RHET: 2055 Persuasion and Advocacy
Takis Poulakos
W 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
The wisest thing I can do is be on my own side, be an advocate for myself and others like me—Maya Angelou - In this course you learn how to craft a powerful voice that aligns your intellect with your passions, shapes the audience’s impressions of you, and gains acceptance and recognition from others when you advocate for yourself and for the things you believe in.  Assignments are tailored to your own interests and goals.

RHET: 2065 Persuading Different Audiences
Joseph Steinitz
TTH 3:30 pm - 4:45 pm
Preparing students for future persuasive demands as they start their careers; students create several short projects addressing a variety of audiences, context, and situations with the goal of developing a professional and personable style; assignments reflect challenging circumstances in the workplace. 

RHET: 2070 Persuasive Stories: Stories of the Midwest
Wayne Anderson
MW 3:30 pm - 4:45 pm
The Midwest is often described as “flyover country” and “America’s heartland,” but beyond the stereotypical cornfields and small towns, the region is also home to large cities, impressive universities, unique ethnic communities, and much more. This course will provide students with the skills to analyze movies, literature, and news stories that take place in these various Midwestern settings. Students will also learn how to tell their own unique Midwestern stories as they share their insights in a podcast, a series of posts on their personal course blog, and other formats.

RHET: 2085 Speaking Skills
Takis Poulakos
T 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm
This course helps students become confident and effective speakers; assignments include formal presentations and shorter, informal speaking activities; peer and instructor feedback helps students to improve the impression they create as speakers; strengths developed include earning credibility, capturing and maintaining audience interest, and coming across as personable, professional, and confident.

RHET: 2090 Conversation Practicum
Ben Hassman
TTH 3:30 pm - 4:45 pm (TWO SECTIONS)
Intercultural conversation with international students in small groups or pairs; readings, classroom discussions, and in-class training to develop cultural competence and related skills.

RHET/POLI/SJUS: 3560 Public Policy and Persuasion 
Carrie Schuettpelz
TTH 9:30 am - 10:45 am
Students build their rhetorical skill set in policy analysis, formation, and communication through a social justice lens. The course entails engagement in service-learning projects in one Iowa community where work done directly impacts that community’s ability to make changes; the development of effective writing and oral presentation styles that can be adapted to different audiences; and a focus on homelessness policy using social policy and social justice concepts to explore work of policy makers who have “right-sized” existing systems to serve communities in crisis and propose solutions to systemic problems that disadvantage marginalized populations. 

RHET/POLI/SJUS: 3630 Apology & the Art of Verbal Self-Defense
Jennifer Stone
TTH 9:30 am - 10:45 am (ONLINE)
Examination of apology as a defense of actions, opinions, or personal character; role of apology in medical malpractice; corporate apology; role of apology in criminal courts; study of celebrity non-apology apologies; apology as gendered; efficacy of apology in politics; approaches to apology across nations; how to advocate for accommodations without apologizing, especially regarding disability rights; how to evaluate and create effective apologies in interpersonal and public sphere.