CAS 506 – Contemporary Rhetorical Theory

CAS 506 – Contemporary Rhetorical Theory

The past is not dead, as Faulkner memorably wrote: it’s not even the past. Our seminar explores the ways in which memory is put to strategic and stylized purposes in shaping the present. Key themes include memory and the social imaginary, ritual, narrative, war and trauma, and collective identity.

Course Objectives

The seminar is designed to engage students in:

  • Foundational work in the theory and conceptual frames shaping the study of memory;
  • Key historical moments illustrating the play of memory
  • Recurrent opportunities for writing and discussing position statements