Whenever we hope to influence fellow citizens, family members, political leaders, or customers, we rely on our understanding of persuasion. Yet constructing a persuasive message is hardly a simple task. Scholars since days of Socrates have debated the most effective and ethical means of persuasion, and researchers in the fields of communication and psychology have spent decades trying to identify how, when, and why some persuasive strategies are more successful than others.

Students in this program will draw on readings in classical, contemporary, and critical persuasion theory to investigate a variety of persuasive contexts including: public information campaigns, business marketing, and political discourse.  Students will practice constructing persuasive messages in written and oral forms.  Special attention will be given to logical argumentation fundamental to persuasion in academic contexts.  

This program satisfies MIT endorsement requirements in communication.