This course is made up of the following two-hour sessions:
SESSION ONE: Introduction
What is rhetoric? Where do we find it and why does it matter? This class will outline the concept of rhetoric by briefly summarising the origins of its study and provide frameworks for rhetorical analysis. It will draw upon current examples of rhetoric in action and invite debate.
SESSION TWO: The 5 rhetorical canons
This class outlines the five canons of rhetoric, which are introduced as invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. The session then provides the opportunity to identify elements of these canons from real-world examples
SESSION THREE: Rhetoric in the information age
This class will focus on identifying rhetorical devices used in the digital age. First, it introduces some common tropes used in advertising and online communication before providing examples and exercises for students to practice the identification of these in real-world examples.
SESSION FOUR: Invention and arrangement
Once a rhetorician has decided on the most effective means of persuasion, the arrangement of their work is vital in maximising their strong arguments and flowing naturally to a conclusion. This class will provide examples for analysis of arrangement. With regard to speech, these parts will be outlined as exordium, narration, division, proof, refutation and peroration – a structure that resembles how effective essays are often written.
SESSION FIVE: Putting it all together
This class will bring the elements of rhetoric together in identifying them from everyday examples. It will equip the student with practical skills of information deconstruction and arguments enabling objective analysis. Students will construct cogent arguments utilising the skills outlined and practised in the previous weeks.
