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Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students, 4/E
Sharon Crowley, Arizona State University
Debra Hawhee, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

ISBN-10: 0205574432
ISBN-13: 9780205574438

Publisher: Longman
Copyright: 2009
Format: Cloth; 480 pp
Published: 01/23/2008

Suggested retail price: $81.20
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Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students revives the classical strategies of ancient Greek and Roman rhetoricians and adapts them to the needs of contemporary writers and speakers.

 

This is a fresh interpretation of the ancient canons of composing: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery.   It shows that rhetoric, as it was practiced and taught by the ancients, was an intrinsic part of daily life and of communal discourse about current events.  The book presents stasis theory, common and special topics, formal topics, ethos, pathos, extrinsic proofs, and Aristotelian means of reasoning, and it places particular emphasis on the classic balance between principles and practice by offering ample opportunities for students to develop habits of rhetorical thinking and composing. The authors' engaging discussion and their many contemporary examples of ancient rhetorical principles present rhetoric as a set of flexible, situational practices. This practical history draws the most relevant and useful concepts from ancient rhetorics and discusses, updates, and offers them for use in the contemporary composition classroom.

 

  • Lively, contemporary examples show rhetoric in everyday practice in civic discourse.
  • Ancient means of invention, including kairos, stasis theory, and the commonplaces, receive extensive treatment.
  • Treatment of argument covers arguments from ethos and pathos, and the chapter on commonplaces emphasizes political argument.
  • Three kinds of exercises helps students learn, apply, and practice concepts:
    • Progymnasmata are explained and exemplified throughout the book with special opportunities for practicing these ancient rhetorical exercises at the end of chapters 1-9.
    • Rhetorical Activities at the end of each chapter encourage students to think about how rhetoric works in the contemporary world and offer students opportunities for discussion and informal writing.
    • Imitation exercises at the end of chapters 10-13 help students practice style and learn to see how conscientious attention to style can even prompt invention.
  • A brief history of ancient rhetorics gives students necessary and interesting background information about their course of study.
  • Relevance of classical commonplaces to American political ideologies is thoroughly discussed.
  • Chapter 14 on Delivery addresses page design and layout as well as electronic delivery systems such as e-mail, web sites, and blogs.

  • The Progymnasmata (Ch. 15) and Imitation (Ch. 14) have been rethought in keeping with current scholarship; their component exercises now close each of Chapters 1-13 to encourage students to practice the principles they’ve just learned and develop the habit of writing regularly.  The Progymnasmata and Imitation exercises have also been thoroughly updated to keep examples current and fresh. 
  • Examples drawn from current events are updated throughout, showing the ancient rhetorical principles at work in discussions surrounding climate change; hateful speech and censorship on web sites such as Facebook and YouTube; the Virginia Tech shootings; and in the work of John Stewart, to name a few.
  • The rhetorical practices of texting and IMing and social networking web sites are examined in the chapters on Ethos, Style, and Delivery.
  • The section on kairos is thoroughly revised.
  • Figure-by-figure history of Ancient rhetoricians has been moved from the introduction to the appendix to streamline the start of the book. 
  • Examples using writers like Shakespeare and Austin have been replaced with more contemporary figures that include Jonathan Latham, Ian McEwan, Malcolm Gladwell, and Joan Didion.

Table of Contents

 

Preface

 

Chapter 1: Ancient Rhetorics: Their Differences and the Differences They Make

Some Differences Between Ancient and Modern Thought    Just the Facts, Please

    That's Just Your Opinion

    On Ideology and the Commonplaces

    Rhetorical Situations

Language as Power

Rhetorical Activities

Progymnasmata I: Fable and Tale

Notes

Works Cited

 

Chapter 2: Kairos and the Rhetorical Situation: Seizing the Moment

Ancient Depictions of Kairos

Kairos As a Means of Invention

An Example of Kairos at Work

How Urgent or Immediate is the Issue?

Arguments and Interests

Power Dynamics in a Rhetorical Situation

A Web of Related Issues

Rhetorical Activities

Progymnasmata II: Chreia and Proverb

 

Chapter 3: Stasis Theory: Asking the Right Questions

The Stases and Contrary Arguments

 Theoretical Versus Practical Questions

Putting These Distinctions to Work

What Happens When Stasis Is Not Achieved?

The Four Questions

Elaborating the Questions

Using the Stases

    The First Example: Abortion

    A Second Example: Hateful Speech

Rhetorical Activities

Progymnasmata III: Confirmation and Refutation

 

Chapter 4: The Common Topics and the Commonplaces: Finding the Available Means

Ancient Topical Traditions

Aristotle's Topical System

    The Topic of Past and Future Fact (Conjecture)

    The Common Topic of Greater / Lesser (Degree)

    The Common Topic of Possible / Impossible (Possibility)

Commonplaces and Ideology

Commonplaces in American Political Rhetoric

Using Common Topics and Commonplaces to Invent Arguments

    The Common Topic of Conjecture

    The Common Topic of Degree

    The Common Topic of Possibility

An Extended Example

The Example Embedded in a Rhetorical Situation

Rhetorical Activities

Progymnasmata IV: Common-place

Notes

Works Cited

 

Chapter Five: Logical Proof: Reasoning in Rhetoric

Probabilities

Aristotle on Reasoning in Rhetoric

    Deduction

    Induction

    Enthymemes

    Rhetorical Examples

    Rhetorical Examples - Brief and Extended

    Fictional Example

    Analogy

    Similar and Contrary Examples

Using Examples

    Maxims

    Signs

Rhetorical Activities

Progymnasmata V: Encomium and Invective

Works Cited

 

Chapter 6: Ethical Proof: Arguments from Character

Ethos in Ancient Rhetorics

Invented Ethos

    Demonstrating Intelligence by Doing the Homework

    Establishing Good Character

    Securing Good Will

Voice and Rhetorical Distance

    Grammatical Person

    Verb Tense and Voice

    Word Size

    Qualifiers

    Punctuation

Situated Ethos

Rhetorical Activities

Progymnasmata VI: Comparison and Character

Note

Works Cited

 

Chapter 7: Pathetic Proof: Passionate Appeals

Ancient Teachers on the Emotions

Emotions as Rhetorical Proofs

The Characters of Audiences

Composing Passionate Proofs

    Enargeia

    Honorific and Pejorative Language

Rhetorical Activities

Progymnasmata VII: Description

Note

Works Cited

 

 

Chapter 8: Extrinsic Proofs: Arguments Waiting to Be Used

Extrinsic Proofs in Ancient Rhetorics

Testimony

    Community Authorities

    Evaluating Community  Authorities

    Proximate Authorities

Data

    Evaluating Data

Some Examples

Rhetorical Activities

Progymnasmata VIII: Thesis

Progymnasmata IX: Introduction of Law

Works Cited

 

Part Two: Arrangement

 

Chapter 9: Arrangement: Getting It Together

Ancient Teachings about Arrangement

The Exordium

    Introductions

    Topics for Making Audiences Attentive and Receptive

    Insinuations

The Narrative (Statement of the Case)

The Partition

The Arguments: Confirmation and Refutation

The Peroration (Conclusion)

    Composing a Summary

    Composing Appeals to the Emotions

    Enhancing Ethos

An Example

Rhetorical Activities

Imitation I: On the Usefulness of Copying

Works Cited

 

Part Three: Style, Memory, and Delivery

 

Chapter 10: Style: Composition and Ornament

Correctness

Clarity

Appopriateness: Kairos and Style

Ornament

    Sentence Composition

    Figurative Language

    Figures of Thought

    Tropes

Rhetorical Activities

Imitation II: Inhabiting Through Practice

Notes

Works Cited

 

Chapter 11: Memory: The Treasure-House of Invention

Memory and Kairos

Memory in Ancient Rhetorics

Ancient Memory Systems

Modern Versions of Ancient Memory Systems

    Cultural Memory

    Organizational Memory

    Literate Memory Systems

Electronic Memory Systems

Imitation III: Translation and Paraphrase

Works Cited

 

Chapter 12: Delivery: Attending to Eyes and Ears

Ancient Commentary on Delivery

Delivery of Ancient Discourse

Delivery of Written Discourse

    Spelling and Punctuation

    Traditional Grammar and Usage

Visual Rhetoric

    Ocular Demonstration

    Textual Presentation

    Picture Theory

Webrhetors

Rhetorical Activities

Works Cited

 

Glossary

Appendix: Signposts in Ancient Rhetorics

Bibliography

Suggestions for Further Readings

Credits

Index

    Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students revives the classical strategies of ancient Greek and Roman rhetoricians and adapts them to the needs of contemporary writers and speakers.

    This is a fresh interpretation of the ancient canons of composing: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. It shows that rhetoric, as it was practiced and taught by the ancients, was an intrinsic part of daily life and of communal discourse about current events. This book gives special emphasis to classic strategies of invention, devoting separate chapters to stasis theory, common and special topics, formal topics, ethos, pathos, extrinsic proofs, and Aristotelian means of reasoning. The authors' engaging discussion and their many contemporary examples of ancient rhetorical principles present rhetoric as a set of flexible, situational practices. This practical history draws the most relevant and useful concepts from ancient rhetorics and discusses, updates, and offers them for use in the contemporary composition classroom.

  • 0321172760Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students, 3/E
    Crowley & Hawhee
    © 2004 | Longman | Cloth; 480 pages | Instock
    ISBN-10: 0321172760 | ISBN-13: 9780321172761
    Brief Description

Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students, Fourth Edition, by Sharon Crowley and Debra Hawhee, revives the classical strategies of ancient Greek and Roman rhetoricians and adapts them to the needs of contemporary writers and speakers. This is a fresh interpretation of the ancient canons of composing: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. It shows that rhetoric, as it was practiced and taught by the ancients, was an intrinsic part of daily life and of communal discourse about current events.

“When Edward P. J. Corbett and James Kinneavy, among very few others, started fanning the flames of classical rhetoric for modern and contemporary students, they hoped for such a textbook as Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. . . . Both a philosophy of composition and a classic handbook of what works and what doesn’t in each and every act of human communication, Ancient Rhetorics is built on the pillars of one’s integrity, one’s reason, and one’s passion. Will the fourth edition be even better than the third edition? Absolutely.”

–Hugh Burns, Texas Woman’s University

“I would recommend it to anyone teaching a course in rhetoric or a course in argument. I like the way it demonstrates that good writing is not an accident, but a process of choices and discipline.”

–Joseph Zeppetello, Marist College

“The exercises are very well explained and very relevant. I didn’t see one that I wouldn’t want to use.”

–Kimberly Harrison, Florida International University

“This text is richly grounded in classical tradition—but it has succeeded wonderfully in adapting ancient practices to modern realities.”

John Harwood, Pennsylvania State University

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