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Home » Science » Social_Sciences » Communication » Rhetoric Rhetoric
According to Aristotle, rhetoric is "the faculty of observing in a given case the available means of persuasion." In contemporary terms, "rhetoric" is the social science that focuses on how to use language to create understanding and to change attitudes or behaviors.The earliest known works on rhetoric predate Aristotle, and rhetoric was an important part of a young Greek male's education to be a civic leader. Aristotle's theories were widely adopted and refined by rhetoricians of the Roman Empire, and later by Christian scholars. For over 1,000 years -- from about 600 A.D. to about 1800 -- rhetoric was one of the three liberal arts studied by every educated person. (The others were grammar and dialectic.)Around 1900, "rhetoric" became primarily the study of how to write effectively, while "speech" dominated college curricula as the study of effective persuasion. Today, these divisions are much less clear, but "rhetoric" is often distinguished from "communication studies" by a greater emphasis on criticism and practice, versus empirical or laboratory studies.In current usage, "rhetoric" has four connotations:1. "Empty rhetoric." The popular use of the term to mean using words to confuse, bully, or obscure the issue.2. Writing skills. Many departments of rhetoric focus on writing, especially technical writing.3. Rhetorical theory. There is also a body of theory on how rhetoric works, some of it overlapping with literary theory.4. Rhetorical criticism. The application of rhetorical theory in order to understand why a speech (or ad, or song, or whatever) was or was not persuasive.
Sub-Categories:
| Immediacy of Rhetoric - Doctoral thesis about immediacy of the internet as a rhetorical forum.
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| | Persuasion Analysis - Approaches for analyzing persuasion in advertising and political rhetoric through the Intensify/Downplay schema.
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| | Democracy: Rhetorical Texts - A catalog of links to e-texts of important speeches, largely from presidents and historic feminist figures, with research resources. Compiled by Robert Ivie of the University of Indiana.
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| | Rhetoric Resources At Tech - Created by faculty and students at Georgia Tech, this is nearly a textbook on the history, major figures, and key terms of rhetoric.
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| | Rhetorical Studies Resources - Resources in philosophy, metaphor, and other topics of interest to rhetorical studies scholars, from the University of Iowa.
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| | The Forest of Rhetoric - A guide to the terms of classical and Renaissance rhetoric provided by Dr. Gideon Burton of Brigham Young University.
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| | Rhetoric Links - Internet links on rhetoric and its theory. Particularly good collection of e-texts and background material on classical and early Christian rhetoric.
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| | Kenneth Burke Parlor - References and discussions about Kenneth Burke, a prominent rhetorician.
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| | Modern Rhetorical Theory - Academic website with resources for rhetorical theory.
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| | The Power of Words - A description with examples of twenty types of emotional appeals, fallacious arguments, and other verbal manipulations that touch the heart and manipulate the mind.
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| | Teachings about the art of oratory - A growing page on the teachings of rhetoric from the classic orators up to today's communicators.
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| | Rhetoric and Composition Calls Fields Journals Listserves Moos Organizations Programs Terms - A portal for researchers and practitioners of Rhetoric and Composition.
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| | Rhetoric and Composition - A collection of online resources related to classical rhetoric, writing centers, and university rhetoric departments.
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