| RHCS 100 | Public Speaking | Introduction to the art of public speaking. Students will learn the classical canons of rhetoric: the arts of invention, disposition, style, memory, and delivery. Emphasis is placed on the design and delivery of speeches. |
| RHCS 102 | Interpersonal Communication | Survey of theory and practice relating to one-to-one communication. Exploration of role of communication and meaning in development of self, perceptions, and relationships. Introduction to social scientific study of communication. Includes lab-based... |
| RHCS 103 | Rhetorical Theory | Introduction to theoretical study of rhetoric where we learn to think about language, speech, argument, and symbolic action at large as social forces, influencing how we perceive ourselves and others, how we understand our relationship to local and g... |
| RHCS 104 | Interpreting Rhetorical Texts | Introduction to critical interpretation of rhetorical texts such as speeches, written arguments, and various media. Topics covered may include audience analysis, lines of reasoning, logical fallacies, modes of proof, evidence types, generic forms, an... |
| RHCS 105 | Media, Culture, and Identity | Basic theoretical frameworks and concepts in media studies. Through close analysis of a variety of texts including, but not limited to, films, music, television programs, newspapers, magazines, and websites, explores the ways in which culture is prod... |
| RHCS 106 | Introduction to Cultural Studies | Introduces the history and theory of cultural studies, attempting to answer the question of: what is the context that allows for a specific discourse, politics, ideology, cultural life, or economic situation to emerge? Covers how the social, the poli... |
| RHCS 245 | Digital Humanities | Brings together computational methods with humanities questions. Explores the possibilities and limits of methods such as data visualization, network analysis, and text analysis for analyzing humanities data and modes of communication for scholarly a... |
| RHCS 250 | Critical Intercultural Communication | Provides an introduction to the study of intercultural communication through a critical lens, with a special emphasis on how power affects communication between different types of cultures on a transnational, national, and local level. The course hig... |
| RHCS 279 | Special Topics in Rhetoric and Communication Studies | Special topics course offering lower-level/introductory inquiry in rhetoric and communication studies. |
| RHCS 295 | Topics in Research | These topical courses focus on theory and practice of selected research methods (e.g. rhetorical criticism, ethnography, interview and survey methods, etc.), providing students with critical understanding of published research, a grounding in researc... |
| RHCS 302 | Advanced Theories in Interpersonal Communication | In-depth exploration of specific theories in area of interpersonal communications. Will focus on role of communication in creating, maintaining, repairing, and transforming individual's sense of self and other. From this foundation, students will exp... |
| RHCS 333 | Theory and Pedagogy | For students who have successfully applied for positions as student consultants and speech fellows at the speech center. |
| RHCS 340 | Rhetoric in South Asia | Seminar on the rhetorical production of “South Asia” in contemporary U. S. media cycles, drawing attention to contemporary issues of public attention in and about South Asia. Using the critical and creative work of such writers as Gayatri Spivak, Aru... |
| RHCS 342 | Rhetoric and Gender Violence | We explore in this seminar rhetorics of gender violence, resistance, and abolition. Taking a rhetorical approach, we explore “tropes” of gender violence: how social discourses focus on gender violence, how public beliefs about gender are produced thr... |
| RHCS 343 | Rhetoric and Politics | Analysis of American political systems from rhetorical perspective using several theoretical frameworks and applied research. Examine interpretive processes on which political arguments and ideologies are based. Study impact of language on issues, ca... |
| RHCS 345 | Data and Society | Explores how topics such as algorithmic decision making, media manipulation, and big data effect our daily lives in the past and present. |
| RHCS 347 | Advertising and Consumer Culture | Critical approach to the study of advertising and consumer culture, challenging students to reconsider entrenched assumptions and ideas about advertising and consumer culture more broadly. Issues of representation, production, reception, and citizens... |
| RHCS 349 | Memory and Memorializing in the City of Richmond | Examines various sites of memory production (i.e. films, museums, monuments) -- how they have been conceptualized and debated -- and asks students to consider memory not only as an entity used in reconstructing the past but capable of being reconstru... |
| RHCS 350 | Rhetoric in a Globalized World | Exploration of the rhetoric of U.S. internationalism in the 20th century and its impact on the discourse of globalization in the 21st century through close analysis of speeches, public documents, maps, photos, posters, radio, and films. A broad histo... |
| RHCS 352 | Media Theory | Introduces alternative media and communication studies theories that include and exceed questions of representation, with special emphasis on the implications of media form on media content. Asks questions about how media are implicated in what many... |
| RHCS 353 | Rhetoric and Law | Inquiry into the law from rhetorical perspectives, using the history and theory of rhetoric and its long-standing association with law and justice. Examination of interpretive processes on which legal arguments and ideologies are based. Exploration o... |
| RHCS 354 | Communication Theory and Race | Applies the work of Western, modern theory to communication and rhetorical studies. Seeks to understand epistemology (knowledge), ontology (being or existence), Marxism (materialism), and/or resistance as of central importance for communication studi... |
| RHCS 355 | Rhetoric, Media, and U. S. Feminism 1830s-1980 | A feminist/critical approach to the rhetoric surrounding the early women's rights movement beginning in the 1830s through 1920 and the women's liberation movement starting in the early 1960s through 1980 approximately. General foci include 1) treatme... |
| RHCS 359 | Media and War | Engages students in an inquiry into the rhetorical and communicative dimension of war in the twenty-first century. |
| RHCS 360 | Digital Humanities Workshop | The workshop builds a digital humanities project around a specific topic, bringing together the exploration of data and the humanities. The topic is chosen for each semester and often involves a collaboration with a community partner. |
| RHCS 387 | Independent Study | No more than one unit of independent study may count toward the major or minor. |
| RHCS 388 | Individual Internship | Practical application of speech communication principles and skills in a supervised, out-of-class environment. Graded pass/fail only. No more than one unit of internship may count toward rhetoric and communication studies major. Open to majors and mi... |
| RHCS 406 | Summer Undergraduate Research | Documentation of the work of students who receive summer fellowships to conduct research [or produce a creative arts project] in the summer. The work must take place over a minimum of 6 weeks, the student must engage in the project full-time (at leas... |
| RHCS 412 | Special Topics Seminar | Special topics courses allow for advanced inquiry and research in Rhetoric and Communication Studies. |
| RHCS 490 | Senior Capstone | Special topics seminar for seniors only focusing on research with an oral presentation requirement. Course is required for the major. |
| RHCS 498 | Honors Thesis Writing | Special topics seminar for seniors only focusing on research with an oral presentation requirement. Course is required for the major. |
| RHCS 499 | Honors Thesis Writing | Advanced research and writing opportunity for departmental honors students. Requires completion and presentation of honors thesis. |