At Syracuse University (New York), Writing 205 offers students an introduction to the principles of rhetoric and the concept of disciplinary discourse. The study of landscape and place serves as a conduit for students to explore design, intention, and audience--a rhetoric of place--in order to develop a comprehension which is then easily transferred to texts. The course is divided into two sections: (1) the rhetoric of place, and (2) the place of rhetoric. The first section is subdivided into three 2-week units, each focusing on a different aspect of place. In the first unit, students are introduced to concepts of rhetoric and the tools of persuasion. The second unit focuses on textual landscapes--written representations of landscape. The third unit moves from personal to public places and moves students, literally, out of the classroom to consider the intentions behind the design of all sorts of public buildings, both in terms of what they say about their functional purposes and how they affect the people who use them. The second section is driven by the students' own research into the rhetorical formation of different discourse communities, in a project investigating the discourse of a specific community. (CR)