Sustainability

This course offers a dynamic introduction to major theoretical, critical, research and pedagogical issues in human communication. Specifically, it will introduce students to essential aspects of the study of rhetoric. The field of Communication Arts and Sciences involves a wide variety of approaches to the study of human communication, including within the humanities-based area of rhetorical studies. For that reason, different versions of CAS 84 will vary depending on the expertise of the instructor. All versions of the course, however, will be designed according to common learning objectives and major topics in order to introduce first-year undergraduates to essential aspects of the humanistic study of communication using the tools of rhetorical studies. Previous versions of the course, for example, have focused on: the role of women's voices in modern social movements; rhetorical messages in popular music; and the rhetoric of environmentalism. Whatever the specific focus of the course in a given semester, CAS 84 benefits students by introducing them to important dimensions of rhetorical studies during their first year at the University. Doing so allows potential majors or minors to our department to develop skills in studying the humanistic study of communication early in their undergraduate careers while gaining a functional knowledge of the field in general. Opportunities to plan a double major, a minor, and explore other miscellaneous forms of academic or professional training naturally follow from this early experience.