CMN 703 (01) - Seminar in Rhetorical Theory

Seminar in Rhetorical Theory

Durham Liberal Arts::Communication
Credits: 4.0
Class Size: 15 
Term:  Spring 2025 - Full Term (01/21/2025 - 05/05/2025)
CRN:  56260
Grade Mode:  Letter Grading
Focused study of problems in rhetorical theory construction through examination and criticism of selected theoretical frameworks used to explain or interpret rhetorical phenomena. May be repeated for different topics. Students are required to have taken two 500 level CMN courses (C-) to take this course, unless granted instructor permission.
Section Comments: Title: Rhetorics of Health and Medicine
Registration Approval Required. Contact Instructor or Academic Department for permission then register through Webcat.
Prerequisite(s): CMN 455 with minimum grade of C and CMN 456 with minimum grade of C and CMN 457 with minimum grade of C
Classes not allowed in section: Freshman, Sophomore
Only listed majors in section: CMN:BUSAPPL:: Communication: Business Applications||CMN:MEDIA:: Communication: Media Practices||COMMUNICATION:: Communication
Attributes:  Writing Intensive Course
Instructors:  Michelle Gibbons

Times & Locations

Start Date End Date Days Time Location
1/21/2025 5/5/2025 MW 12:40pm - 2:00pm HUDD 224A

Additional Course Details:

Course Description:  This course considers how language constructs meanings around wellbeing and illness, shaping not only how we understand ourselves and others, but also influencing actions we take, from what to eat to what surgical procedures to undergo.  We do so from a rhetorical perspective, engaging with theories and concepts from rhetoric’s scholarly tradition.  The first part of the semester will be broadly oriented to health and medicine in general, after which we'll focus on rhetorics around mental health, psychiatry, and brain science.  We’ll look at health-related discourses across a range of historical and cultural contexts, from early newspaper accounts to today’s circulation of health information (and disinformation) on social media.