The Development of Communication Studies at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus: Lessons from the Trenches
Abstract
Communication Studies at Cave Hill began with two broad aims: to develop skilled rhetors who could both create accomplished rhetorical messages as well as school others in the art of rhetoric and to train students in the art of rhetorical criticism so that they could become critical consumers and thereby engage in and contribute to the public discourse of their individual societies, and to the Caribbean as a whole, through systematic study of the rhetoric of our societies and how we use that rhetoric to create a consciousness of ourselves as Caribbeans[1]. The Minor in Communication Studies was launched in 2012. The next phase is the introduction of the Major which will further develop the focus on the study of rhetorical language. The Caribbean offers a rich source of data for communication scholars and our goal is to produce scholars who can go on to the post graduate level. There is much to explore in rhetoric in the Caribbean: from the rhetoric of comic strips and cartoons, to local sitcoms and movies, to the rhetoric of Facebook pages and blogs. We cannot wait to discover what these have to tell us about ourselves.
[1] I have chosen to use this term coined by Richard Allsopp to refer to the people of the Caribbean.
References
The UWI, Cave Hill Campus, The Consultative Commission for Programme Development and Design. (2006). Report of the Consultative Commission for Programme Development and Design. Cave Hill, Barbados: The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados.
Foss, S.K. (2009). Rhetorical criticism: Exploration and practice. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press.
Allsopp, Richard. (1996). Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage. Oxford: Oxford UP.
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