Writing, Rhetoric, and Media Arts

Coordinator: Tennyson O’Donnell (Director, Allan K. Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric and Allan K. Smith Lecturer in English Composition)

This minor is designed for students interested in writing, rhetoric, and the interrelated arts of media. Core courses provide students with extensive opportunities to develop their writing in various genres and to explore rhetorical theories and practices. Elective courses examine social, cultural, and field-specific topics in language, logic, persuasion, and multimedia modes of communication.

Course requirements:

The minor consists of six courses, including three core courses, two electives, and an integrating exercise. Courses must be chosen from at least three different academic fields, with no more than three courses drawn from any one field. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- in any given course to receive credit for the minor.

• Core courses—Three courses chosen from the following list:
  • ENGL 103. Special Writing Topics
  • ENGL 202. Expository Writing Workshop
  • ENGL 208. Argument and Research Writing
  • ENGL 225. Writing Broad Street Stories
  • ENGL 226. Spirit of Place
  • ENGL 265. Introduction to Film Studies
  • ENGL 270. Introduction to Creative Writing
  • ENGL 300. Art of the Essay
  • ENGL 302. Writing Theory and Practice
  • ENGL 331. Art of Argument
  • ENGL 333. Creative Nonfiction
  • ENGL 337. Writing for Film
  • ENGL 338. Political Rhetoric and the Media
• Electives—Two courses chosen from different academic fields. A sample list of eligible courses follows. Appropriate alternative courses may be substituted, subject to the approval of the minor coordinator. Classical and modern languages courses at the intermediate level and above can also count as electives.
  • AHIS 105. History of World Cinema
  • ANTH 301. Ethnographic Methods and Writing
  • CTYP 206. Writing the City
  • CPSC 110. Computers, Information, and Society
  • HIST 264. Film and History
  • HIST 299. What Is History? Historiography and Historical Methods
  • LING 101. Introduction to Linguistics
  • MATH 114. Judgment and Decision-Making
  • MATH 205. Abstraction and Argument
  • PHIL 205. Symbolic Logic
  • PHIL 238. Media Philosophy
  • PHIL 255. Philosophy of Logic
  • PHIL 386. Philosophy and Film
  • POLS 241. Empirical Political Methods and Data Analysis
  • PSYC 221L. Research Design and Analysis
  • PSYC 255. Cognitive Psychology
  • PSYC 391. Psychology of Language
  • PBPL 202. Law, Argument, and Public Policy
  • RELG 267. Religion and the Media
  • SOCL 201L. Research Methods in the Social Sciences
  • SOCL 241. Mass Media, Popular Culture, and Social Reality
  • STAR 126. Photography
  • THDN 225. Introduction to Interactive Media
  • THDN 293. Playwrights Workshop I
• Integrating exercise—Seniors in the minor have three options for the integrating exercise. They can choose to (1) take Rhetoric 399. Independent Study, involving a semester-long writing project; or (2) undertake an integrated internship related to media and communications; or (3) participate in a writing-related apprenticeship for academic credit as a research assistant or teaching assistant. Students should consult with the minor coordinator about these options.