COMM4642W: The Rhetoric of Secrecy and Surveillance

"The Rhetoric of Secrecy and Surveillance" is a 4xxx-level course that focuses on rhetorical theory and criticism as expressed in recurring secrecy scandals and political states of emergency that demand ever-greater oversight of the population. This course is divided into three units: the history, theory, and wicked problems of secrecy and surveillance as they manifest in public and political culture. The core argument of this class is that we live in public, and that our information and our bodies are frequently exposed to the world and to a degree that we may not realize. One recurring theme of this course that is intended to prepare students for civic life beyond the university is that what we consider to be secret is often no secret at all, and the fact that we must live in public creates moral dilemmas which often go unrecognized in our everyday lives.

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