Writing, Rhetorics and Literacies

Undergraduate Program

A BA in English with a Concentration in Writing, Rhetorics, and Literacies cultivates communication specialists who…

• use writing to facilitate collaborative problem-solving so people can accomplish more together than what anyone could accomplish alone;
• use empathetic and critical listening skills in the throes of conflict when it’s most difficult and most important to listen and to learn from those whose thinking rivals prevailing opinions and attitudes;
•  can unveil the markers of community membership and track circuits of power to access valuable resources.

The only degree of its kind in the U.S., ASU’s BA in English with a Concentration in Writing, Rhetorics and Literacies is on the cutting edge of technology, language and design. It puts arts and sciences to work in the world, pairing intellectual agility with gritty, down-on-the-ground approaches to big ideas, abstract theory, and back-up facts. This concentration prepares students to unpack arguments; what’s underneath them; and what’s at stake for themselves, others, and the world in which they live. In a rapidly changing global economy, where professionals change jobs on average 5 to 7 times over the course of their lives, a concentration in Writing, Rhetorics and Literacies prepares graduates to assemble and convincingly perform identities they value while responding to and transforming local and global markets.

English (Writing, Rhetorics and Literacies) (BA)  Writing Certificate 

Graduate Program

The PhD and Master of Arts in English, concentration in writing, rhetorics and literacies, at Arizona State University promotes the study of the production, distribution, and interpretation of texts (oral, written, digital, visual, discursive, material, symbolic) and the rhetorical strategies involved in such processes. Students draw on composition/writing theory, rhetorical theory, and literacy studies to examine the ideological, pedagogical, pragmatic and social dimensions of words, symbols, texts, images, and artifacts. Using theories and methods from both historical and contemporary contexts, we teach students strategies for inquiry; the ways in which communication creates knowledge, meaning and action; and how texts, meanings, and communication are constructed, circulated, reacted to, and repurposed over time and across space. Program requirements are designed to encourage students to develop a nuanced understanding of the role of critical inquiry and rhetorical analysis in framing problems, advocating for change, exploring solutions, or disrupting the status quo. With a sophisticated understanding of how words work in the world, student pursue avenues of original inquiry that have relevance and implications for the challenges and opportunities of an increasingly complex and dynamic landscape. The program encourages interdisciplinary study, and its flexible requirements enable students to pursue areas of inquiry that interest them the most and tailor those pursuits to their career goals. The program prepares students for multiple career paths including in academia, the public sector and private industry--as teachers, scholars, advocates, professionals, and public intellectuals.

PhD in English (Writing, Rhetorics, and Literacies)  Master of Arts in English (Writing, Rhetorics, and Literacies)

"I want to inspire others to understand that the way we use language can perpetuate injustice, but that it can also overturn it."

—Karen Carter, PhD in English (Writing, Rhetoric and Literacies) 2016