The Impact of CAS137H

Over the course of this semester, my knowledge of rhetoric has grown. Coming into this class, I new that rhetoric was all about effectively communicating your ideas in a persuasive way. However, I did not realize how much it is in our daily lives. For example, in unit 1, we analyzed many civic artifacts. The two artifacts which I focused on were advertisements. Before this class, I would have glanced at the advertisement and moved on. Now, I know that there is a deeper meaning to a lot of advertisements. In addition, I learned rhetoric is a key component to people like politicians and anyone else who gives a speech because they need to persuade their audience. I now know different rhetorical strategies which can help me in my future.

Previously, if someone asked me what ideological criticism was, I would not have an answer. After taking this class, I would say it is how ideas changed along with the belief system. My understanding of civic life has evolved because I learned the importance of knowing how ideas have changed over time. Ideas around something change which show progress and growth. Overall, I used to not think about rhetoric or civic life, but I now know they are important for people to grow and effectively persuade others to why their ideas are correct or helpful.