Teaching the History of Rhetoric

The continuous importance of pedagogy to rhetoric may be the only uncontested aspect of the so-called “rhetorical tradition.” But rhetoric was not taught the same way everywhere.

When you’re teaching the history of rhetoric, how do you go about stretching beyond the times, geographies, and vocabularies that commonly receive the most scholarly attention?

Henricus de Alemannia con i suoi studenti. Laurentius de Voltolina, c. 1350. Public domain.

Below are some guides by subject experts in a variety of historical periods and places. If you have resources you’d like to contribute to this page, please contact us

Chinese Rhetoric in Classical and Contemporary Times
Xing Lu, Professor Emeritus, College of Communication, DePaul University

Arabic Interpretations of Aristotle’s Rhetoric in 13th Century Europe
Jordan Loveridge, Assistant Professor, Mount St. Mary’s University

African Philosophy and Rhetoric
Omedi Ochieng, Assistant Professor, Denison University

Women in the History of Rhetoric
Kate Rich, University of Texas at Austin
Cheryl Glenn, Pennsylvania State University

Turkish Rhetoric at the Intersections of Three Formative Texts
Elif Guler, Longwood University

Medieval Irish Rhetorical Traditions
Brian James Stone, Indiana State University

Classical and Medieval Jewish Rhetoric
Brandon Katzir, Oklahoma City University

Medu Nefer (Ancient Egyptian) Rhetoric
Melba Vélez Ortiz, Associate Professor, Grand Valley State University