The Craft of Writing – Strategic Storytelling: The Rhetoric of Literature

In this course, we will examine how literature can be a mode of persuasive
communication. How do the rhetorical strategies of genre, form, and style inhere
meaning in the text? How are authors’ personal biases and social agenda conveyed
through their texts and does nonfiction enable a more “truthful” engagement with the
audience compared to fiction? What is the relationship between literature and society
and how does the literary narrative articulate concerns such as gender, race, class, and
identity? We will read a selection of literary texts and explore how the rhetorical
situations presented in literature might facilitate our identification with others and
influence our understanding of the world. 

This course fulfills the first half of the UC Reading & Composition requirement. We will
devote plenty of time to the close reading of texts while paying particular attention to
argumentation, analysis, and the fundamentals of writing at the college level.