Course

Democracy is happening all around us. The term ‘rhetoric’ might make us think of the legendary speeches of world leaders or contemporary political campaigning – but if democracy is government by the people, then the everyday rhetorical activities of people participating in society are just as important to study and understand. This is a course for you who want to examine, reflect on and learn more about the role of rhetoric in contemporary politics and civic engagement.

The course focuses on the possible and actual roles of rhetoric in contemporary liberal democracies from the perspective of civic participation in political contexts. The course takes a broad view on democracy and civic engagement, and sets out from the study of rhetoric in a wider sense than the analysis of specific texts. During the course, we will familiarise with theories and methods for analysing the practices of rhetorical participation from the close, individual level to the overarching public level. Students are provided with general knowledge and understanding of the links between rhetoric, democracy and citizen participation.

The course content:

The course builds on inquiry based learning. This means that you will get to choose and examine a case throughout the duration of the course, and build your understanding of the course material through application – and discussions with your peers and teachers.

Through performing an empirical case study, and participating in seminars and workshops, you will examine rhetorical issues of contemporary democratic culture.

The possibilities of rhetorical participation to serve as a constructive contribution to the development of democracy are examined against the background of current research, taking into account languages and adaptation, insights into usage and style, the links between form and content, source criticism and the presentation itself. Furthermore, the course addresses societal and relational conditions and their importance for participants and audiences in public deliberations.

The course is suitable for students with a bachelor degree in rhetoric, the communication sciences, political and social sciences, or equivalent.