To successfully graduate, Rhetoric majors write, present, and defend a 7500-word senior thesis. The thesis is designed by the student in consultation with an advising member of the Rhetoric faculty, making use of an appropriate rhetorical methodology. Students will produce a prospectus of the thesis in RHET 301: Junior Seminar (Easter semester of the Junior year), and will complete their thesis in RHET 401: Senior Seminar in Rhetoric (Advent semester of the Senior year). 

Below are a list of Rhetoric thesis projects beginning in 2025-26, the first year of the new Rhetoric Major.

2025-26
  • Mary Webster Burke: "Pseudo-debate: How Moderators and Debaters Blur the Line between Education and Entertainment"
  • Erin Graffeo: "Recipes Versus Receipts: Rhetorical Composition and Renegotiation of Regional Culture Through the Junior League of Charleston’s Cookbooks"
  • Aidan Jones: "We Cannot Stay Silent: A Rhetorical Examination of Sewanee's Gaza Protest"
  • Bryce Timms: "Throwing Stones: A Rhetorical Analysis of Stonetoss Comics"