Rhetoric and Composition (first-year composition), Fall 07-09; Fall 2011~: A course designed for students who can demonstrate a sound basic knowledge of grammar and usage. Emphasis on development and organization of different kinds of expository writing.  Requires students to write extensively in a variety of different modes and styles.  Teaches important rhetorical principles in the design and presentation of effective, argument-based prose.

Intermediate Writing, "Literacy in the 21st Century," Spring 2009:  Students work on developing mastery of the rhetorical principles of planning, executing and revising prose. Emphasis on strengthening analytical writing, both expository and argumentative; valuable for writing on the job. In conjunction, students work with important rhetorical concepts: audience, purpose, stance, and genre while seeking to understand how writing with technologies can alter how we communicate. This course drew its focus primarily from New Literacy Studies, exploring students’ communities of practice in order to develop multiple digital literacies and compare these literacies to the academic one they are expected to learn.

Advanced Composition, Fall 2011~: A course focused on developing advanced writing skills in several genres including creative nonfiction, but primarily focused on expository writing. Emphasis on theories of writing and teaching composition are integral to understanding the nature of writing and what we know about writing.  Students learn and discuss these theories and their application to writing.  Students further develop their practice and understanding of style and writing processes.

Classical & Contemporary Rhetoric (first-year, second semester composition), Spring 2012:

 

Advanced Rhetoric, Spring 2012: Study of classical and modern rhetorical theory from both writing and communication perspectives.  Includes the study of key rhetorical figures and concepts including the Sophists, Socrates and Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Quintilian,St. Augustine, Erasmus, Booth, Toulmin, Rogers, and others.  Emphasis on the skills necessary to competently analyze and construct arguments and to engage in a variety of discourses in a rhetorically effective way.