Toward a critical rhetorical pedagogy: Extending the instruction of communication activism through the African American rhetorical tradition

Abstract

ABSTRACT This activity draws on the African American rhetorical tradition to extend the project of communication activism pedagogy. Through instruction that decenters the Greco-Roman rhetorical tradition, this assignment invites students to engage in protest rhetoric that facilitates an understanding of how to use communication and rhetorical resources to argue for social change. Students learn to build persuasive arguments in unconventional yet culturally sustaining ways. Courses Public Speaking, Advanced Public Speaking, African American Rhetoric, Communication and Social Justice, Rhetoric and Civic Controversy. Objectives Through an orientation to African American protest rhetoric, students will (1) develop an action-oriented understanding of rhetoric beyond the traditional Greco-Roman tradition and (2) learn to use their communication and rhetorical resources to argue for social change.