Emily Bloom: Courses

In Plato’s "Phaedrus," Socrates claims that spoken arguments are stronger than print arguments, and yet, we only know this today because Plato inscribed these dialogues in print. From ancient Greece to contemporary America, writers and orators continue to debate the relative value of various media. Today we often encounter arguments in multiple media at once—think about the print commentary you find as you scroll under a YouTube clip (and how contentious it can be). This course begins with the assumption that today, more than ever, we need to understand rhetorical strategies across a range of forms and contexts. In this course, you will study these differences while learning to communicate effectively in various rhetorical situations. The course will be divided into three units that cover written, visual and spoken arguments. At the beginning of the semester, you will choose a contemporary controversy to follow throughout the course. You will research and analyze different views on this controversy—paying particular attention to rhetorical strategies and contexts. In the first unit, you will explore print rhetoric in newspapers, magazines and academic journals in order to generate your own researched argument. In the second unit, you will analyze the visual rhetoric surrounding your controversy. Finally, you will end the semester by discussing oral arguments on radio, youtube and sound archives and creating your own oral argument on a podcast. This class will move very quickly and include many writing assignments. You must keep up with the pace of this course. Please utilize my office hours if you are struggling with this course, particular assignments or simply want to talk about a paper topic. The more you communicate the better I can help you push forward.