Some people say that the current U.S. marriage debate is one of the most important civil rights issues of our day. Other people say gay marriage is a sin. Some people define marriage as a union between a man and a woman; some define it as an archaic institution unfairly linked to economic and other benefits; some define it as a harbinger of monogamy. In these debates, what gets said, how it gets said, by whom it gets said, when and where and why it gets said, has very real, very important, very material as well as symbolic consequences. In this class, we will engage the contemporary U.S. marriage debates as rhetorical critics, using rhetorical theory as we seek to understand the ways language and power intersect to change – and to sustain – the worlds in which we live. Work for this course includes class participation, short written exercises, perhaps a few quizzes, and two papers. Texts will be available as part of a course pack and/or online. This course fulfills the New Traditions requirement for English concentrators.