Rhetoric you say?

First, I want to welcome all of you to ENG 430. This is a course that is relatively new to KU. Two years ago, I taught a "pilot version" of this course as a ENG 470 Selected Topics class. This course was developed by several of us in the English Department, in particular those of us whose primary interests lie in the field of Rhetoric and Composition (or Composition and Rhetoric, depending on your leanings--more on this throughout the semester).

Why this course? Well, frankly the department needed it. Rhetoric and Composition is one of the fastest growing areas in English Studies and one that has had a significant impact upon the shape of English Departments across the country (and increasingly, throughout the world). We thought it would be important to provide a course that both introduced students to some of the histories of the field, some of the current developments in the field, and some first-hand experiences thinking and writing from a rhetorical perspective.

So, whether you are an upper-level undergraduate interested in rhetoric (hello to my former students on the list!), a graduate student looking to explore the range of perspectives within English Studies, or someone who needed an upper-level night course to fulfill elective requirements, welcome!

At this point, our class has one major advantage over the last time I taught the class. Due to a mistake made in the on-line registration system the class is smaller than we first expected. Basically, for over a week of the registration period, the class appeared "closed." But alas, this was not the case. As a result, one that stands in stark contrast to developments in other places on campus, our course can actually be a real seminar.

I look forward to a wonderful semester!