The words “hip” and “hipster” carry around a lot of baggage. Often, due to misconceptions, "hipster" is used as an insult meant to suggest some sort of failed or inauthentic attempt at being "hip." But what if that isn’t what “hip” is? What if “hip” isn’t some obsession with the fleeting but a more permanent state?

Fall of 2012 was the perfect time to conduct a class about American electoral politics - so it was taken up as the topic for Currents, a class offered to incoming Freshmen. The course explores the 2012 election from a variety of academic perspectives - including, but not limited to, philosophy, economics, history, and, of course, political science. In this podcast, five Currents students shared their experiences with the class. 

Written texts, YouTube videos, podcasts - these are all means of communicating ideas to others. Craig Crowder is a graduate student in the Department of English and teaches Composition & Communication classes, WRD 110 & 111. In this podcast, Crowder discusses ways to engage students via multimedia projects, and his research, which examines social movement rhetoric in a society that uses multiple modes of communication.

What do Aspasia (the companion of Pericles), Sojourner Truth (the orator of the famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech), and the 1990s Riot Grrrl movement have in common? They will all be featured in Katherine Rogers-Carpenter's "Feminist Rhetorics" (WRD 420/A&S 300), which will examine the speeches and texts of women whose voices have led to lasting social changes in their community and in a global context. The class, which will trace feminist rhetorics from Ancient Greece to contemporary feminist theory, is one of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Media's groundbreaking course offerings for Spring 2012.

Have you sent an email, written a text, or posted on a social media site today? If you have, then you have communicated via the medium of a screen. From the way televisions have shaped family dynamics in the home, to the way cell phones and computers have influenced grammar and penmanship, the screen pervades our ways of communicating. Joshua Abboud will address the interrelationship between the screen and writing in "Screen/Writing" (WRD 205/ENG 305), one of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Media's groundbreaking course offerings for Spring 2012.

Did you know that there is a new certificate in the works for Peace Studies? Beth Connors-Manke is teaching "Rhetorics of Violence and Non-Violence" (WRD 205/ENG 205) in Spring 2012, and it will be a component of that certification program. The class is one of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Media's groundbreaking course offerings for Spring 2012.

This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.