The parlor is the real world beyond my dojo and beyond college. Rhetoric 1302 is the training ground that will guide you through college. It is the perfect pre-requisite because it is a primer for understanding papers you will write in college. This course should a necessity. In my dojo each student is equal. In many ways you are equal. Whether you stay equal is up to each person.

When referring to war Sun Tzu says,

In the real word those that are studied in the act of discourse and make their cases strongly are the ones who manipulate through words, images, ideas, and emotions on a daily basis. We wear designer clothes because we see handsome men and women wearing them. At high levels, businessmen buy and break up multi-million dollar corporations. They are masters of the word.

Survival makes Sun Tzu's quote relevant . Our world is saturated with images and words. When we use such images, people listen and heads turn. My job is to teach you to harness this power.

Words will be your weapons. Writing is an art that must be mastered. It helps you to grow spiritually and mentally. It is an art that you can master and this is the basis for this course. Before you is a Japanese print done sometime in the late twentieth century. It is a picture of a tall building. Perhaps it is the home of a wealthy man, perhaps a teacher. A magnificent home with a small shrine nearby for offerings to God for his good fortune. Long ago, students who wanted to be Samurai would visit the houses of the lords, or teachers and present themselves. Sometimes, the teacher would come down to the gate to meet the student. If you look carefully you can see two people. One figure stands outside the gate and the other figure waits on the other side. It was not required that the teacher present his qualifications. The student would beg the teacher's indulgence and present himself for the right to enter into the dojo to be trained.