The question as to where ethical philosophy ought to end and oratory begin was an abiding interest for the rhetorician-philosophers of Antiquity. This study considers the relationship between the two now distinct disciplines in the theory and practice of Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and the United States, through the lens of transformative…

Education has gone through numerous radical changes as the digital era has transformed the way we as humans communicate, inform ourselves, purchase goods, and perform other mundane chores at home and at work. New and emerging pedagogies have enabled rapid advancements, perhaps too rapidly. It is a challenge for instructors and researchers alike to…

Much revisionist scholarship has focused on sophistic epistemology and its relationship to the current revival of epistemic rhetoric in the academy. However, few scholars have recognized the sensuous substance of words as sounds, and the role it played in sophistic philosophy and rhetoric. Before the invention of the Greek alphabet, poetry was…

The contemporary view of ethical communication has come full circle, returning to the approach of Aristotle. Almost every public speaking textbook includes discussion of the basic concepts of what Aristotle called ethos, pathos, and logos. Of particular significance is Aristotle's conception of ethos, as elaborated in his work, "The…

This paper argues that women experience two realities, a "private sphere" and a "public sphere," and the implication of this dual perspective needs to be addressed by women scholars in all disciplines. The idea behind these two spheres of reality is traced back to the ancient Greeks where household management (oikos) was the…

Argues that Protagoras, a leading sophist of the fifth century B.C.E., not only arrived at a theory of truth close to present-day antifoundationalism but also took the next step toward developing workable, socially constituted truths and knowledge for everyday practice. Sketches out Protagoras's project to employ the power of literacy for social…

Argues that Plato's representations of women transmit from previous tradition positive views of feminine activities such as weaving, conceiving, midwifery, giving birth, and nurturing. Asks at what point the discovery of Plato's appropriation of the feminine and female itself becomes appropriate. (SR)

Presents a debate between traditionalist ideas from Xin Lin Gale and postmodern ideas from Cheryl Glenn and Susan Jarratt. Quotes Gale who says that you cannot have it both ways, foundational and antifoundational: using the historical evidence to champion Aspasia while at the same time "reclaiming" her from the biases of those very documents.…

Describes development of a program of slides, tapes, and printed study guides in Roman and Greek civilization at the Ohio State University. Principle upon which program is founded is desirability of making available to students comprehensive materials for which time is not sufficient in classroom lecture courses. (Author/BK)

Describes the Perseus Project, a Harvard University-based effort to develop a hypermedia library of text and images concerning classical Greece. Explores the role of naturalistic inquiry (NI) in the Project. Reports that NI has helped researchers uncover unanticipated demands upon instructors, students, and developers in working with hypermedia.…

Explores the work of Martin Bernal in tracing the roots of Greek civilization to Africa. Discusses the Ancient, Aryan, and Revised Ancient models for explaining Greek origins. Observes that Bernal's thesis comes at a time of increased interest in non-Western history. Suggests that views of ancient Greece will never be the same. (SG)

Discusses philological evidence supporting a fourth-century origin of the word "rhetorike." Demonstrates that, once named, rhetoric became increasingly disciplinized. Argues that the naming of the phenomena is as relevant to the naming of disciplines as to other social realities. Suggests ways traditional accounts of fifth-century…

Critiques teleological narrative structures implicit in the work of some classical historians, adopting instead a multilayered historiographical method. Argues that a law instituted in 451/450 B.C.E. by Pericles opened up a possibility for resisting women's exclusion from the public sphere. Reads Gorgias' and Isocrates' speeches on Helen of Troy…

Contemporary dispute among teachers of rhetoric between those who prefer the classical tradition of rhetoric and those who champion an epistemic view of rhetoric has antecedents among the disputes of the ancient Greek scholars. Some of the vital themes of epistemology can be traced back to Protagoras of Abdera, one of the two great leaders of the…

The rhetorical and philosophical conceptions of liberal education continue to stand in tension as they have since antiquity. The tension arises from the inherent difficulty of reconciling reason and language, the two poles of the Greek concept "logos". (MSE)