In the articles collected here Nancy Struever explores the basic assumption that rhetoric is not simply a bag of persuasive tricks, but functions, necessarily, as a mode of inquiry investigating not simply the mechanics of production and reception of discourse, but the psychological factors of reason and passion engaged by the assertion, modification, and contest of beliefs and dispositions of the civil communities. The first section looks both at contemporary historians employing rhetorical constructs and tactics and at contemporary accounts of the employment of rhetorical pedagogical material and theoretical texts in medieval and Renaissance cultural practices. The second set of articles considers change and continuity in the rhetorical exploitation's of genre forms in cultural programs, focuses on the strong reorientation of Classical forms of moral inquiry, on the ingenious use of the proverb, of etymology, of the exemplum, as well as on the changes in strategies in the theater, the novel, and art criticism. The final section deals with the strong historical interconnections of rhetoric with other disciplines: the motives and investigative tactics of medicine and rhetoric in the Renaissance and Early Modernity, and the shared interests and interwoven careers of rhetoric and law.

About the Author
Nancy S. Struever is Professor Emerita in the Humanities Center, The Johns Hopkins University, USA

Reviews
'For a resource on the application of rhetoric as a mode of historical inquiry, this collection offers a plethora of case studies.' Metapsychology



Book Information
ISBN 9781138375376
Author Nancy S. Struever
Format Paperback
Page Count 358
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g