This course is an introduction to rhetorical theory and its modern American contexts. Considering the classical philosophical relationship between speech, listening, vernacular, and democracy, this course will interrogate the ways in which America and Americans are rhetorically composed, solidified, and contested through the voices of literature, oratory, music, and audio culture. Jay Fliegelman argues that “The Declaration of Independence” was meant to be read aloud and that, in reading this document silently to ourselves, we fail to grasp its meaning and potential. He maintains that America is a culture and society built on the affective and rational dimensions of listening. We will consider such texts as Whitman’s “Song of Myself,” the people’s microphone of Occupy Wall Street, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God. We will ask why Americans are galvanized by voices and how a deeper understanding of rhetoric can contribute to a broader definition of nation.