Date

5-20-2026

Degree

Master of Arts in Composition (MA)

Chair

Robert Brandon

Keywords

persuasion, classical persuasion, expressivism, pluralism, post-truth, composition, composition studies, phronesis, deliberation

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Education

Abstract

Modern composition pedagogy embraces pluralism and expressivism that in turn reduces persuasion to mere self-expression or genre performance rather than disciplined inquiry. This thesis argues that the historical shift in composition’s values has created a civic gap. Within this gap, students adopt either powerful or reluctant attitudes due to the lack of ethical responsibility attached to their agency. Surveying the negligence of classical definitions of persuasion in modern models, this research traces the collapse of ethical deliberation through the movements of expressivism, pluralism, and postmodern skepticism. While these movements intended to avoid the rigid dogma that existed over time, they unfortunately softened the standards and qualification of truth claims that leave students unprepared in public dialogue. In order to address this collapse, this thesis proposes a theoretical reconstruction rooted in the foundation of logos, ethos, and phronesis. When combining the contributions of Aristotelian conditionality and Platonic agency, the author provides a “middle path” between relativistic autonomy and authoritarian indoctrination. The structure this study promotes reclaims persuasion as a form of “persuasive hospitality” and moral responsibility, indicating that composition pedagogy is an opportunity to adopt ethical judgment and reasoning in order to progress alongside the digital age and ultimately sustain civic inquiry.

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