Classical Rhetoric: History, Theory and Practice
Rhetoric and Communications · 3 hrs Lecture
Offered: Fall Or Winter
RHET-3750 prerequisites
We couldn't read this course's prerequisites into a chain. The wording is under “Requisite courses” below.
Where RHET-3750 counts
Counts toward 3 more as one option among several, not as a course you must take:
Read from the departments' own calendar pages, where 50 of 208 programs are only partly machine-readable, so treat these as a minimum rather than the full list. Confirm with an academic advisor.
Description
This course examines the history, theory, pedagogy, and practices of the classical period of western rhetoric, extending from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey of the eighth-century BCE to the rhetorical thinkers of the first-century CE. Students discuss the work of such canonical figures as Gorgias, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian, locating them within the intellectual, political, and historical influences of their time. Always, the focus is rhetorical, students locating the origins of many rhetorical concerns in the classical period and tracing how these concepts, terminologies, and techniques persist and change throughout the ages.
Requisite courses
Any section of Academic Writing or exemption from the writing requirement and completion of 24 credit hours [prerequisite(s)].
Restrictions
Students may not hold credit for this course and CLAS-3750.
Cross-listed
CLAS-3750(3).
From the 2026-27 undergraduate calendar. Always verify details on WebAdvisor or with an academic advisor before registering.