CSPS 7314 - Advocacy in Public Service

Three credit hours.

This course examines the role of public discourse in constituting (molding, shaping, and even distorting) publics, public decisions, and ultimately public life. Specifically, we will consider persuasion (human communication designed to influence the autonomous judgments and actions of others) and advocacy (the use of propositions, evidence, reasons, and general rhetorical strategies to promote and advance one’s public or civic interests) and their influence on democratic processes and public policy. In this sense, we will take a broad view of what constitutes advocacy.