The focus group that formulated these specifics was guided by a theory-based definition of rhetoric as a mode of inquiry that interrogates the uses and abuses of symbolic inducement, and by a practical understanding of rhetoric as the art of effective writing and reading, speaking and listening. We were animated as well by the knowledge that the study of rhetoric has long had a prominent place in the Jesuit tradition of education for eloquence and leadership. We found it altogether fitting that rhetoric, in its very complexity as a nexus of theory and practice, its combination of the personal and the public, its intertwining of modalities and methodologies, should assume a central place in the foundational intellectual experience of Marquette s core curriculum. Rhetoric, as both practical art and body of theory, directly addresses the contingencies of human life and provides civilized peoples a tool for deliberation and cooperation.
Rhetoric is essential to the social negotiation necessary to build and sustain community.
Indeed, rhetoric is indispensable to democracy. A clear understanding of rhetorical principles and practices is fundamental to the free exercise of liberty and a powerful tool for realizing equality and social change in a multicultural society. As teachers at a Jesuit Catholic university, we have a primary obligation to explore with students the moral dimensions of rhetoric and to provide useful strategies for such inquiry. Rhetoric joins reason with passion so that humans may engage in fruitful and just action. It provides a means of achieving consensus and handling conflict.