A Synoptic History of Classical Rhetoric

by James J. Murphy, Richard A. Katula, Michael Hoppmann

Continuing its tradition of providing students with a thorough review of ancient Greek and Roman rhetorical theory and practices, A Synoptic History of Classical Rhetoric is the premier text for undergraduate courses and graduate seminars in the history of rhetoric. Offering vivid examples of each classical rhetor, rhetorical period, and source text, students are led to understand rhetoric's role in the exchange of knowledge and ideas. Completley updated throughout, Part I of this new edition integrates new research and expanded footnotes and bibliographies for students to develop their own scholarship. Part II offers eight classical texts for reading, study, and criticism, and includes discussion questions and keys to the text in Part I. Also included are improved appendices for students to use as starting points for their own research: A Subject Outline for Future Study and A Basic Library for the Study of Classical Rhetoric.

New to this edition are online resources, including additional original texts and common speeches that instructors use when teaching classical rhetoric as well as modern speeches that exemplify the use of classical teachings in the oratory of 19th and 20th centuries, such as Lincoln s Gettysburg Address" and John F. Kennedy s "First Inaugural" address.

Genres: Philosophy, History

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Dr. Murphy spent his career studying the history and pedagogy of language use, with scholarly work exploring rhetoricians from the Classical Period, the Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, and on to modernity. His work extended to the pedagogy of teaching rhetoric, writing, and debate, including texts that have been published in numerous editions and multiple languages including Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, and Polish. Before settling at UC Davis in 1965, he taught at St. Mary’s College, Stanford, and Princeton. During his career, he published 75 journal articles and book chapters and edited numerous volumes.
Dr. James J. Murphy, (Ph.D., Stanford University, 1957), Professor Emeritus at UC Davis, passed away in 2021, at the age of 98. He remained alert and intellectually engaged until just a few days before his death. His final publication, The Oxford Handbook of Quintilian, which he co-edited, arrived exactly one week before he died.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Helpful in providing an overview of classical rhetoric, but, sadly, rather poorly written! Some chapters felt illogically arranged or overly pedantic (trying to summarize too much when a few extra excepts in the appendix would have been more useful), while others were simply full of grammar issues or otherwise hard to follow. Excerpts and speeches in the back are very helpful, though.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one of our main texts for ENG 570, History of Composition-- "Tracing the Evolving Ecologies of Writing Theory." I had trouble keeping all the different classical rhetoricians straight...