CMST 386 Rhetoric of Social Movements

3 semester hours

This course is a survey of the historical events and rhetorical documents of major American movements for social change. Movements may include: abolitionist (anti-slavery), labor, socialist, women’s rights, environmental justice, civil rights (Black, Chicana/o, and Native American), gay and lesbian, and student movements. Emphasis will be placed on rhetorical strategies and tactics relating to effects of movements on systems and structures conceived as dominant; analyses of how social movement actors construct meaning and identity in their discourses are also stressed.

Junior standing required.

(Counts as an application course.)