Rhetoric and Human Consciousness: A History

by Craig R. Smith

Creating a meaningful and engaging survey of the uses, definitions, and styles of rhetoric as it has evolved from ancient to present times would be a daunting task for most scholars. Luckily, for all who want to know about rhetoric’s intersection with diverse disciplines of thought, how it has guided human interaction, and its place as a powerful force in public affairs and education, the latest edition of Craig Smith’s Rhetoric and Human Consciousness provides enriching insights. His detailed, well-researched text maintains a balanced, in-depth analysis of theories, perspectives, people, and situations associated with various dimensions of rhetoric. The historical development of rhetorical theory, together with multiple examples, illustrates and highlights rhetorical themes and trends in philosophical, political, psychological, scientific, and religious thought and creativity. Smith argues that for almost every school of thought, another school of thought forms in reaction. From this perspective, he presents investigations of Greco-Roman, medieval, Renaissance, modern, existential, postmodern, and feminist thinking, examining the evolving definitions of rhetoric from myth and display to persuasion and symbolic inducement. He demonstrates that all of us use rhetoric to achieve higher levels of understanding when we communicate with others because it is crucial to decision making in an uncertain world. An elevated understanding of rhetoric helps us become better persuaders and critical listeners.

Genres: Nonfiction

424 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1997

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Craig R. Smith is the director emeritus of the Center for First Amendment Studies at California State University, Long Beach, where he taught for twenty-seven years. He has served as a political speechwriter for President Gerald Ford, campaign manager for Senator Bob Packwood, and as a consultant to George Bush's presidential campaign.

In 2010 he received the Douglas W. Ehninger Distinguished Rhetorical Scholar Award from the National Communication Association for his contributions to rhetorical theory.

Reviews

[Kristi Siegel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ta da! I'm not teaching this course any more, so I'll never have to use this crushingly boring text again. ...And it's not as though I didn't try to find something more interesting. However, texts that provide an overview of rhetorical theory are difficult to find. Here, what Smith accomplishes in breadth he undoes in depth. Too often, particularly with theorists who warrant more explanation, Smith's commentary is scant (two pages on Derrida, two or three pages on Foucault, perhaps one or two pages on Baudrillard, etc.) and he often drops in critical terms without providing any context or definition. I was honest. I told my students this was an unfortunate text, but the best - after looking at dozens - that I could find.

However, Smith's students fare worse. I saw his online syllabus, and the course must be hell on wheels. Every day featured quizzes, exercises, and other busy work. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. We use and are assaulted by rhetoric every day. There should be fascinating books on rhetorical theory. Where in the hell are they?

As a further insult, there was a new edition in 2009, and the old edition was unavailable. The only changes were the addition of a few contemporary names - Obama here, Palin there. Otherwise, it was the same dull text, squashed into an edition 60 pages shorter with a microscopic font.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably a good reference book for those interested in the history of Western rhetorical theory, but I read it for a class I abhorred, so my remembrance of its contents is colored by my hatred.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smith makes Rhetoric fun, not that it wasn't always fun. But he makes it less intimidating. I had a class to supplement to the material to make it easier to understand, and I don't normally add textbooks to my 'read' list, but this is a textbook that I kept, and plan to keep for a long time, and not only because I'd only get $.60 for selling it back. Rhetoric combines psychology, history, English, and philosophy all into one, and Smith does a great job of portraying that. The only thing he didn't do, which I get because otherwise it would make it several thousand pages long and no one would ever read it, was go into detail about the rhetoricians, their work, and really describing their contributions. Most of the rhetoricians had one paragraph to a few pages. That being said, it's an excellent introduction into the world of rhetoric.

**special note about edition, the picture that I'm commenting on does NOT match my edition. I have the brown edition (whatever that one is, and I'm too lazy to check) so if there are differences between what I said and the edition here, sorry.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

boring textbook.

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay. Somewhat dry and boring. Some thinkers were given shorter treatments than I would have liked.