ENGL 504 Classical Rhetoric Conference

Spring 2016

Panel 1: Modern Connections

Chase Troxell
Sophistry and the Art of Rhetoric in the 2016 Primary Race: What Isocrates’ 2,000 Year Old
Texts Teaches Us about the Nature of Political Campaigns
The classical period belonged to the orality of its culture, its great thinkers and naturally, its great
teachers. Although Aristotle, Plato and Socrates come to mind as the greatest thinkers of the time,
one less celebrated thinker, Isocrates, is survived famously for two texts, “Against the Sophists” and
“Antidosis,” that deal with the subject of teachers and thinkers that were not so great: the sophists. In
these texts, he criticizes the sophists for their greed and their aversion of the truth, claiming they not
only avoid the truth, they spread lies. Moreover, Isocrates’ texts represent an important facet to the
history of rhetoric’s darker side, one that still exists today in the form of political campaign
discourse. As modern sophists, politicians spin their way down the campaign trail every election,
exercising political speak and teaching the masses their view of the truth regarding the status quo and
future of America. This presentation seeks to bridge the rhetorical gap by analyzing Donald Trump’s
and Hilary Clinton’s Campaigns through the lens of Isocrates’ texts. In doing this, a clearer picture of
how truth is formed and manipulated will shed light on the importance of both contemporary and
classical rhetoric.
Anne Eley
Quintilian and Modern Educational Theory
Ask any current educator about the latest educational theory and they will remark that it isn’t new but
simply a re-emergence of a past theory. Not only is there truth in this statement but this recycling of
theory goes back far longer than we may initially suspect. Marcus Fabius Quintilian wrote Instituio
Oratoria in 49CE as a series of lessons and learning on Rhetoric after his twenty years as an
educator. In this project, I will explore the teachings of Quintilian and their relation to modern
educational philosophies such as character education, differentiation, student – teacher relationships,
improving critical thinking, cross-curricular education, etc. I will use Quintilian’s primary text,
Books I and II as well as contemporary educational philosophy books and contemporary evaluations
of the primary text. In doing so, I will posit that much of the modern movements in education are
simply veiled reiterations of Quintilian’s theories.

Eileen Comerford
“The Present is the Most Important”: The Transformation of Aristotle’s Epideictic in Modern
Scholarship
Many modern scholars adapt Aristotle’s original definition of epideictic rhetoric to their own specific
research in order to apply a classic term to new ideas. This characterization of one’s own research
using an established term is common among academics in the field of rhetoric in order to qualify
their scholarship in a wider perspective and create new knowledge via traditional practices. The
meaning of epideictic rhetoric in contemporary scholarship has, however, changed since its inception
in Aristotle’s Rhetoric. In this project I will examine four essays, one from each of the last four
decades, which use epideictic as its framework. I will then compare their descriptions of epideictic
rhetoric to Aristotle’s classical definition as well as to each other’s definition. Through this
examination I will explore the timeline of epideictic and identify its modifications throughout the
years. I contend that contemporary rhetoric scholars frame Aristotle’s concept of epideictic rhetoric
in order to fit their specific arguments, even if doing so strays from the classical definition they claim
as their framework.

Andrew Lewis
The Path to Storytelling: Aristotle’s Six Elements of Tragedy (or Drama) as a Method of
Analysis for Ancient Plays and an Influence for Modern Cinema.
In the Poetics, Aristotle provided an in depth analysis concerning the elements of a tragedy, or a
drama from today’s perspective. In fact, publications today have termed these elements Aristotle’s
six elements of drama. Like the five canons of rhetoric, Aristotle systemized the elements of a drama
into a formulaic structure that is both relevant to plays in ancient times and the present day, most
notably cinema. In part six of Aristotle’s Poetics, he lists six elements of tragedy (spectacle,
character, plot, diction, melody, and thought), using these terms as a form of analysis for tragedies
during ancient times. Through research and analysis of primary and secondary texts, I will examine
Aristotle’s six elements of drama, arguing these elements provide a method of analysis for ancient
texts. In addition to analysis, I will briefly discuss the influence Aristotle’s elements of drama have
on modern cinema.

7:00-7:15 Questions on Panel 1

Panel 2: Public Speaking

David Maynard
Is Gorgias a Nihilist? The Question of Positive Knowledge in Encomium to Helen
Scholars have long debated the question of Gorgias’ nihilism. Indeed, with Encomium to Helen’s
emphasis upon the power of language to influence if not determine human action, one might easily
wonder whether Gorgias believed that human beings can ever have any knowledge of the world that
is not mediated by rhetoric. Still, given the scarcity of Gorgias-authored texts, it is difficult to resolve
this debate with any certainty. In my project, I will participate in and expand the conversation
surrounding the question of Gorgias’ nihilism by conducting a close reading of his only extant work,
Encomium to Helen. I will supplement this analysis with references to classical secondary sources
such as Plato’s Gorgias and Sextus Empiricus’ Against the Professors, and I will contextualize my
reading within the current scholarly debate surrounding the question of Gorgias’ nihilism and
whether positive knowledge is attainable within the Gorgian worldview.

Bobby Beebe
Time Is the Wisest Counselor of All: Restorative Rhetoric in Pericles’ Funeral Oration
Clear evidence points to the fact that funeral rituals were of high value in ancient Greek civility.
Pericles’ Funeral Oration, a speech from Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, has been
of particular interest to classics scholars as it is a seemingly in-tact speech of a funeral ritual. While
many scholars have taken up the rhetorical significance of Pericles’ speech, few have investigated
how this speech functions as crisis management. Utilizing Aristotle’s theory of “epideictic” and
Donyale R. Griffin-Padgett & Donnetrice Allison’s theory of “restorative rhetoric” I aim to
investigate the ways in which Pericles uses strategies to respond to the crises that surround a country
at war. In doing this, I argue that Pericles uses the epideictic form of the funeral oration to employ a
sort of restorative rhetoric aimed to restore the faith of the Greek people. This restorative rhetoric,
while implemented differently, can be seen as a model for the restorative rhetoric employed by
present day leaders.

Susi Seybold
Missionaries and Money; Paul and Sophists
Hans Robert Jauss’ reception theory explores how historical changes impact the perceptions and
expectations of the reading public. Rhetorically then, reception theory prompts a critical analysis of
how specific audiences receive both spoken and written texts. Through his sermons and letters, the
Apostle Paul interacted with residents of cities heavily influenced by the sophistic movement and
Roman empire. These cities include not just Corinth (a key focus of Philo and Paul among the
Sophists), but also Athens and Philippi. The Sophists faced rejection due to their manipulation of
sophia for financial gain. Serving as a model for contemporary missionaries, Paul avoids the charge
of preaching for profit, countering the Sophists in both message and method; furthermore, Paul
demotes the use of “wise and persuasive words” and demonstrates the power of the Holy Spirit to
make people receptive to the Gospel message.  

Questions: 8:00-8:15on Panel 2

Panel 3: Gender Studies

Rachel Dortin
All’s Fair in Love and Rhetoric: An Exploration of the Male and Female Use of Love as
Representative of Rhetoric in Ancient Greek Writings
Despite the constantly developing philosophical and intellectual discourse of ancient Greece, men
and women still remained separated by traditional gender roles. Ancient Grecian men typically
focused on advancing their athletic and intellectual prowess while women were mostly confined to
lives of domesticity. Because of this separation, the majority of the remaining philosophical works
from ancient Greece are written by men. Several of these works—including Gorgias’ Encomium of
Helen and Plato’s the Phaedrus—center on the male discussion of love as a metaphor for rhetoric.
Furthermore, very few works composed by women remain, and those that do are not considered
equal in their rhetorical capacity. In this presentation, I explore primary texts and the modern day
scholarship surrounding them and invite the audience to consider how the women of ancient Greece
—such as Sappho—created meaning and commented on rhetoric through their poetic consideration
of love in a capacity similar to the aforementioned male scholars.

Abigail Linhardt
Brigid: Naked Femininity
My research will be on the ancient Irish goddess Brighid and her role in modern day feminism.
Through images and mythology, I argue that the idea of modern feminism is focused on the wrong
ideals. Brigid had so powerful a following that when the Roman Catholics invaded Ireland, they had
to adapt Brigit to their own religion, creating Saint Brigit of Kildare. Through a study of Brigid and
her images, I will argue that she is in fact the standard to which modern feminists should align
themselves. For while Brigid was a goddess, a female deity, she was powerful enough to have Britain
named after her, be the goddess of poetry and smith craft, and activities assumed to be feminine such
as weaving. With Brigid as a symbol, I will show how it is the feminine traits modern feminists are
shaming, but how the ancient Celts saw those traits as power.

Questions: 8:45 -9:00 pm on Panel 3