Stephen Parks
239 HBC
sjparks@syr.edu
315-443-1912

John Burdick
209 Maxwell Hall
jsburdic@syr.edu
315-443-3822

The undergraduate minor in rhetoric and public advocacy is an interdisciplinary program supported by the Writing Program in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies and the program for the advancement of research on conflict and collaboration in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

The 18-credit minor explores the connections between advocacy, as a pragmatic practice for social change, and rhetoric, as a historical tradition of public argument, within national and local contexts. Students understand advocacy as a practice that includes public argument and reasoning in multiple contexts as well as how each context demands its own set of unique actions. In this way, the minor offers intellectual and practical tools.

The minor is designed to be of interest to those wishing to learn about the emergence of key public issues; the larger political, social, and economic framework out of which they emerge; and how different constituencies respond. You learn to assess competing interests within a public issue as well as engage in local, regional, and national advocacy campaigns. By the completion of the minor, you come to understand advocacy as a necessary part of citizenship.

Admissions requirements

The minor is open to all undergraduate SU students with a minimum GPA of 3.0.