The New Arts of Persuasion: Contemporary Media, Communications, and Rhetoric

Week 1. Applied Communication Theory and Practical Rhetoric: "Who says what in which channel to whom and with what effects?" 

    Introduction to communication theory and classical rhetoric -- with added insights from psycholinguistics and cognitive science. 

    In-class Exercise: "Who's the Sender? What's the Message?" Review the material on the Shannon-Weaver (S-M-C-R) communication model. Then, working in three-or-four-person groups, select any message from any medium (a TV commercial, an office memo, a roadsign or billboard, etc.) and break it down into its SMCR components (sender, receiver, etc.). Does this analysis yield any unexpected or noteworthy insights? Is the message effective? What is its best feature? Its main weakness? 

Week 2. Understanding McLuhan and Barthes: Modern Theories and Techniques of Media Analysis. 

Introduction to the media theories of Marshall McLuhan and the semiotic approach to media studies of C.S. Peirce, Roland Barthes, Umberto Eco, et.al.--with examples, glossary, and practical exercises. Additional material on assessing the character and credibility of message senders; content analysis; discourse analysis. 

Pre-class preparation: Read pages 1-32 in Understanding Media. Also review relevant websites for material relating to McLuhan, Barthes, and semiotics. 

In-class exercises. 

• Use whatever insights you gain from reviewing McLuhan to analyze an advertising message or public media event (such as a televized press conference or news report). To what extent does the medium characterize or modify the message and shape its effects?
• Apply the insights of Barthes and other semioticians to "decode" an advertising image or "deconstruct" a TV talk show or commercial website.

• Does an announcement (e.g., "Nixon Resigns!") made in a newspaper headline differ essentially from the same announcement made live in front of TV cameras or on an electronic marquee?
• As the media for reporting news has changed--from live speech (the ancient Greeks used a relay of messengers to send war news from the front lines to the polis) to print to photography to radio to film and TV--have our attitudes and reactions to the news changed too?

Week 3. Information-age Style: Communicating Effectively in the Electronic Era.  

Principles of style, organization, and presentation in contemporary print and electronic media. 

Pre-class preparation: Search the Web for an interesting insight or piece of practical advice on some matter of style, organization, or document appearance. Save the URL and be prepared to discuss the item in class. 

Discussion question: What are the principle differences--in style, in appearance, in organization, in content--between textbooks (or newspapers, or magazines) today and thirty years ago? What has been gained, and lost, through these changes? 

Week 4. Postmodern Persuasion. 

A comparison of ancient rhetorical and persuasive methods with the techniques and strategies employed in contemporary advertising and political campaigning. 

Related discussion topics will include arguments and emotional appeals; rhetorical devices; propaganda analysis; semiotic and "deconstructionist" approaches. 

Week 5. Attention Strategies: Principles of Typography, Layout, and Graphic Design. 

A comparison of classic and contemporary examples of message design--including The Chicago Tribune; ads and articles in Wired magazine; selected Websites, posters, and TV spots. 

Week 6. Putting Media Theories to Work. 

A review of theoretical models of communication, rhetoric, media analysis, and graphic design followed by close-up looks at some of their practical applications in (a) business and corporate communication (e.g., memos, letters, and oral presentations), (b) professional and technical writing (reports; tables, charts, figures, etc.), and (c) arts and entertainment. 

Week 7. "Spinfotainment"and Hype: Persuasive Techniques in Contemporary News Media, Politics, and Popular Culture. 

A review and comparison of marketing techniques, "spin control" and other public relations strategies, and presentation styles--in commercial messages, in politics, in popular entertainment, and even in the contemporary classroom. Close-up look at such hybrid trends as "infomercials," product-placement ads, "simulated" news coverage, and carefully stage-managed and rehearsed "live" interviews. 

Weeks 8-10. Final class activities will be devoted largely to presentation and discussion of student projects and to question-and-answer sessions with guest experts.