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Declaring the Major
The Rhetoric major may be declared after completion of either Rhetoric 10 or 20 with a letter grade of C or better, and once you’ve completed at least 30 units.
To declare, submit the Rhetoric Application to Declare and the College of Letters and Science Major Declaration forms.
Return you application to the Undergraduate Major Advisor for final approval and processing of your declaration paperwork.
Major Requirements
**Please be advised that this is only a list of the requirements for the major. In addition to major requirements, all students must complete the General Education requirements that the College of Letters & Science mandates. Please check your Academic Progress Report in CalCentral or plan to meet with an L&S advisor in order to clarify your General Education requirements.**
Prerequisites
-
Rhetoric 10
-
Rhetoric 20
Major Requirements
Required of all majors (32 units):
- Rhetoric 103A
- Rhetoric 103B
- 3 upper division courses in the specified area of concentration: 1) History & Theory of Rhetoric, 2) Public Discourse, 3) Narrative & Image.
- 2 upper division electives from outside the area of concentration (1 course from each of the other areas).
- 1 upper division course (4 units, letter graded), related to the chosen area of concentration, from another department. This course must be approved by the Undergraduate Major Advisor.
Special & Individual Topics (optional)
- 189, Special Topics
- 190AB, Honors Thesis — Seniors with 3.5 UCB / 3.7 Rhetoric GPA only
- 197, External Internship (3 units, P/NP) — Student Initiated
- 198, Supervised Group Study (3 units, P/NP) — Student initiated
- 199, Supervised Independent Study (1-3 units, P/NP)
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Rhetoric Concentrations
History and Theory of Rhetoric
Focuses on understanding the development of Rhetorical theory and practice from its genesis in the classical period to its situation in the present. Students will consider how the discipline of Rhetoric has both shaped and itself been shaped by social, political, technological and intellectuals developments over the course of two millenia. Individual courses will enable close study of Rhetoric’s influence and adaptation, both in theory and practice, in specific contexts throughout its history.
Courses
RHETOR 104 Rhetorical Theory and Practice in Historical Eras
RHETOR 105T Rhetoric of Religious Discourse
RHETOR 106 Rhetoric of Historical Discourse
RHETOR 107 Rhetoric of Scientific Discourse
RHETOR 108 Rhetoric of Philosophical Discourse
RHETOR 109 Aesthetics and Rhetoric
RHETOR 110 Advanced Argumentative Writing
RHETOR 111 Reception of Antiquity
RHETOR 112 Rhetoric of Narrative Genres in Nonliterate Societies
RHETOR 113 Rhetoric of Ethics
RHETOR 114 Rhetoric of New Media
RHETOR 115 Technology and Culture
RHETOR 116 Rhetoric, Culture and Society
RHETOR 117 Language, Truth and Dialogue
RHETOR 118 Undergraduate Seminar on the Theory and Practice of Reading and Interpretation
RHETOR 119 Rhetorical Places
RHETOR 120 Rhetoric of the Self
Public Discourse
Focuses on understanding Rhetoric in its symbolic and institutional dimensions, with special emphasis on legal and political forums. Students consider the discourse of law, politics, and society both in theory and in practice, in an attempt to understand the rhetorical nature of public judgment, action, justice, and legitimacy. Individual courses will enable close study of specific problems, concerns, vocabularies, modes of interpretation and strategies of argumentation arising in public forums of the past and present.
Courses
RHETOR 150 Rhetoric of Contemporary Politics
RHETOR 151 Rhetoric of Contact and Conquest
RHETOR 152 Rhetoric of Constitutional Discourse
RHETOR 152AC Race and Order in the New Republic
RHETOR 153 American Political Rhetoric
RHETOR 155 Discourses of Colonialism and Postcoloniality
RHETOR 156 Rhetoric of the Political Novel
RHETOR 157A Rhetoric of Modern Political Theory
RHETOR 157B Rhetoric of Contemporary Political Theory
RHETOR 158 Advanced Problems in the Rhetoric of Political Theory
RHETOR 159A Great Theorists in the Rhetoric of Political and Legal Theory
RHETOR 159B Great Themes in the Rhetoric of Contemporary Political and Legal Theory
RHETOR 160 Introduction to the Rhetoric of Legal Discourse
RHETOR 162AC Rhetoric of American Culture
RHETOR 163 Law, Language, and Literature
RHETOR 164 Rhetoric of Legal Theory
RHETOR 165 Rhetoric of Legal Philosophy
RHETOR 166 Rhetoric in Law and Politics
RHETOR 167 Advanced Themes in Legal Theory, Philosophy, Argumentation
RHETOR 168 Advanced Topics in Contemporary Law and Legal Discourse
RHETOR 169 Discourse of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
RHETOR 170 Rhetoric of Social Science
RHETOR 171 The Problem of Mass Culture and the Rhetoric of Social Theory
RHETOR 172 Rhetoric of Social Theory
RHETOR 176 Rhetoric of Material Culture
RHETOR 182 Rhetorics of Sexual Exchange and Sexual Difference
Narrative and Image
Courses
RHETOR 121 Rhetoric of Fiction
RHETOR 122 Rhetoric of Drama
RHETOR 123 Rhetoric of Performance
RHETOR 124 Rhetoric of Poetry
RHETOR 127 Novel, Society, and Politics
RHETOR 128T The Rhetoric and Politics of Interviews
RHETOR 129 Rhetoric of Autobiography
RHETOR 129AC Autobiography and American Individualism
RHETOR 130 Novel into Film
RHETOR 131T Genre in Film and Literature
RHETOR 132T Auteur in Film
RHETOR 133T Theories of Film
RHETOR 134 National Cinema
RHETOR 135T Selected Topics in Film
RHETOR 136 Art and Authorship
RHETOR 137 Rhetoric of the Image
RHETOR 138 Television Criticism
RHETOR 139 Rhetoric of Visual Witnessing
RHETOR 145 Science, Narrative, and Image
Honors Thesis in Rhetoric
To apply, students must complete Rhetoric 10, 20, and either 103A or 103B, maintain a minimum 3.7 Rhetoric GPA and a 3.5 overall UCB GPA to undertake the two semester Honors Thesis series, Rhetoric H190A-H190B, under the supervision of a selected Rhetoric faculty member. Four units of credit (two units each semester) for the H190AB sequence may be applied toward graduation as upper division units. Honors candidates who complete the 4-unit course with a letter grade of A- or better, have at least a 3.7 GPA in all rhetoric courses, and an overall UCB GPA of at least 3.5, will receive a BA with honors in the major. Seniors eligible to enroll in the honors program must make arrangements with a faculty member willing to direct their honors thesis in the semester before they enroll in H190A. See the Undergraduate Advisor for Honors information and application.