Classes in "Constructive Rhetoric" were taught within the English Department beginning in 1908 as a requirement for freshmen. The University of Iowa Rhetoric Department was established in 1945 to offer an influx of World War II veterans the speaking, reading, and writing courses they needed to earn their college degrees.

These departmental papers include course manuals and instruction policies that cover two decades. The records preserved by Rhetoric staff reflect the changing consciousness on campus. One folder about a fired Rhetoric graduate student teacher was created in 1967 during the student protests of the Vietnam War and was nearly destroyed during another such protest on May 9, 1970, when the building in which the Rhetoric Department was housed burned, as evidenced by the singed pages.

In addition, the Rhetoric Bulletin staff newsletters include early communication about gay liberation and feminism during the 1970s. Also documented are the 1990 censorship issues surrounding the National Endowment for the Arts in the form of progress reports sent from the Coalition of Writers' Organizations to members.