RFSS391M

Bodies are profoundly rhetorical: they compel audiences to act, think, and be in the world differently. Rhetoric is also profoundly embodied: rhetorical messages are articulated through bodies that exist at the intersection of various dynamics of identity and power. As both vehicles and artifacts of rhetoric, bodies hold the power to reveal, maintain, and disrupt the underlying beliefs, norms, and values of a given culture. This course explores the relationship between the body and rhetoric, including how bodies communicate rhetorical messages as well as how broader discourses enable, constrain, and define bodies in particular ways. Prerequisite(s): one course in rhetoric, film, and screen studies.