Oxford Handbook of Rhetorical Studies

One of the most remarkable trends in the humanities and social sciences in recent decades has been the resurgence of interest in the history, theory, and practice of rhetoric: in an age of global media networks and viral communication, rhetoric is once again "contagious" and "communicable" (Friedrich Nietzsche). Featuring sixty commissioned chapters by eminent scholars of rhetoric from twelve countries, The Oxford Handbook of Rhetorical Studies offersstudents and teachers an engaging and sophisticated introduction to the multidisciplinary field of rhetorical studies. The Handbook traces the history of Western rhetoric from ancient Greece and Rome to the present and surveys the role of rhetoric in more than thirty academic disciplines and fields of social practice. This combination of historical and topical approaches allows readers to chart the metamorphoses of rhetoric over the centuries while mapping the connections between rhetoric and law, politics, science, education, literature, feminism, poetry, composition, philosophy, drama, criticism,digital media, art, semiotics, architecture, and other fields. Chapters provide the information expected of a handbook-discussion of key concepts, texts, authors, problems, and critical debates-while also posing challenging questions and advancing new arguments. In addition to offering an accessible and comprehensive introduction to rhetoric in the European and North American context, the Handbook includes a timeline of major works of rhetorical theory, translations of all Greek and Latin passages, extensive cross-referencing between chapters, and a glossary of more than three hundred rhetorical terms. These features will make this volume a valuable scholarly resource for students and teachers in rhetoric, English, classics, comparativeliterature, media studies, communication, and adjacent fields. As a whole, the Handbook demonstrates that rhetoric is not merely a form of stylish communication but a pragmatic, inventive, and critical art that operates in myriad social contexts and academic disciplines.

The book offers a refreshing read for each aspect and period. The list of contributors include trail blazers in rhetorical studies in North America and Europe. For any undergraduate, postgraduate, or individual with general knowledge of the humanities and allied disciplines, or even for the curious scholar, this book will prove most useful., It would be a mistake to regard this volume as merely a statement on the state of scholarship in rhetoric. Although it does perform this function, its chief virtues lie in its spaciousness and reliability. Every student of rhetoric can only stand to benefit from it., I was very excited to get my hands on what was promising to be a magnificent and extremely helpful Handbook of Rhetorical Studies, and my expectations were matched, It will be emphatically worth incorporating, or seeking out, in a library - not least for the ramifications in rhetorical studies that the Handbook reveals.

Michael J. Macdonald is Associate Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Waterloo.