Rhetoric is the engine behind human communication, an artful force that drives all media. Students explore persuasion and response of conversation that is purposeful communication, to change, inspire or influence the recipient of a strategic messaging. While learning, applying, and analyzing rhetorical techniques, students will learn rhetoric historical and contemporary contexts. Students will focus on 20th and 21st century applications of rhetorical techniques, based on theories and exemplars of persuasion in multiple genres and forms of media, including discussion of how automated bots tap into people perceptions and use confirmation bias to encourage the spread of disinformation.