Following are the general course descriptions of the core courses in compostion and rhetoric. See the current Graduate Course Descriptions for upcoming courses.

790 -- Survey of Composition Studies. (3) Comprehensive survey of the history and development of composition studies, and of the present state of knowledge about theories, principles, and practices in the field.

791 -- Introduction to Research on Written Composition. (3) Introduction to the types and methods of research on written composition, both qualitative and quantitative, with intensive analysis of representative exemplars of these types and methods.

792 -- Classical Rhetoric. (3) A survey of ancient Greek and Roman rhetorical theory, the backgrounds of composition.

793 -- Rhetorical Theory and Practice, Medieval to Modern. (3) A survey of the major theories of rhetoric and composition from medieval to modern times focusing on 1500 to 1800.

794 -- Modern Rhetorical Theory. (3) A survey of 20th-century contributions to rhetorical theory as applied to writing.

795 -- The Teaching of Business and Technical Writing. (3) A study of theory and practice in business, technical, and scientific writing with emphasis on the pedagogical materials and techniques available to the business and technical writing teacher.

796 – Special Topics in the Teaching of English. (1-3) Exploration of issues relevant to the teaching of literature, composition, rhetoric, or speech communication. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.

890 -- Studies in Rhetoric and Composition. (3) Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study. May be repeated as topics vary.

• Following is a list of recently offered topics in ENGL 890:
  •  Rhetoric and Alterity : "Alterity," or Otherness, is a central concept in much contemporary critical theory, and it has become especially important to scholarship in English studies, both in literary studies and in rhetoric and composition. This course is an interrogation of difference as a discursive practice, a cultural formation, and a political formation linked to systems of power and domination. We will examine a number of theoretical stances on this subject from several critical perspectives, including psychoanalysis, phenomenology, marxism, and post-structuralism.
  • Performative Stylistics
  • Teaching Creative Writing
  • Voice, Silence, Race, Rhetoric: This seminar provides an historical and theoretical investigation of the persuasive practices of African Americans (c.1600-1900). As such, it interrogates "voice" and "silence" as key rhetorical and historiographical tropes.