RHETORIC Instructor:  Deborah Brenton paideiateach@comcast.net (763) 607-5532   Course Descriptions   This is a series of three courses for high school students: Rhetoric Foundations. Applied Rhetoric I:  Composition. Applied Rhetoric II:  Speech and Debate. The first two of these courses are currently offered.  Class size:  3 minimum, 20 maximum.   Course website:  http://bdbrenton.homeftp.net/Paideia/   Rhetoric Foundations   Rhetoric Foundations is an introduction to the third component of the classical trivium.  While studying the audience appeals Aristotle taught, students will also learn types of political speeches, modes of persuasion, the use of antithesis, the timing and benefits of denouncing one’s opponent, and many more skills.  To discern techniques of persuasion, we will weekly analyze speeches, both ancient Greek speeches and somewhat current political speeches.   Required textbooks: Classical Rhetoric with Aristotle, by Martin Cothran; ISBN 190953445. The Rhetoric and Poetics of Aristotle, translated by Edward Corbett; ISBN 0075546027. Applied Rhetoric I:  Composition   Applied Rhetoric is the second course in the rhetoric sequence, focusing on writing, and building on the audience appeals previously studied in Aristotle’s Rhetoric.  This course will focus on creating the Greek Progymnasmata exercises, used in crafting compelling paragraphs to include in the students’ written arguments.   These exercises include the narrative, the description, the fable, the proverb, the anecdote, the refutation / confirmation, the commonplace, praising and blaming, the comparison, the speech-in-character, the thesis, and the for and against laws. In writing their own weekly papers, students will learn to imitate the techniques of composing captivating and convincing arguments.  The year will culminate in two five- to ten-page persuasive papers.  Students will also focus on writing with clarity and grace.  Instead of developing long, complex sentences, they will emphasize sentences’ meaning through concise revisions.   All students will be required to attend the main class session, which will last 1½ hours and will take place weekly. In addition, there will be an optional 1-hour weekly recitation section.  The tuition rate is $150 per semester for students attending only the required class session, and $200 per semester for students attending the recitation section as well.   Required textbooks: Composition in the Classical Tradition, by Frank J. D’Angelo; ISBN 0023271418. Style:  Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace (preferably 7th, 8th, or  9th edition), by Joseph M. Williams; ISBN 0321095170 (7th), 0321288319 (8th), or 0321479351 (9th). Instructor   Deborah Brenton grew up in Illinois and split her schooling years there between nine years of home schooling and four years at a private school (Christian Liberty Academy).  She graduated from Northwestern College (Roseville, MN) with a B.A. in English Education in 2002.  She taught English and Speech to both middle school and high school classes for four years at Heritage Christian Academy in Maple Grove, MN.  This year marked the fifth year of marriage she has enjoyed with her husband, Bob.  Her summer was spent cooking, reading, and going to the park with her one-year-old, Amara. On her summer reading list were Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor and Hard Times by Charles Dickens.