Whitman Rhetoric and Film Studies Department

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What we Study Page

The department of Rhetoric and Film Studies is a multidisciplinary program that enriches understanding of the complexity of contemporary communication by providing a solid grounding in the theory, history, production, interpretation, and criticism of a wide variety of written, oral, visual and filmic texts. We focus on the uses of language and image to characterize social reality, to debate and confront controversies, and to aid in the transformation of social institutions. Our department has four primary components. First, we offer courses in the study and practice of public presentation of speeches including the Fundamentals of Public Address. Second, we offer study of Rhetorical Theory and Public Argument and Debate in courses like Argumentation in the Law and Politics, Persuasion and Social Movements, Rhetorical Criticism, and African American Protest Rhetoric. Third, we offer courses in the production, study, and criticism of film. Examining actors, filmmakers, genres, major movements, these courses provide an in-depth study of the visual medium of film. Fourth, we offer a comprehensive forensic program. Students can participate in Parliamentary debate, Extemporaneous and Impromptu Speaking, and Policy Debate. Our department's approach toward Rhetoric and Film Studies involves the study of the use of symbols in film, speeches, written texts, and any form of communication. We examine the quality of reason giving in a speech by George Bush, examine films such as Blade Runner for what it says about being human in our society, evaluate gender representations in sexual harassment disputes, critique arguments presented by television ads advocating harsher prison sentences, evaluate the effectiveness of civil rights protesters, and explicate the history of the rhetoric of peace movements in the United States. In sum, the Rhetoric and Film Studies department has as its primary goal the evaluation of communication in all of its diverse formats.

The Importance of Rhetoric and Film Studies in the Liberal Arts College What does the Study of Rhetoric and Film Studies do for me? An answer to a good question Karen Skantze completed a combined rhetoric and politcs major. She focused her thesis on the Communication Decency Act that would have restricted expression on the internet. David Kearney completed a rhetoric minor coupled with a Philosophy major. His thesis focused on Plato's approach to rhetoric in the Phaedrus and the Gorgias.

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Questions should be directed to Jim Hanson at hansonjb@whitman.edu