What is a Rhetoric PhD?

[Tinyboss]

I think what people aren't understanding is that the freshman intro class they took, that was called "Rhetoric", has very little to do with what actual rhetoricians (do they call themselves that?) study.

Likewise, if you ever took a class called "Math", I can assure you it's not what is studied in mathematics programs.

[feisty]

I almost applied to Berkeley Rhetoric, but at the last minute decided to do history instead. It seems like a great program/field ("field"), and I think a small part of me will always wonder if I would have gotten in, and what I would have done.

I think that these days, a person in almost any humanities/social science (or even science, if so inclined!) could incorporate the same methods and approaches into any project, and most do. It's still relevant and evolving, for sure, but I think the general ideas behind it have bled profusely into other disciplines.