This textbook provides selections for public speaking pieces. The selections embraced in this volume have been chosen with reference to the attainment of these purposes: (1) The pleasant entertainment of both speaker and listeners; (2) The healthy stimulation of the imagination, a factor always active in the minds of children; (3) The cultivation…

Describes the successful public lectures of Frances Wright, and looks more closely at her career as a rhetorician trying to determine why she remains less known today than any other major female figure of the 19th century. Concludes that Wright was remembered with derision by her enemies and with regret by those who would have been her friends.…

Rufus Choate, a Massachusetts lawyer and orator, has been described as a "unique and romantic phenomenon" in America's history. Born in 1799 in Essex, Massachusetts, Choate graduated from Dartmouth College and attended Harvard Law School. Choate's goal was to be the top in his profession. Daniel Webster was Choate's hero. Choate became…

Examines public address in the post-bellum South (focusing on the years 1865 to 1900) as a form of epideictic speaking, in order to illuminate both the genre and the Southern mind. (SR)

States that Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam relied heavily upon debate as a form of public address through which to enact and publicize confrontation with other civil rights organizations. Examines Malcolm X's first experience and training in debate as a prison inmate and later public experiences. Provides detailed accounts and analysis of his…

Reproduces portions of the first lecture given to the Philosophical Society of Aberdeen, Scotland--George Campbell's discussion of eloquence of 1758. Explains the importance of this document, asserting that it reveals the "belletristic" roots of Campbell's theory, and proves that his differentiation on the "ends" of speaking…

Claiming that discourse has atrophied in a social climate that provides little space for reasoned discussion of vital issues, this paper explores the role the general education course in public speaking has played in the past and the role this course could play in the future in the restoration of public space. Divided into three focused sections,…

An updated version of a bibliography which appeared in a 1982 edition of "Rhetoric Society Quarterly," this 132-item bibliography is divided into books and articles and book chapters. The selections date from 1933 through 1989. (NKA)

The idea for the organization that later became the American Forensic Association (AFA) was conceived at a meeting of debate coaches at a tournament at the State University of Iowa in the fall of 1948. This group felt that something should be done to meet the growing needs and interests of high school and college debate coaches. The group…

Describes a device, the speaker resume, which provides students with biographical information on an orator's education, achievements, historical impact, rhetorical skills, and personal data. Includes a sample resume of Daniel O'Connell, Irish orator. Useful to teachers and students for class discussion and further investigation. (PD)

Discusses the contribution of a distinguished teacher and scholar during the formative years of the speech profession. Includes a brief biography, major tenets of the Midwestern School of Speech, and major tenets of the Cornell School as argued by Hudson, who sought to make rhetoric the center of the speech discipline. (PD)

A study examined three eulogies offered by Adlai Stevenson upon the deaths of important public figures (Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Sir Winston Churchill), in order to determine how each address fulfilled the purposes of this unique rhetorical genre. Each eulogy was examined with the purposes of eulogistic speaking in mind: (1) to…

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the 1972 presidential campaign of George McGovern embodied a rich Neo-Populist rhetorical vision that served as a framework for the candidate's campaign rhetoric. The thesis of the paper is that the Neo-Populist vision of McGovern included three particular fantasies, each of which dressed the…

Presentations on the life, character, influence, and contribution to speech education of four great teachers who practiced the humane tradition. (PD)

Describes the career and contributions of Hallie Quinn Brown to the field of elocution, as well as to civil rights, women's rights, educational advancement, and excellence in the arts. (JMF)