About this course
This course examines features of style and rhetoric in creative writing (fiction and non-fiction prose), professional writing (including AI-assisted writing), and academic writing (published articles, academic blogs, and research-informed social media). A series of questions will frame course themes and concepts. What are the rhetorical effects of the strategies of storytelling observable in the non-fiction prose of fiction writers? What are the unspoken rules and observable patterns in the products of those who write in the professional workplace? What is the impact of AI on the production and reliability of knowledge in the research setting and beyond?
Course objectives
- Learn about the rhetorical term ekphrasis, which refers to writing about visual art.
- Explore new ways of thinking about the intersection between word and image.
Course highlights
Readings are drawn from several disciplines and genres: journalism, belles lettres, poetry, rhetoric, creative non-fiction, and scholarly writing.
A personal note from your instructor
Cynthia Messenger
Each time I teach WRR305H, I look forward to exploring innovative approaches to word and image. I find that students in this course typically come from across the disciplines, and I attempt to reflect their varied interests in course readings and assignments.