COMM 5110: "The Rhetoric of Secrecy and Surveillance" is an upper-division course that focuses on rhetorical theory and criticism as they are expressed by recurring public scandals and political states of emergency. It aims to provide vocabulary, context, and analytical tools for a present-day moment where journalistic, academic, and popular discourse are frequently obsessed with hiddenness, which takes the form of conspiracy theories, surveillance capitalism, and novel forms of policing and social control. This course also emphasizes the intersectional qualities of oppression, and how the quality of 'watching' and 'being watched' has often been unequally distributed on the basis of race, gender, and ability.
This course is also cross-listed with the Moving Image and Media Studies graduate minor. Throughout the semester, there are several film screenings planned. During online/remote semesters, these screenings will happen remotely rather than on campus.
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. Our informational bodies are frequently exposed to the world and to a degree that we may not realize. Often, what we consider to be secret is often no secret at all. This class is about is the fact that many times, we don't have a choice but to live in public anymore, creating difficult ethical dilemmas and moral imperatives which often go unrecognized or invisible.
(When instruction is remote/online) Each week, our two (synchronous) classes are divided between a review and discussion of course content (early week) and activities/writing lessons (late week session) that prepare students for written assignments, final projects, and capstones. The major grading criteria for the class include quizzes, exams, and written papers, all of which are administered online (Canvas). The primary reading for this course will be posted on "the un-textbook," a digital resource created by the instructor of record (https://the-un-textbook.ghost.io)