COURSE DESCRIPTION
'Rhetoric,' in the sense of 'the practice of persuasion,' is surely as old as human communication; but ërhetoricí in the sense of metarhetorical discourse is an invention of the ancient Greeks, and one of their greatest legacies to the Romans (and indeed to all of us). The notion of 'poetics,' likewise, in the Western tradition at least, comes to us from Greece and Rome.
This course examines some pivotal ancient Mediterranean texts, with a view toward what they can tell us about the ancientsí ideas about rhetoric and poetics. Some questions that are likely to occupy us: What is language, and how does it figure in the role of human communication and persuasion? How do literary texts communicate, and how persuade? How does persuasion -- in oral, written, or other forms -- itself undergo change when its meta-discourse is codified and systematized?
The course will consist of weekly meetings in which we will discuss
assigned readings and related topics. Sporadic quizzes; final examination
and/or paper. 3.0 credit hours. No knowledge of ancient Greek or Latin
is presumed.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF READINGS
Items marked with an * asterisk are on reserve in the Undergraduate Library. The four Loeb volumes of Quintiilian will also be there, if you prefer not to purchase them for yourself (see below, 'Recommended Texts'), but he is a key figure in the history of classical rhetorical theory, so if you can afford the investment, you will be glad to have your own copy.
Due on January
13 Introduction to the class. Topics, methods, texts. Important handouts
will be distributed today; make sure you have them.
20 Read Homer's Iliad, books 1, 9, 16, 24, and JTK, * 'The "Great Triangle"
in Early Greek Rhetoric and Poetics'
27 Read Homer's Odyssey, books 1, 9, 1822.
Due on February
3 Read Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days (entire) and * JTK, 'Rhetoric
and Poetics in Hesiod'
10 Read Plato's Gorgias. Type a careful outline (to hand in).
17 Read Plato's Symposium and Phaedrus. Type a careful outline of each
(to hand in).
24 Read Plato's Republic, books 2, 3, 6, and 10, and * JTK, 'Mimesis
and Diegesis: Foundations of Aesthetic Theory in Plato and Aristotle.'
(I will not require that you hand in an outline of your Republic reading,
but I strongly suggest that you make one for your own study purposes.)
Due on March
3 Read Aristotle's Rhetoric, book 1, in Kennedyís translation.
Make a careful outline.
10 Spring Break. No class this week.
17 Read Aristotle's Rhetoric, book 2. Make a careful outline.
24 Read Aristotle's Rhetoric, book 3. Make a careful outline (complete
outlines of the Rhetoric, typed, are due today).
31 Read Aristotle's Poetics carefully, in Janko's translation, along
with * JTK, 'Aristotle's Poetics: The Rhetorical Principle.' Also
due today: typed outline, with preliminary bibliography, for final
paper.
Due on April
7 Read Longinus, On the Sublime, and make a careful outline.
14 Read Rhetorica ad Herennium, books 12.
21 Read Rhetorica ad Herennium, books 34.
28 Oral reports on Cicero and Quintilian. Final papers due today.
BOOKS are available for purchase at Von's Books.
Required Texts
Homer. The Iliad. Transl. Lattimore [Chicago]
--- . The Odyssey. Transl. Lattimore [Harper & Row]
Hesiod. Theogony, Works and Days, Shield.
Transl. Athanassakis [Hopkins]
Plato. Gorgias. Transl. Hamilton [Penguin]
--- . The Symposium. Transl. Hamilton [Penguin]
--- . Phaedrus. Transl. Hamilton [Penguin]
Aristotle. On Rhetoric. Transl. Kennedy [Oxford]
--- . Poetics. Transl. Janko [Hackett]
Longinus. On the Sublime. Transl. Dorsch [Penguin]
[Cicero]. Rhetorica ad Herennium [Loeb]
Recommended Texts (all Loeb editions)
Cicero. De inuentione
Cicero. De oratore [2 vols]
Cicero. Orator
Quintilian. Institutio oratoria. [4 vols]
Demetrius. On Style.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Critical Essays.
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COURSE POLICIES
By enrolling this course, you contract to abide by the following policies: [1] Grading: 40% of your final grade will depend on the final examination and/or paper, and 60% on attendance, oral presentations, classroom participation, homework, and quizzes. Under no circumstances are extensions or ëIncompletesí given for the course. You will note that regular preparation of work, and the ability to contribute to the class dialogue, is very important to your grade. More significant, it is very important to the way one learns. Your contribution to the class matters; your classmates learn from what you say and do, as you do from them. Think about that. [2] Attendance: attendance is required by University regulation and is not optional. (Please do not, for example, ask me to excuse you from attendance on the day before Spring Break.) NO absence is justified without a medical excuse signed by an M.D. (do not ask me to contact your physician; it is your responsibility to provide documentation). ATTENDANCE IS ESSENTIAL. Since we meet one night a week, each class meeting is the equivalent of three one-hour classes. Two absences or less will not result in a grade penalty; for 3 unexcused absences, the final grade will be dropped one full letter; for 4 unexcused absences, the final grade will be dropped two full letters; if the student has 5 or more unexcused absences, the result is an automatic F. This is not to be ogreish, but to encourage you to establish responsible habits. [3] Books: please buy all the books listed as required for the course; and buy them now, because bookstores are notorious for sending back to the publishers copies they deem 'not needed.' Moreover, please buy THE VERY EDITIONS I HAVE ORDERED, as translations vary rather dramatically, and I want us all to be reading the same version of a given work. [4] Learning Disabilities: Under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Purdue University is required to make accommodation for students who have a certified learning disability. If you fall into this category, please bring me certification of same by the beginning of the first class meeting of the second week.
My office is in 115 Stanley Coulter Hall; office hours Tuesdays at 2.15
or by appointment. In any case it is my policy to be readily available
to you and to help you in any way possible. If you need to contact me,
you can leave a message for me by calling the Department of Foreign Languages
and Literatures at 494-3845 during business hours.