Rhetoric What we Study Courses Minor and Majors Faculty Contests Forensics Team

Rhetoric: Minor and Majors

Alex Folkerth is focusing his research on environmental rhetoric including how environmental studies programs construct human relationships with nature. Adam Symonds completed a Rhetoric minor, English minor, and Politics major. A dedicated member of the forensics team, he now teaches at Arizona State University having completed a Ph.D. in Rhetoric from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School. Scott Thompson completed a Rhetoric major along with a Politics major. He wrote his honors thesis on the Muslim veil controversy in France. He completed his studies at Duke Law School and is now a lawyer.

The Rhetoric Studies Major 1 The Political and Legal Rhetoric Major 1 For both Major Tracks: 2 The Rhetoric Studies Minor 2 The Rhetoric Studies Major This is the track for students with interest in Rhetoric broadly or whose interest does not fit the Political and Legal Rhetoric track. A student who enters Whitman without any prior college-level coursework in rhetoric studies will complete 34 credits to fulfill the requirements for this track including 387 (junior seminar on rhetorical criticism) and 491/498 (thesis) with up to 8 credits of 200 level or higher courses outside of the department fitting to the student’s rhetorical studies that are pre-approved by the student’s major advisor. The Political and Legal Rhetoric Major This track is for students specifically interested in political argument, legal rhetoric, public policy advocacy, argument in international relations, and political campaign strategies. A student who enters Whitman without any prior college-level coursework in rhetoric studies will complete 34 credits to fulfill the requirements for this track including at least three 25x or 35x political and legal rhetoric courses, 387 (junior seminar on rhetorical criticism), and 491/498 (thesis focused on political and/or legal rhetoric). Students may take up to 8 credits of 200 level or higher courses outside of the department, typically in politics, fitting to the student’s political and legal rhetoric interests that are pre-approved by the student’s major advisor. For both Major Tracks: • Junior Seminar: All majors will complete the 387 Rhetorical Criticism course their junior year although, with major advisor approval, it may be taken as a senior (typically because of study abroad). • Senior Thesis: All majors complete and orally defend a thesis for the 491/498 course during fall semester of their senior year. • Students may not count more than 4 credits of Rhetoric 121, 221, or 222 towards either major track. • Department policy does not allow a P-D-F grade option for courses within the major tracks. • RFS and RMS courses taken prior to Fall 2012 shall count for either major including that the RFS/RMS 387 course shall count for Rhetoric 387; RFS/RMS 250 shall count as 245; RFS/RMS 388 shall count as Rhetoric 354; and RFS/RMS 379 shall count for 349 if it counted for cultural pluralism or environmental studies; 359 if it was cross-listed with politics but not environmental studies. • Students may not receive credit for taking both the Rhetoric and RMS/RFS versions of the same class for credit, except for 221, 222, 401, and 402. The Rhetoric Studies Minor The Rhetoric Studies minor requires a minimum of 20 credits in rhetoric with up to 4 credits of 200 level or higher courses outside of the department fitting to the student's rhetorical studies that are pre-approved by the student's minor advisor. • Students may not count more than 4 credits of Rhetoric 121, 221, or 222 toward the minor. • Department policy does not allow a P-D-F grade option for courses within the minor.

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