Editing Rhetoric (section)

===As a course of study===
The study of rhetoric trains students to speak and/or write effectively, and to critically understand and analyze discourse. It is concerned with how people use symbols, especially language, to reach agreement that permits coordinated effort.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hauser |first=Gerard |author-link=Gerard Hauser |title=Introduction to Rhetorical Theory |publisher=Waveland Press |location=Illinois |year=2002 |page=2 |isbn=978-1-57766-221-1}}</ref>

Rhetoric as a course of study has evolved since its ancient beginnings, and has adapted to the particular exigencies of various times, venues,<ref>{{cite book|last=Kennedy|first=George A.|title=Classical Rhetoric & Its Christian and Secular Tradition|location=Chapel Hill|publisher=The [[University of North Carolina Press]]|year=1999}}</ref> and applications ranging from architecture to literature.<ref>{{cite book|last=Vickers|first=Brian|chapter=Deconstruction's Designs on Rhetoric|title=Rhetoric and Pedagogy: Its History, Philosophy, and Practice|editor-first1=Winifred Bryan|editor-last1=Horner|editor-first2=Michael|editor-last2=Leff|pages=295–315}}</ref> Although the curriculum has transformed in a number of ways, it has generally emphasized the study of principles and rules of composition as a means for moving audiences.

Rhetoric began as a civic art in Ancient Greece where students were trained to develop tactics of oratorical persuasion, especially in legal disputes. Rhetoric originated in a school of [[pre-Socratic]] philosophers known as the [[Sophists]] {{circa|{{BCE|600}}}}. [[Demosthenes]] and [[Lysias]] emerged as major orators during this period, and [[Isocrates]] and [[Gorgias]] as prominent teachers. Modern teachings continue to reference these rhetoricians and their work in discussions of classical rhetoric and persuasion.

Rhetoric was taught in universities during the [[Middle Ages]] as one of the three original [[liberal arts]] or [[trivium (education)|trivium]] (along with [[logic]] and [[grammar]]).<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite book|last=Conley|first=T.M.|year=1990|title=Rhetoric in the European Tradition|publisher=University of Chicago Press}}
|2={{cite book|last=Kennedy|first=G.A.|year=1994|title=A New History of Classical Rhetoric|publisher=Princeton University Press}}
}}</ref> During the medieval period, political rhetoric declined as republican oratory died out and the emperors of Rome garnered increasing authority. With the rise of European monarchs, rhetoric shifted into courtly and religious applications. [[Augustine]] exerted strong influence on Christian rhetoric in the Middle Ages, advocating the use of rhetoric to lead audiences to truth and understanding, especially in the church. The study of liberal arts, he believed, contributed to rhetorical study: "In the case of a keen and ardent nature, fine words will come more readily through reading and hearing the eloquent than by pursuing the rules of rhetoric."<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Augustine of Hippo]]|title=[[De doctrina Christiana]]|at=IV|orig-date={{CE|426}}}}</ref> Poetry and letter writing became central to rhetorical study during the Middle Ages.<ref name=Prill1987>{{cite journal |last1=Prill |first1=Paul E. |year=1987 |title=Rhetoric and Poetics in the Early Middle Ages |journal=Rhetorica |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=129–147 |doi=10.1525/rh.1987.5.2.129}}</ref>{{rp|129–47}} After the fall of the Roman republic, poetry became a tool for rhetorical training since there were fewer opportunities for political speech.{{r|Prill1987|page=131}} Letter writing was the primary way business was conducted both in state and church, so it became an important aspect of rhetorical education.<ref name="bedfordstmartins.com">{{cite web|title=A Brief History of Rhetoric and Composition|website=The Bedford Bibliography for Teachers of Writing|url=http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/bb/history.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100516061220/http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/bb/history.html |archive-date=16 May 2010 }}</ref>

Rhetorical education became more restrained as style and substance separated in 16th-century France, and attention turned to the scientific method. Influential scholars like [[Peter Ramus]] argued that the processes of invention and arrangement should be elevated to the domain of philosophy, while rhetorical instruction should be chiefly concerned with the use of figures and other forms of the ornamentation of language. Scholars such as [[Francis Bacon]] developed the study of "scientific rhetoric"<ref>{{cite journal |last=Zappen |first=James P. |title=Francis Bacon and the Historiography of Scientific Rhetoric |journal=Rhetoric Review |volume=8 |number=1 |year=1989 |pages=74–88 |doi=10.1080/07350198909388879 |jstor=465682}}</ref> which rejected the elaborate style characteristic of classical oration. This plain language carried over to [[John Locke]]'s teaching, which emphasized concrete knowledge and steered away from ornamentation in speech, further alienating rhetorical instruction—which was identified wholly with such ornamentation—from the pursuit of knowledge.

In the 18th century, rhetoric assumed a more social role, leading to the creation of new education systems (predominantly in England): "[[Elocution]] schools" in which girls and women analyzed classic literature, most notably the works of [[William Shakespeare]], and discussed pronunciation tactics.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Edwards |first1=Paul C. |year=1984 |title=Elocution and Shakespeare: An Episode in the History of Literary Taste |journal=[[Shakespeare Quarterly]] |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=305–14 |doi=10.2307/2870367 |jstor=2870367}}</ref>

The study of rhetoric underwent a revival with the rise of democratic institutions during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. [[Hugh Blair]] was a key early leader of this movement. In his most famous work, ''Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres'', he advocates rhetorical study for common citizens as a resource for social success. Many American colleges and secondary schools used Blair's text throughout the 19th century to train students of rhetoric.{{r|bedfordstmartins.com}}

Political rhetoric also underwent renewal in the wake of the U.S. and French revolutions. The rhetorical studies of ancient Greece and Rome were resurrected as speakers and teachers looked to [[Cicero]] and others to inspire defenses of the new republics. Leading rhetorical theorists included [[John Quincy Adams]] of [[Harvard]], who advocated the democratic advancement of rhetorical art. Harvard's founding of the [[Boylston Professorship of Rhetoric and Oratory]] sparked the growth of the study of rhetoric in colleges across the United States.{{r|bedfordstmartins.com}} Harvard's rhetoric program drew inspiration from literary sources to guide organization and style, and studies the rhetoric used in political communication to illustrate how political figures persuade audiences.<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite journal |url=http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/j_roffee_rhetoric_aboriginal_australians_2016.pdf |last=Roffee |first=J. A. |year=2016 |title=Rhetoric, Aboriginal Australians and the Northern Territory intervention: A socio-legal investigation into pre-legislative argumentation |journal=International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=131–47 |doi=10.5204/ijcjsd.v5i1.285 |s2cid=146941187 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205013154/http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/j_roffee_rhetoric_aboriginal_australians_2016.pdf |archive-date=5 February 2017 |df=dmy-all}}
|2={{cite journal |last=Roffee |first=J. A. |year=2014 |title=Synthetic Necessary Truth Behind New Labour's Criminalisation of Incest |doi=10.1177/0964663913502068 |volume=23 |journal=[[Social & Legal Studies]] |pages=113–30 |s2cid=145292798}}
}}</ref> [[William G. Allen]] became the first American college professor of rhetoric, at [[New-York Central College]], 1850–1853.

Debate clubs and lyceums also developed as forums in which common citizens could hear speakers and sharpen debate skills. The American lyceum in particular was seen as both an educational and social institution, featuring group discussions and guest lecturers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ray |first=Angela G. |title=The Lyceum and Public Culture in the Nineteenth-Century United States |location=East Lansing |publisher=[[Michigan State University Press]] |year=2005 |pages=14–15}}</ref> These programs cultivated democratic values and promoted active participation in political analysis.

Throughout the 20th century, rhetoric developed as a concentrated field of study, with the establishment of rhetorical courses in high schools and universities. Courses such as [[public speaking]] and [[speech analysis]] apply fundamental Greek theories (such as the modes of persuasion: {{transliteration|grc|[[ethos]]}}, {{transliteration|grc|[[pathos]]}}, and {{transliteration|grc|[[logos]]}}) and trace rhetorical development through history. Rhetoric earned a more esteemed reputation as a field of study with the emergence of [[Communication Studies]] departments and of Rhetoric and Composition programs within English departments in universities,<ref>{{cite book |last=Borchers |first=Timothy A. |title=Rhetorical Theory: An Introduction (with InfoTrac) |year=2006 |publisher=[[Wadsworth Publishing]] |location=Canada |isbn=978-0-534-63918-1 |page=21}}</ref> and in conjunction with the [[linguistic turn]] in [[Western philosophy]]. Rhetorical study has broadened in scope, and is especially used by the fields of marketing, politics, and literature.

Another area of rhetoric is the study of cultural rhetorics, which is the communication that occurs between cultures and the study of the way members of a culture communicate with each other.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last1=Cobos |first1=Casie |last2=Raquel Ríos |first2=Gabriela |last3=Johnson Sackey |first3=Donnie |last4=Sano-Franchini |first4=Jennifer |last5=Haas |first5=Angela M. |date=2018-04-03 |title=Interfacing Cultural Rhetorics: A History and a Call |journal=Rhetoric Review |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=139–154 |doi=10.1080/07350198.2018.1424470 |s2cid=150341115 |issn=0735-0198}}</ref> These ideas{{Specify|reason=which ideas?|date=September 2023}} can then be studied and understood by other cultures, in order to bridge gaps in modes of communication and help different cultures communicate effectively with each other. James Zappen defines cultural rhetorics as the idea that rhetoric is concerned with negotiation and listening, not persuasion, which differs from ancient definitions.<ref name=":7" /> Some ancient rhetoric was disparaged because its persuasive techniques could be used to teach falsehoods.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Keith|last=Lundberg |title=The Essential Guide to Rhetoric |publisher=Bedford/St. Martin's |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-312-47239-9 |edition=1st |pages=5–8 |language=English}}</ref> Communication as studied in cultural rhetorics is focused on listening and negotiation, and has little to do with persuasion.<ref name=":7" />

====Canons====
Rhetorical education focused on five [[Canon (basic principle)|canons]]. The {{visible anchor|Five Canons of Rhetoric|text=Five Canons of Rhetoric}} serve as a guide to creating persuasive messages and arguments:

; ''[[inventio]]'' (invention) : the process that leads to the development and refinement of an argument.
; ''[[dispositio]]'' (disposition, or arrangement) : used to determine how an argument should be organized for greatest effect, usually beginning with the ''[[exordium (rhetoric)|exordium]]''
; ''[[elocutio]]'' (style) : determining how to present the arguments
; ''[[memoria]]'' (memory) : the process of learning and memorizing the speech and persuasive messages
; ''[[pronuntiatio]]'' (presentation) and ''[[actio]]'' (delivery) : the gestures, pronunciation, tone, and pace used when presenting the persuasive arguments—the [[Grand Style]].

[[Memoria|Memory]] was added much later to the original four canons.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Jay |last=Heinrichs |title= [[Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion|Thank You for Arguing]] |year=2017 |page=303}}{{ISBN?}}</ref>