic discipline, in the late 20th and early 21st century. It focuses on the North American tradition, and gives the student an extensive overview of the topics, conflicts and actors that have shaped the discipline in English speaking academia. Some comparative outlooks into other traditions are also given.

Instruction

Teaching is mainly in the form of lectures, seminars and/or group exercises. The course can be given as a reading course.

Assessment

Each student must actively participate in seminars as in required exercises, and attend the lectures of the course. The final exam can be either written or oral. If the course is given as a read only course, the examination will be in the form of written or oral assignments.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.