Vincent Ferraro, Kathryn C. Palmer, Sara R. Curtin
103 Skinner
x2669
vferraro@mtholyoke.edu
kcpalmer@mtholyoke.edu
srcurtin@mtholyoke.edu
Purpose of the Course
This course has two principal objectives. The first is to examine the rhetoric of war and peace. Throughout history orators have rallied people to war or have advised them against resorting to arms. These moments are ones of great drama for humanity, and speeches have been powerful shapers of public opinion. We will analyze the techniques used by various speakers to promote values and policies on matters of war.
The second objective is to examine techniques of public speaking. Students will have three opportunities to prepare and present speeches. These speeches will be critiqued by the instructor and the members of the class. In addition, the speeches will be videotaped and each student will have the opportunity for self-critique. The objective here is not to produce orators, but rather to develop basic speaking skills.
Procedural Matters
All the materials for this course are online. To access this syllabus and the links to the reading materials, simply go to the site: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/speech/outline.htm.
You will be expected to give three speeches during the term. The last half of the course is devoted to giving and critiquing speeches in class. We will work up the schedule of speeches in the second week of classes.
My Office Hours are Monday nights, 7-9 and Tuesday mornings, 10-12.
Course Outline
Week 1: Overture: The Call to Arms
Pericles Funeral Oration, from Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War, Book II
Winston Churchill, 1940 from Real Audio Archives
Week 2: Listening as the Key to Understanding
Goebbels at Görlitz, March, 1945
John Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 1961
Week 3: The Purpose of a Speech
Anwar Sadat, Speech Before the Israeli Knesset, November 1977
Franklin Roosevelt, Speech Before Congress, 8 December 1941
Week 4: Argument
Woodrow Wilson: War Message
John F. Kennedy's, Speech Announcing the Quarantine Against Cuba, October 22, 1962
Week 5: Delivery
Martin Luther King, "I Have a Dream," 28 August 1963
Week 6 Presentations by Leah and Kathryn
Weeks 7-12 Speeches