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Political Rhetoric in Theory and Practice is an introduction to the art of rhetoric or persuasive speaking. A collection of primary sources, it combines classic statements of the theory of political rhetoric (Aristotle, Isocrates, Demosthenes, Cicero) with a rich array of political speeches, from Socrates to Martin Luther King Jr., Pericles to Richard Nixon, Sojourner Truth to Phyllis Schlafly. These speeches exemplify not only the three principal kinds of rhetoric ¿ judicial, deliberative, and epideictic ¿ but also the principal rhetorical proofs. Grouped thematically, the speeches boast a diversity of speakers, subject matters, and themes. At a time when the practice of democracy and democratic deliberation are much in question, this book seeks to encourage the serious study of rhetoric by making available important examples of it, in both its noblest and its most scurrilous forms.
List of contents
Part One: What is Rhetoric?; I. Classical foundations; II. The three kinds of rhetoric according to Aristotle; III. The modes of persuasion: ethos, pathos, logos; IV. Rhetoric and diction; Part Two: Political Rhetoric in Practice; I. Civil rights and race in the United States; II. The women's movement; III. Rhetoric in times of crisis and doubt; IV. War and conflict; V. Tyrannies left and right.
About the author
Robert C. Bartlett is the Behrakis Professor in Hellenic Political Studies at Boston College. He is the author or editor of ten books, including Sophistry and Political Philosophy: Protagoras' Challenge to Socrates (2016) and Against Demagogues: What Aristophanes Can Teach Us about the Perils of Populism and the Fate of Democracy (2020), and is the translator of a new edition of Aristotle's Art of Rhetoric (2019).Nasser Behnegar is the director of Graduate Studies in the department of political science at Boston College. He is the author of Leo Strauss, Max Weber, and the Scientific Study of Politics (2003) as well as studies of the political thought of John Locke, Shakespeare, and Carl Schmitt.
Summary
This book combines classic statements of the theory of political rhetoric (Aristotle, Isocrates, Cicero) with an extraordinarily rich array of examples of actual political speeches, ancient and modern, on a great variety of themes. Students and general readers alike will find much to engage their interests.
Foreword
Combines classic statements of the theory of political rhetoric with a rich array of actual political speeches ancient and modern.
