Teaching Rhetoric: What Medieval Rhetoric Can Offer Contemporary Rhetorical Pedagogy
Teaching Rhetoric: What Medieval Rhetoric Can Offer Contemporary Rhetorical Pedagogy

Summary/Abstract: This essay draws comparisons between the contemporary teaching of rhetoric to that of the medieval period in Western Europe. Being both pragmatic and prescriptive, medieval rhetorical teachers adapted the best practices of earlier periods to address the circumstances of the day. Examining the rhetorical context of time, and assessing the challenges to rhetoric in a period of decentralization and societal fragmentation, it explores how the new Christian culture used the art for its own purposes. Looking at the three arts of medieval rhetoric there is an appreciation for the flexibility and adaptability of rhetoric to prevailing circumstances. The links between 21st-century rhetoric and the vast expanse of medieval times are many offering useful insight.

• Details
• Contents