Description
By tracing the traditional progression of rhetoric from the Greek Sophists to contemporary theorists, The History and Theory of Rhetoric illustrates how persuasive public discourse performs essential social functions and shapes our daily worlds. Students gain a conceptual framework for evaluating and practicing persuasive writing and speaking in a wide range of settings and in both written and visual media. This new 6th edition includes greater attention to non-Western studies, as well as contemporary developments such as the rhetoric of science, feminist rhetoric, the rhetoric of display, and comparative rhetoric. Known for its clear writing style and contemporary examples throughout, The History and Theory of Rhetoric emphasizes the relevance of rhetoric to today’s students.
Table of Contents
- An Overview of Rhetoric
- The Origins and Early History of Rhetoric
- Plato versus the Sophists: Rhetoric on Trial
- Aristotle on Rhetoric
- Rhetoric at Rome
- Rhetoric in Christian Europe
- Rhetoric in the Renaissance
- Enlightenment Rhetoric
- Contemporary Rhetoric I: Arguments, Audiences, Advocates
- Contemporary Rhetoric II: Context, Story, Display
- Contemporary Rhetoric III: Texts, Power, Alternatives
