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Dual Credit Rhetoric

Endorsement Stories

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Dual Credit Rhetoric
Dual Credit Rhetoric

It might be remembered by the veterans of this program that the original name for the Humanities endorsement program was the Rhetoric endorsement program. Ah, simpler times in 2019. The original intention was to link the program to the third stage of the classical trivium–Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. We changed the name because most people do not know what the term Rhetoric means or what the classical trivium is and, to be perfectly honest, Rhetoric generally has a negative connotation for those who do know the meaning! Part of the mission of this program is to restore the art of Rhetoric to its rightful place. Depending on which classical figure you turn to for a definition, you might get the following: Rhetoric is the “art of enchanting the soul” (Plato); “the faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion” (Aristotle); “a good man speaking well” (Quintilian); “the study of misunderstandings and their remedies” (I.A. Richards). Concerning this program, Rhetoric is nothing more than persuasive speech (and writing). Quintilian’s definition is our personal favorite, blending as it does persuasive speech with moral character. That we could help form orators and writers of this mold–persuasive and moral–is the chief end of this course. We are excited to offer it to students in the program during their junior year.

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Galapagos Island Discovery Experience
Galapagos Island Discovery Experience

The Ecuador and Galapagos Discovery trip this past summer is an excellent example of how Discovery experiences extend our students' learning into the real world. When talking about Ecology in Biology class, students learn how ecologists study ecosystems and the challenges they face in preserving our natural world. Are certain species endangered? Do they need particular conservation action? How are we impacting them? However, none of these questions can be answered until we know the types and population levels of species that exist there. This is a challenging but essential job that our students were able to participate in! 

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