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Rhetoric and Political Culture
at the University of Maryland

Studying Rhetoric and Political Culture at the University of Maryland offers specific advantages:

You will have the opportunity to study with a number of active rhetorical critics and historians of rhetoric. We believe that excellent graduate education in rhetorical inquiry is best achieved by reading and doing scholarship with the guidance of successful scholars and so strongly emphasize faculty-graduate student interaction.

You will study in the unique venue in the United States for the study of rhetoric and political culture. Located in suburban Washington, DC, the University of Maryland offers access to a range of governmental, political, and media institutions and organizations. You will study with practitioners of the rhetorical arts as well as its students.

You will join a program involved in shaping American civic institutions. Through the Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership (CPCCL) you will have a wide range of opportunities for of major issues of the day and the opportunity for interaction with those who shape them. Taking advantage of its proximity to Washington, DC, the CPCCL has hosted, and is planning a full range of programs and research designed to fulfill its mission of uniting “research, education, and public engagement to foster democratic communication by a diverse people.” CPCCL’s most recent endeavor is the Political Advertising Resource Center, a non-partisan, independent Web site (http://www.umdparc.org/) dedicated to the analysis of political advertising.

You will study in the richest venue in the United States for the study of rhetorical artifacts. Our proximity to the National Archives (I and II), the Library of Congress, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Meany Labor Archives, the Smithsonian Institution and many smaller archives of American social history is a benefit to graduate students unmatched by other universities.

You will join a program that is a leader in the field of rhetorical studies. Recent faculty hiring at both the senior and junior level has significantly increased the visibility of our faculty and the stature of our program. Recognition of this growth and influence was clear when the University of Maryland hosted the 9th Biennial Public Address Conference in October, 2004. Our faculty is intensely involved in both research and graduate student education, yet still provides leadership to the Rhetoric & Political Culture community. Current faculty members include the past president of the American Forensic Association, members of by editorial boards, the current editor of Advances in the History of Rhetoric, and the recent chair of NCA’s Public Address Division. Members of the rhetoric faculty have received a $195,023 NEH Grant for the Voices of Democracy: The U.S. Oratory Project. It is designed to promote the study of great speeches and debates throughout U.S. history.

To explore Rhetoric and Political Culture at Maryland more thoroughly:

• Read about our faculty's work
• See a sample program of study

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