Mission
The Program for Rhetoric and Writing is a community of scholars, teachers, and students committed to exploring how discourse—in all of its various modes of communication—impacts and enriches contemporary life. As researchers, we draw on rhetoric and a number of other critical theories to study how and to what effects bodies, texts, technologies, and practices interconnect with culture, place and power. As teachers, we help students learn how to leverage a wide variety of genres, modes, and media to generate critical, creative, and persuasive content for multiple audiences in order to gain agency for themselves and others. And as a program dedicated to the applied public humanities at large, we work with multiple entities on and off campus through the WRITE Lab to explore how public-facing publications, projects, and pedagogies can be designed and delivered to engage and enhance contemporary life in personal, professional, civic contexts
Our Beliefs and Values
The PWR is proud of being an independent writing program with a national profile in the discipline of rhetoric and composition/writing studies. In addition to preparing students to engage critically and communicate effectively in interpersonal, professional, and civic spheres, we partner with multiple colleges, departments, and programs to train other scholars how to teach writing within various disciplinary domains.
As a faculty, we affirm the following disciplinary and professional values:
Rhetoric—as an ancient field of study, a critical framework, and an applied practice with contemporary ramifications--has an important place in liberal arts education.
Rhetoric is a universal means of communication; from ancient to contemporary times, rhetoric has been foundational to effective communication in all cultures and communities in the United States and across the globe.
Rhetoric is a valuable critical lens through which to understand everyday language practices, analyze diverse forms of creative expression and public persuasion, and interrogate systems of information, influence, and power.
Rhetoric is an important civic, professional, and interpersonal practice. While often thought about as a deceitful and suspicious tactic, rhetoric is commonly applied in a wide variety of official and nonofficial contexts to exert influence through reason, emotion, and affect—from legislative courts to rallies on the streets to conversations at family dinner tables.
Rhetoric is a faculty of mind, a communicative practice, and an applied art that takes shape in multiple and diverse media, modes, and genres. From printed op-eds to documentary films to podcasts, protest songs, and business proposals, rhetoric is enacted in a variety of forms to achieve a variety of nuanced aims, including but not limited to education, persuasion, inspiration, motivation, and resistance.
Rhetoric is architectonic; as a critical, creative, and persuasive practice, rhetoric contributes to the production, communication, and application of knowledge in all disciplinary domains.
While effective applied public writing can be taught well using a variety of methods, theories, and technologies, rhetoric--in theory and practice--is an especially potent means of teaching impactful communication within and across various disciplines.
Teaching written, oral, and digital communication effectively from a rhetorical perspective requires disciplinary training and professional status.
Education in rhetoric and applied public writing is best delivered through pedagogical collaboration and partnerships in order to meet all students’ personal, disciplinary, professional, and civic needs.
Our Curricular Offerings
While PWR’s disciplinary domain is rhetoric and composition/writing studies, PWR is home to a community of researchers, writers, and teachers who draw on a wide range of educational, research, pedagogical, and publication experiences to design and offer curricula in ten main areas:
cultural rhetorics
content generation and new media
creative nonfiction
public rhetorics and advocacy
technical, professional, and community writing
applied public humanities
digital rhetorics, information literacies, and critical data literacies
rhetorics of image, sound, and the body
science writing and environmental rhetorics
writing studies and pedagogy