Rhetoric and Writing, BA

Undergraduate Program Director: Patricia Medved, patricia.medved@stonybrook.edu

Writing and Rhetoric Office: Humanities 2005
Phone: (631) 632-7390
Department Website
 

The Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric and Writing provides practical and theoretical training in writing and composing, rhetorical literacy and analysis, and communication and presentation. Students learn the foundations of rhetoric, including how individuals use language, symbols, and texts in various ways to generate meaning and develop worldviews. The program prepares students to apply the art of persuasion to real world situations through developing and analyzing various texts, verbal and nonverbal communication, digital, multimedia, and visual content, and other creative works. Simultaneously, students build competencies as scholars and leaders in their communities, to help them understand, assess, and think critically about rhetorical influences that have the power to shape, reinforce, and intervene in systemic inequalities, discrimination, and injustice. Students emerge from this degree prepared with both the theoretical and technical skills they need to successfully process, synthesize, and evaluate persuasive appeals and communication. They are empowered to become critical consumers and producers of messages and can apply their skills to a wide variety of professional, civic, and academic contexts, preparing them for competitive careers in an evolving global workforce that depends on exceptional writing skills and rhetorical competencies. This degree is jointly offered by the Department of Writing and Rhetoric and the School of Communication and Journalism.