The goal of the club is to provide a place to discuss content that is usually included in graduate classes in rhetorical criticism. During Fall 05, we discussed classical rhetorical theory. For Spring 2006, we are tackling contemporary rhetorical theory. The readings are accessible to any student without any former knowledge of rhetoric, yet they include some of the key pieces in rhetorical criticism. The plan is to maximize gain and minimize pain. Most readings are 10-15 pages long; there will be only one reading per week (except for one week).

This is your chance to read the original work of Stephen Toulmin, Michel Foucault, and many others. The study of rhetoric is one of the foundations of our discipline, and it is perhaps the oldest part of the discipline (the best rhetorical journal, Quarterly Journal of Speech, has been around for 91 years; Communication Monographs first appeared when QJS was already on volume 20). These ideas are still relevant to any branch of communication research.

Our meetings will be open to all students and faculty. You can come to all of them, or just pick the readings you like and only come to those meetings. If you are interested, please let me know and I can put you on our mailing list.

Resources
O Archive of the readings, Spring 2006 (password protected)
O Reading List, Spring 2006, PDF format
O Reading List, Fall 2005, PDF format
O Bibliography of Readings, Fall 2005, PDF format
O Full electronic text of Aristotle's Rhetoric (Trans. W. R. Roberts)
O Silva Rhetoricae, Forest of Rhetoric (Online resource maintained by G. Burton, Brigham Young University)



© 2005 Kosta Tovstiadi (all text & pictures) | kosta@ou.edu| Last Updated: February 21, 2006