The engaging political speeches and persuasive writing of today are carefully crafted instances of rhetoric. The governing theories behind contemporary speakers and writers are deeply rooted in the classical world, where such great thinkers as Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintillian formulated strategies for effective discourse. This book includes alphabetically arranged entries on some 60 leading rhetoricians of antiquity, with each entry providing biographical information, a discussion of the rhetorician's works and theories, and primary and secondary bibliographies. Because of the lasting influence of these thinkers, this book is an essential guide to the foundations of modern expression.
Political speeches and persuasive writing are central to our modern democratic society and are carefully crafted to influence our thoughts and opinions. But what many people do not realize is that the theories behind such works are deeply rooted in the classical world. The great philosophers and statesmen of Greece and Rome formulated rules and strategies for effective argumentation, and their writings shaped the history of Western civilization for centuries. Because citizens of the modern world are exposed to so many attempts to influence their views, the theories of the ancient rhetoricians are as relevant today as in antiquity. This book is a guide to the lives and works of these influential classical figures.
Each entry is written by an expert contributor and provides a biography, a discussion of the rhetorician's works, and primary and secondary bibliographies. While some of the figures are relatively minor, others are among the most important names from classical civilization. The volume gives special attention to the contributions of women to ancient rhetoric. An introductory essay sketches the rough outline of classical rhetoric and its influence, while a bibliographical essay identifies the most important general works for further reading.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
ISBN: 9780313321788
Number of pages: 414
Weight: 737 g
Dimensions: 235 x 156 mm
The current consensus among scholars is that rhetoric and its histories are culturally constructed rhetorical acts. This supposition has stimulated research that revises the history of rhetoric--history established by such venerable scholars as James Murphy and George Kennedy--into a more inclusive history of rhetorics. Although this book could not exist without the codified historical narrative it challenges by deemphasizing the universal in favor of the particular, clearly its time has come. Ballif and Moran provide an excellent and succinct introduction that surveys the current state of historical scholarship and establishes three goals: to encourage readers to think of rhetoric as including figures who challenge the established canon (the book includes nontraditional as well as traditional figures--women, poets, pre-Socratic philosophers, etc.); to reshuffle the deck of future influence by spotlighting less traditional figures; and to open readers' eyes to the contemporary application and significance of rhetoric….Although this volume will not displace the revised histories, it will supplement them and cannot be ignored. Essential. All collections; all levels. - Choice
This handsomely bound volume of studies supplies a much-needed resource for teachers and students of classical rhetoric: concise stand-alone summaries of ancient Greek and Roman writers who wrote about the practiced art of rhetoric….[t]his overview is bound to supply teachers, students, and libraries with one of the most accessible, useful, and diverse treatments of its subject currently available. - The Classical Outlook
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