The study and contemporary application of ancient Greek and Roman rhetorical theory. Students will apply rhetorical theory in ongoing analyses of a wide range of communication media (written, spoken, visual) and in their own writing.

Principles of research, writing the thesis/project proposal, and initial thesis/project drafting. The course explores primary and secondary research methods. Course content includes in-depth and formal interviewing techniques, principles of field observation, content analysis, literature reviews, electronic data searches, historical analysis, focus groups, case studies, questionnaire design, use and abuse of statistical inquiry, fundamentals of logic and causation, and philosophical inquiry into qualitative and quantitative research perspectives. The course places major emphasis on how to write a proposal and thesis/project aimed at eventual publication.

Emphasis on combining textual and graphic components to accomplish production-oriented, informative, instructional, and persuasive tasks. Students will acquire a broad understanding of the fundamentals of visual communication and document design. Students will then evaluate the effectiveness of design choices for particular rhetorical situations and apply those principles to specific projects using industry-standard design/publishing software.

Introduction to strategies, techniques, and technologies used by web developers and designers. Teaches how to establish site goals, articulate user needs, improve user experience, produce quality web content, and compose usable web writing. Students learn front-end, back-end, and social-web development and design principles, as well as current web production technologies.