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32 episodes with Quintilian
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2 episodes with Quintilian
2 episodes with Quintilian
2 episodes with Quintilian
2 episodes with Quintilian
About what classicists think, the hypocrisy of English-only "decolonization," and how a nineteenth-century debate can offer strategies for saving the humanities today.Eric Adler is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Classics at the University of Maryland. He received a B.A. from Connecticut College, an M.A. from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a Ph.D. from Duke University. His research interests include Roman historiography, Latin prose, the history of classical scholarship, and the history of the humanities. He is the author of the books Valorizing the Barbarians: Enemy Speeches in Roman Historiography (2011), Classics, the Culture Wars, and Beyond (2016), and The Battle of the Classics: How a Nineteenth-Century Debate Can Save the Humanities Today (2020). Recorded in May of 2025.Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South.Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive RomneyComments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Quintilian, please leave us a rating and/or a review on your favorite podcast distribution platform.
About Statius, the American Classical League Mentoring Program, and upcoming revisions to the Advanced Placement Latin curriculum.Patrick Yaggy's career in education began 25 years ago. Teaching first in Georgia and then later in Arizona, he is well-known within the Latin-teaching community for both his excellence in the classroom and his generous contributions to the profession. He has served as a Board Member of the North American Cambridge Classics Project and as the inaugural Chair of the American Classical League Mentoring Program, he has authored a textbook on the Thebaid of Statius, he has developed resources to complement the teaching of Caesar and Vergil, and he has created hundreds of instructional videos on YouTube. In the spring of 2024, Patrick accepted a position at the College Board, where he now serves as the Director of Assessment for Advanced Placement Latin and World Languages. Recorded in April of 2025.Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South.Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive RomneyComments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Quintilian, please leave us a rating and/or a review on your favorite podcast distribution platform.
About Kefalonia, Roman baths, and the search for the real Odysseus. The documentary Odysseus Returns premiered on PBS in August of 2024. The description of the film on the PBS website reads as follows: “An amateur historian, Makis Metaxas, claims he found the bones of Odysseus, the hero of Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey. But the discovery is soon embroiled in controversy, and Makis embarks on his own odyssey to convince the world he is right.” Ismini Miliaresis appears in this documentary, not only as an expert in the field of classical archaeology but also as someone who has a fascinating personal connection to this story. Ismini received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. After working as an engineer for several years, she returned to school and completed an M.A. and Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology from the University of Virginia. She has published articles about the Stabian Baths of Pompeii and the Forum Baths of Ostia, and she has taught at such institutions as the American University of Rome, the University of Missouri, and the University of Virginia. Recorded in November of 2024 Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Quintilian, please leave us a rating and/or a review on your favorite podcast distribution platform.
In this webinar, Winston Brady, Kellie Scripter, and Matt Ogle conducted a model seminar for teachers over the opening chapters of Quintilian's "On the Education of an Orator." They presented and model best practices for seminar teaching and the kinds of habits, disposition, and overall love of learning teachers need to encourage in their students. That way, students and teachers alike can get the most out of reading these significant texts.Quintilian lived from 35 to 100 AD and wrote an influential treatise on education, the aptly-titled "On the Education of an Orator." The work is one of a precious few on education and teaching from the ancient world and covers a wide variety of topics to equip a Roman boy to become an orator, a student "not (merely) blameless in morals only" but also equipped with "every excellence of mind."The work is subsequently ideal for classical educators to read to remind ourselves of the goals of classical education and how we can bring out the very best in our students.
Benton and Abi agree to disagree about how to disagree. In our "polarized" political climate, what value is there in a rhetoric that doesn't aim to change minds? Is it possible to embody empathetic listening while protecting ourselves from harmful views? They discuss their not-especially-successful attempts to converse with undecided voters as the election nears, and how presidential debates aren't the right format for solving problems. Abi gives a quick rundown of alternatives to persuasion throughout the rhetorical tradition, culminating in the 2022 book Rhetorical Listening in Action by Ratcliffe & Jensen. Stay to the end for Abi's most embarrassing high school debate experience. Sources and further reading Braver Angels. (n.d.). Our Mission. Braver Angels. Retrieved October 21, 2024, from https://braverangels.org/our-mission/ Burke, K. (1969). A Grammar of Motives. University of California Press. Compassionate Listening Project. (n.d.). History. CompassionateListening. Retrieved October 21, 2024, from https://www.compassionatelistening.org/history Foss, S. K., & Griffin, C. L. (1995). Beyond persuasion: A proposal for an invitational rhetoric. Communications Monographs, 62(1), 2–18. Gearhart, S. M. (1979). The womanization of rhetoric. Women's Studies International Quarterly, 2(2), 195–201. Heller, C. (2015, March 9). Life Inside Jabba the Hutt: Toby Philpott Explains How Puppeteers Operated Jabba the Hutt. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/387298/life-inside-jabba-the-hutt/ Inman, M. (n.d.) "Piggers are going all the way this year." The Oatmeal. https://theoatmeal.com/pl/minor_differences2/locker_room Jarratt, S. C. (1991). Feminism and composition: The case for conflict. Contending with Words: Composition and Rhetoric in a Postmodern Age, 105–123. Organizing and protest security culture. (2022, March). [Audio recording]. The Poor Proles Skillshare. https://open.spotify.com/show/2Xb99VLft9T9ObBLFJkj3n Perelman, C., & Olbrechts-Tyteca, L. (1973). The New Rhetoric: A Treatise on Argumentation. University of Notre Dame Pess. Quintilian. (1987). Quintilian on the teaching of speaking and writing: Translations from books one, two, and ten of the Institutio Oratoria (J. J. Murphy, Trans.). SIU Press. Ratcliffe, K., & Jensen, K. (2022). Rhetorical Listening in Action: A Concept-Tactic Approach. Parlor Press LLC. Talking radical politics with Dr. Ayesha Khan. (2022, March). [Podcast episode]. The Poor Proles Skillshare. https://open.spotify.com/show/2Xb99VLft9T9ObBLFJkj3n Talking Sense: Navigating relationships across political divides. (2024, September 5). MPR News. https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2024/09/04/talking-sense-navigating-relationships-across-political-divides Weil, Z., & Goodall, J. (2024). The Solutionary Way: Transform Your Life, Your Community, and the World for the Better. New Society Publishers. WeRateDogs (Director). (2024, September 30). Tim Walz and His Rescue Dog Scout | WeWalkDogs [Video recording]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spiwlde4kys Music credits: Opening theme: S: Disco Funk Loop by SergeQuadrado | License: Attribution NonCommercial 3.0 Julius Fučík (1897) "Entrance of the Gladiators" op. 68 Visit https://faculty.mnsu.edu/tctalk/ for transcript.
About the Olympics, Athenian demagogues, and the importance of cultivating a love of Latin in local communities. Bob Simmons is an Associate Professor and Chair of Classics at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. His research interests include Athenian demagogues, political and social conflict in 5th-century Athens, and sports in ancient Greece and Rome. He is the author of Demagogues, Power, and Friendship in Classical Athens: Leaders as Friends in Aristophanes, Euripides, and Xenophon, a book published by Bloomsbury in 2023. Over the course of his career, Bob has received such recognitions as the Award for Excellence in College Teaching from the Classical Association of the Middle West and South, the Outreach Prize from the Society for Classical Studies, and the Charles Humphreys Award for Innovative Pedagogy from the American Classical League. In the summer of 2024, he served as the Co-Director of The Ancient Olympics and Daily Life in Ancient Olympia: A Hands-On History, a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for K-12 teachers. The other Co-Director of this NEH Institute – friend of the podcast Nathalie Roy. You can learn more about Nathalie and her innovative approach to classical studies in Episode 31 and Episode 3. How Can We Save Latin in our Public High Schools? (Bob's 2019 article for the SCS Blog) Show Me the Money: Pliny, Trajan, and the Iselastic Games (referenced by Bob at the very end of the episode) Recorded in July of 2024 Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Quintilian, please leave us a rating and/or a review on your favorite podcast distribution platform.
The seventh episode of A Histoy of Literary Criticism. For today's episode, we return to the study of rhetoric with a discussion of Quintilian's Institutio Oratoria. First I'll outline Quintilian's biography and the social context in which he lived, then I'll give a brief overview of Institutio Oratoria before focusing on books 8, 9 and 12, which are the excerpts included in The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism.
Rhetoric is the art of public speaking, the ability to give a stirring and persuasive speech. Accordingly, the ancients looked at rhetoric as the one indispensable skill for leadership and public service.This webinar offered practical tips for successfully navigating public speaking opportunities, including how to get over nervousness, how to project your voice, how to memorize a speech, how (or when) to use your hands, and other practical areas of concern when one is speaking in public. Rubrics and materials are available upon request. Winston Brady has taught at Thales Academy since 2011 and has served Thales Academy in a variety of ways. Mr. Brady received a B.A. in English from the College of William and Mary, a M.Div. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr Brady serves as the Director of Curriculum and Thales Press.
About Mississippi, the National Spelling Bee, and leaving the field of journalism to become a Latin teacher. Sierra Mannie teaches Latin at Hunter College High School in New York City. Before she began teaching, however, she worked as a writer and journalist, with articles and editorials appearing in such publications as Time Magazine, the Jackson Free Press, and The Hechinger Report. More recently, she has also been a writer for the ABC television game show The Chase. Sierra received a bachelor's degree in Classics and English from the University of Mississippi and a master's degree in education from Hunter College. In 2017, she delivered a TEDx Millsaps College presentation entitled Tempora, Mores, and Other Complaints. Recorded in November of 2023. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Quintilian, please leave us a rating and/or a review on your favorite podcast distribution platform.
In this special episode, Winston Brady sits down for an interview about Research & Writing, a new writing textbook with a unique primary source-driven focus. Written by senior members of the trivium faculty at Thales Academy, namely, Winston, Elizabeth Jetton, and Josh Herring, Research & Writing integrates grammar and writing lessons with primary source texts.The goal of the Research & Writing series is to integrate the intellectual heritage of the Western tradition with the skills, concepts, and content to help students become excellent leaders, writers, and thinkers. These primary source texts include the very best works of philosophy, literature, and history from the beginning to the end of the Western canon and include the likes of Aristotle, Quintilian, Jane Austen, and more. For more information about this new book, check out Research & Writing, available here: https://bit.ly/3YjrD9Z
About Ronnie Ancona, Nava Cohen, John Gruber-Miller, and Mark Pearsall. The American Classical League Merens (Meritus / Merita) Award is intended to recognize educators who are, as the name of the award signifies, deserving of appreciation for their "sustained and distinguished service to the Classics profession generally and to ACL in particular." In 2023, there are four recipients of this award, and in a special episode of the Quintilian podcast, we're going to speak with all of them: Ronnie Ancona, Professor of Classics at Hunter College in New York City and former editor of The Classical Outlook; Nava Cohen, a long-time elementary and middle school teacher in Illinois who is now a Ph.D. candidate at Northwestern University; John Gruber-Miller, a Professor of Classical Studies at Cornell College in Iowa and founding editor of Teaching Classical Languages; and Mark Pearsall, a teacher of both Latin and Greek at Glastonbury High School in Connecticut and one of the original architects of the ALIRA proficiency exam. Recorded in July of 2023. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Quintilian, please leave us a rating and/or a review on your favorite podcast distribution platform.
About Vindolanda, the Via Caledonia, and the fusion of Classics and STEM. Nathalie Roy teaches Latin, Roman Technology, and Classical Mythology at Glasgow Middle School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A National Board Certified Teacher, Nathalie received both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from Louisiana State University. Over the course of her career, she has served in a variety of leadership positions, including State Chair of the Louisiana Junior Classical League and President of the Louisiana Classical Association. In recognition of her innovative work in finding the parallels between classical antiquity and 21st-century STEM education, Nathalie has received grants from such corporations as Lowe's and ExxonMobil, and she has received such recognitions as the 2021 Louisiana State Teacher of the Year Award and the 2023 Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Award. Recorded in July of 2023. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Quintilian, please leave us a rating and/or a review on your favorite podcast distribution platform.
About MovieTalks, detoxing from the textbook, and the challenges involved in coordinating a large program with multiple teachers. Rachel Ash and Keith Toda are two of the Latin teachers at Parkview High School, a large public school in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Rachel earned a B.A. from the University of Oklahoma and an M.A. from the University of Florida. She currently serves as Treasurer of the American Classical League and as State Chair of the Georgia Junior Classical League, and in the past, she has served as Chair of Excellence Through Classics, the ACL division that is dedicated to promoting and supporting elementary, middle school, and introductory classical studies programs. Keith earned a B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles, an M.A. from the University of Georgia, and an Ed.S. in Instructional Technology from Kennesaw State University. He has served as President of the Georgia Classical Association and as Chair of the American Classical League's Visibility and Advocacy Task Force. He also maintains the Toda-lly Comprehensible Latin blog, a popular repository of instructional resources for teachers who are interested in comprehensible input. This episode was recorded in June of 2023. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Quintilian, please leave us a rating and/or a review on your favorite podcast distribution platform.
Thursday, 6 July 2023 When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat, Acts 18:12 The previous verse noted that Paul continued in Corinth for a year and six months, teaching the word of God among the people. Now, it says, “When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia.” Rather, the verb is a present participle, “And Gallio being proconsul of Achaia.” Gallio is described by Albert Barnes – “Gallio, who was now deputy of it, was brother to L. Annaeus Seneca, the famous philosopher, who was preceptor to Nero; his name at first was M. Annaeus Novatus, but being adopted by L. Junius Gallio, he took the name of the family. According to his brother's account of him (s), he was a very modest man, of a sweet disposition, and greatly beloved; and Statius (t) calls him Dulcem Gallionem, "the sweet Gallio", mild and gentle in his speech, as Quintilian says.” Luke notes that at this time he was the proconsul of Achaia. This is the first mention of Achaia in Scripture. It was a Roman province that consisted almost completely of Greece. Ellicott says, “This word, in its largest sense, comprehended the whole of Greece. Achaia proper, however, was a province of which Corinth was the capital. It embraced that part of Greece lying between Thessaly and the southern part of the Peloponnesus.” During Gallio's time as proconsul, Luke notes that “the Jews with one accord rose up.” The action described is from a word found only here in Scripture, katephistemi. It is a word that is also not found in the Greek Old Testament nor in any ancient Greek writers. It gives the sense of standing against another. Older Bibles incorrectly say “insurrection.” However, an insurrection is against a ruling body, not a guy you disagree with. As it next notes, “against Paul.” As has been the case several times in Acts, the Jews' jealousy at Paul's success, and their inability to refute his words concerning the coming of Messiah, had them all steamed up. A similar event occurred in Daniel 6 where the governors and satraps rose up against Daniel, thronging king Darius. As for Paul, remembering that his letters to those in Thessalonica were written during his time in Greece, one can see the bitterness that had arisen between the two parties in his first letter to them – “For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.” 1 Thessalonians 2:14, 20 The greater number of Jews had rejected the message of Jesus being the Messiah while the Gentiles had openly embraced it in ever-increasing numbers. What the Jews had been unable to do for many years with established synagogues, Paul had done in a short amount of time. And more, Paul did not mandate any type of conversion to Judaism. Rather he openly preached against it. This infuriated them. Because of this, they stood against him “and brought him to the judgment seat.” The meaning is to the bema seat of Gallio. They probably did this because he was new and hoped that his inexperience in this position would work on their behalf. They had surely concocted a charge against him concerning his diversion from Jewish law. Where their teaching was accepted as a legitimate expression of the Roman-approved religions, they wanted what Paul was teaching to be cut off as illegitimate. Life application: What happened to Paul in his day is what is coming about again in our own time. The proper expression of worship concerning Jesus is derived from obedience to Scripture. However, churches around the world are actually of the attitude that those who hold to Scripture are the problem. For example, everything homosexual and perverted is becoming the norm in major denominations. And yet, there is no provision for such things in Scripture. Despite this, these apostate bodies are actively accusing those who hold to Scripture of being the ones who are intolerant and aberrant concerning proper Christian values. Eventually, this will become so pervasive that these greater bodies will openly come against those who faithfully adhere to the word and attempt to have them cut off from being considered Christian entities. The unholy tide is rushing in their favor, and so this is not mere speculation, but rather a logical conclusion concerning what lies ahead. Be prepared to stand on your faith from a biblical perspective. It may cost you dearly, but heck, it is well worth it in the long run. Heavenly Father, the time has arrived when what You have set forth in Your word concerning our conduct is no longer being tolerated. It seems inevitable that those who hold to what You expect of us will be increasingly persecuted for their faith. So, Lord, be with us and give us the strength to endure whatever comes against us. Help us in our weak state to be strong in You. Amen.
About Hawaii, community outreach initiatives, and using hip-hop rhythms to teach grammatical forms. Daniel Harris-McCoy is Associate Professor of Classics and Chair of the Department of Religions and Ancient Civilizations at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received his B.A. in Classics from Reed College and Ph.D. in Classical Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. In between, he received a Fulbright Grant to conduct research on comparative philosophy in India. Dr. Harris-McCoy's research generally relates to ancient intellectual history. He has published on a diverse range of topics including ancient architecture, divination, classical reception, and language pedagogy. He has won multiple teaching awards, including the Board of Regents Medal for Teaching Excellence, and he is passionate about mentorship and community outreach. English-Hawaiian Classical Dictionary Toga Beats Arachnetella Calliope's Library This episode was recorded in June of 2023. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Quintilian, please give us a rating and/or a review on your favorite podcast distribution platform.
About Pindar, stealth Latin, and the collection of demographic data about diversity in Classics. Arum Park is an Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Arizona. After earning a B.A. in Classics from Yale University, Arum taught high school Latin in Pennsylvania for three years. She then left the high school classroom to complete an M.A. and Ph.D. in Classics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Over the course of her career in higher education, she has taught courses on a wide variety of Greek and Latin authors, she has published on Hesiod and Ovid, and she has written and presented extensively on the topic of diversity in the field of classical studies. Her most recent book, "Reciprocity, Truth, and Gender in Pindar and Aeschylus," was published in the spring of 2023 by the University of Michigan Press. DEI Conversation Starters for the Introductory Latin Classroom Uses of Stealth Latin This episode was recorded in June of 2023. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying Quintilian, please give us a rating and/or a review on your favorite podcast distribution platform.
Proverbs was written/edited by whom for whom for what? Solomon collected it for his sons so that he could teach them to know wisdom and instruction. The Lord blessed Solomon with wisdom on earth, not for some esoteric existence. As a father he gifted his sons by passing on this knowledge and discretion. A workable definition of wisdom is "skill for living." I recently saw another good angle on this: “Wisdom comes from knowing the patterns God built into creation." ([source](https://twitter.com/dmichaelclary/status/1643217836360310785?s=20)) This recognition-ability helps us not pet the king's fur backwards, so to speak. All this is good. And while of (stinking) course there is application for those in any and every station under the sun, the primary "for what" of Proverbs, the chief end of "for what" with wisdom, the telos of "for what" in skill for living, is glorifying God *in ruling*. Solomon was teaching his sons the family business: kingdom administration. “The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:”> to receive instruction in wise dealing, > in righteousness, justice, and equity; > (Proverbs 1:3 ESV)One of the first principles when leading any group of people is to recognize the pattern that a whole bunch of them are going to be *stupid*. There are rich and poor, diligent and lazy, righteous and wicked, wise and stupid. A little more than a year ago I read _The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity_. This booklet has less words than the book of Proverbs, and while the author isn't a Christian he offers an astute non-inspired complement to the inspired Word. The definition of stupidity is really helpful: choosing things that don't benefit *anyone*, including oneself. “A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses.” (Loc. 245)With that definition in mind, Proverbs has a lot to say about stupid people. “Stupid" is a genus with a variety of character species. In Proverbs Solomon shows the patterns of the simple/naive, the fool, and the scoffer. They are on a spectrum of agreeableness to aggressiveness, but they all share the stupid gene. They are all throwing soup on paintings, some just have stronger arms and more chunks. Proverbs is a Stupid Vaccine, a Treasury of Stupid Antidote, it's the Handbook for Ruling a Nation with Fools, it's wisdom that gives rulers skills against stupid people. (And to be clear, I am mostly thinking about people, not decisions. A foolish moment from your two-year old isn't the same as a stupid person who is characterized by foolish choices year-in and year-out of their adult life.)Before I give the headings, a few things. First, this ruling-wisdom works for all lesser magistrates. It applies at every level of organization. That starts with your own *feelings*. If you did nothing else with these skills, do *self-rule* when you see your own thoughts wanting to squirt off the path of wisdom through an open gate into the fool's field. Cut them off. And then obviously there's a bunch of use for fathers (and mothers) dealing with stupid choices of sons (and daughters). Likewise, take notes: teachers, bosses, neighborhood association presidents, city council members, Christian nationalists. Second, as Christians we are in line to be *rulers*. This is our future. The present isn't a game per se, but you are going to use all this *after* the school of life. The Lord has made us a kingdom and priests, and we “shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:10). Blessed are those who share the first resurrection, “they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6). You've got a governing position appointed for you in the Millennial Kingdom, so here's where you're putting in some reps to get ready. Proverbs in this sense is about Christ as the wise King teaching His sons their work. Third, the stupid people are mixed in everywhere. Cipolla's *first basic law* is: “Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.” I'm going to curate some of the counsel for us, use different words to concentrate our pattern recognition. But there's a subtle message in Solomon's arrangement of the Proverbs themselves: stupid people come up in all sorts of situations. # Expect a MiracleWhen I say to expect a miracle, I mean expect that it is going to take a miracle to fix stupid. Isn't this part of the reason we're so frustrated? We think it's *natural*, or at least obvious, to not choose things that benefit no one. And it *is* obvious, just like it's obvious that men didn't crawl out from being frog larvae and stretch their legs before inventing satellites and sending them into space. Stupid is a way of looking wrongly; that's just how it looks.My favorite proverb is not in the book of Proverbs. > But a stupid man will get understanding > when a wild donkey's colt is born a man! > (Job 11:12 ESV)The word for "stupid" here has the nuance of hollow, so “empty-headed” (NKJV); “An idiot will become intelligent” NAS), “The witless will become wise” (NIV). It is just as likely for dimwits to become discerning as it is for a donkey's baby to come out a human being; it will take a miracle. > Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle > along with crushed grain, > yet his folly will not depart from him. > (Proverbs 27:22 ESV, see also “a hundred blows” 17:10)If you can't beat stupid out of someone, why would you think your charming smile is going to work? You're casting pearls before pigs that can't tell the difference between dirt and their own dung. Be wise, recognize the pattern, don't lose your mind when stupid follows its trajectory. # Stay Above the FrayTwo of the most well-known proverbs on responding to fools hit one right after the other in Proverbs 26:4-5. They almost seem too clever because on the surface they say the opposite. But unlike Democrats, the wise can see a play on words, get the joke, and understand better. > Answer not a fool according to his folly, > lest you be like him yourself. > (Proverbs 26:4 ESV)We don't really have to guess what **according to his folly** means, there is plenty of fool fodder in Proverbs. A fool exalts himself, to the point that he isolates himself (since no one is as wise-in-his-own-eyes). He has at least 11 followers on Twitter and 9 of them are bots who agree with him. > A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; > He rages against all wise judgment. > (Proverbs 18:1 NKJV)A fool loves to tell you what he thinks; while you're talking he's outlining his response. A fool “gives full vent to his spirit” (Proverbs 29:11), and one of the reasons he's more and more isolated is because that means less people are around to challenge his opinion. > A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, > but only in expressing his opinion. > (Proverbs 18:2 ESV)A fool can only see what's immediately in front of him, he is perpetually short-sighted. He will lose the relationship to win (he thinks) the argument. > Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling, > but a foolish man devours it. > (Proverbs 21:20 ESV)Don't let the fool devour your time and your energy; it would be better to meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs (Proverbs 17:12). > If a wise man has an argument with a fool, > the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet. > (Proverbs 29:9 ESV)> It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, > but every fool will be quarreling. > (Proverbs 20:3 ESV, see also not meddling in 26:17)Keep your head level and stay above the fray. Walk away. “Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge” (Proverbs 14:7). Rhetoric is the art of a good man keeping his pie-hole shut, said Quintilian, or that's at least what his first draft might have been. # Play the Long GameLet's go back to the answering two-step in chapter 26.> Answer not a fool according to his folly, > lest you be like him yourself. > Answer a fool according to his folly, > lest he be wise in his own eyes. > (Proverbs 26:4-5 ESV)Yes, we're to do the opposite of verse 4, but not in an inconsistent way. These verses don't cancel each other out. Don't respond in kind, respond to show the kind you're dealing with. Don't engage in a corn-stalk sword-fights, light their stalk on fire to show it's true nature. It's the fool who thinks he must change everyone else's mind in one minute. The wise man pays attention to timing, and he knows his audience. His audience is *often* others who are watching the argument. “When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise” (Proverb 21:11). Think *second* level consequences. How does the Lord respond to the stupid? He certainly *sees*, which means we ought to take heart that we don't need to collect all the evidence for Him. The Lord keeps track. And the Lord often lets them have more of what they want, not because it's okay, but because He loves the pattern He made. Those who won't self-rule will self-ruin; “they shall eat the fruit of their own way” (Proverbs 1:31). No matter what, it is consistently the case that He is not worried.The Lord has a variety of plays in His repertoire. In the moment when we feel that we've only got *one* response, we've lost our nerve. > “Chronically anxious families (including institutions and whole societies) tend to mimic the reptilian response: Lacking the capacity to be playful, their perspective is narrow. **Lacking perspective, their repertoire of responses is thin**.” (_A Failure of Nerve_, Loc. 1289)At times the stupidity is targeted at us personally. If we can't overlook an offense we're not as glorious as we thought. > The vexation of a fool is known at once, > but the prudent ignores an insult. > (Proverbs 12:16 ESV)> Good sense makes one slow to anger, > and it is his glory to overlook an offense. > (Proverbs 19:11 ESV)You can only be calm and playful by fearing the Lord. “Vengeance on the stupid is mine,” says the Lord. Let Him take it seriously. You're not defending yourself as much as showing that the fool shouldn't trust his eyes that tell him he's wise (Proverbs 26:5).# Never Flatter FoolsOur rulers are flattering the stupid (think transgenderism, which is sort of a nuclear level stupidity of causing irreversible damage with no true benefits for anyone). Our society rewards the fools, we bail them out, we give them the microphone, we empathize with their (self-identified) oppression. Our nation fears men, or the mob, or the made up mob we have in our minds. > The fear of man lays a snare, > but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe. > (Proverbs 29:25 ESV)You do not have to accept the stupidity. We're living in a culture-wide Objectivity Room where things are silly and our governing class either expects our agreement, or isn't blessed enough to boldly stand against stupid and coordinate greater protection from it. It's not won by the Constitution, but by submitting to Christ. So because Christ is Lord, fear the Lord and say what He says and let the stupid fall where they will. > Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor > than he who flatters with his tongue. > (Proverbs 28:23 ESV)But the pattern reveals that only certain people learn.> Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, > and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. > Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; > reprove a wise man, and he will love you. > (Proverbs 9:7–8 ESV)The righteous will groan when wicked fools rule over them (Proverbs 29:2), but even here the Lord is giving us wisdom to rule for the rejoicing of others when it is our time. # ConclusionLightning round:- Be careful little ears what you hear. (Psalm 1:1)- Walk with the wise. (Proverbs 13:20)- Try to at least *appear* smart. Watch your mouth. (Proverbs 10:19; 12:23; 13:3; 17:28*)- Discipline your sons. (Proverbs 13:24)- Vote! And not for stupid people! (Otherwise we'll be a cause of our own groaning per Proverbs 29:2)- Love discipline/feedback. “He who hates reproof is stupid” (Proverbs 12:1)- Build up big walls of self-control. (Proverbs 25:28)Stupid people are like the poor: always among us. Stop freaking out that so many people are so stupid. It is not wisdom to respond to stupid people *for no one's benefit*, that is the essence of stupid."Understand oh stupid people, when oh fools will you be wise." (Psalm 94:8) The Hebrew word here has the nuance of being dull (ESV), not sharp, of being senseless, like an animal, so "brutish" (KJV). We have every reason to take refuge in the Lord as our stronghold, to trust Him to wipe out the wicked, and to fear Him for sake of learning the skills for ruling.
About archaeology, the Villa of the Mysteries, and four seasons at the American Academy in Rome. Sarah Beckmann is the Andrew Heiskell Rome Prize fellow in ancient studies at the American Academy in Rome. Her research project, "The Villa in Late Antiquity: Roman Ideals and Local Identities," explores the Roman villa, not just in respect to the elites who owned these properties, but also in respect to the rural inhabitants and laborers who have traditionally been overlooked by classical scholars. Sarah received a B.A. in Classical Languages from Carleton College and a Ph.D. in the Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World from the University of Pennsylvania. Since 2018, she has served as an Assistant Professor of Classics at the University of California, Los Angeles. In addition to her work on the Roman villa, Sarah's research interests include the sculpture of late antiquity and the representation of women and enslaved children in domestic arts. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About Australia, the ramifications of ChatGPT, and the intersection of the Latin language and LEGO® products. Anthony Gibbins teaches Latin and Greek at Sydney Grammar School in Sydney, Australia. He is the creator of Legonium, a popular novella, social media account, and repository of instructional resources, all designed around the intersection of the Latin language and LEGO® products. The description of the Legonium novella reads as follows: "A Latin reader like no other. Legonium is both a town and a tale. It is a town built entirely from LEGO® bricks, and filled with an incredible cast of characters. There is a struggling artist, a bank manager, a police officer, a private detective, plus a suspicious character spotted on the roof of the town bank, and, of course, Pico, the cat. And it is a tale told completely in Latin, with short sentences, a full range of grammatical structures, repetition of vocabulary, hundreds of pictures, and an English translation for reference. There is a police chase, a trip to Pompeii, a talkative parrot, and a mysterious suitcase." Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About movement, building a family atmosphere in the classroom, and being recognized as the ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year. William Lee has been the Latin teacher at Tom C. Clark High School in San Antonio, TX, for the past 20 years. He taught at Barbara Bush Middle School and Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio for three years prior to accepting his current position. William is currently a member of the College Board's AP Latin Development Committee, and he currently serves as Vice-President of Texas Foreign Language Association, Vice-President of the Texas Classical Association, President of the San Antonio Classical Society, and as one of the State Co-Chairs of the Texas State Junior Classical League. In the past, he has held various leadership positions with the National Junior Classical League, and he also served as the Chair of the American Classical League's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. In recognition of his excellent teaching and remarkable service to the profession, William received the Society of Classical Studies Excellence in Teaching at the Pre-Collegiate Level Award in 2019 and the Texas Classical Association Gaylan DuBose Excellence in Teaching Award in 2020. In addition, William was named the 2021 Texas Foreign Language Association Teacher of the Year, the 2022 Southwest Conference on Language Teaching Teacher of the Year, and the 2023 American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) National Language Teacher of the Year. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
Grandpa Bill continues today with part two in the prelude show to my upcoming guest Anthony Metivier. He will be joining me a bit later this month. Hows Your Memory? Simonides of Ceos (/saɪˈmɒnɪˌdiːz/; Greek: Σιμωνίδης ὁ Κεῖος; c. 556–468 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, born in Ioulis on Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of the nine lyric poets esteemed by them as worthy of critical study. Included on this list were Bacchylides, his nephew, and Pindar, reputedly a bitter rival, both of whom benefited from his innovative approach to lyric poetry. Simonides, however, was more involved than either in the major events and with the personalities of their times.[1] Lessing, writing in the Enlightenment era, referred to him as "the Greek Voltaire."[2] His general renown owes much to traditional accounts of his colorful life, as one of the wisest of men; as a greedy miser; as an inventor of a system of mnemonics; and the inventor of some letters of the Greek alphabet (ω, η, ξ, ψ).[3] Such accounts include fanciful elements, yet he had a real influence on the sophistic enlightenment of the Classical era.[4] His fame as a poet rests largely on his ability to present basic human situations with affecting simplicity.[5] In the words of the Roman rhetorician Quintilian (55–100 AD): Simonides has a simple style, but he can be commended for the aptness of his language and for a certain charm; his chief merit, however, lies in the power to excite pity, so much so that some prefer him in this respect to all other writers of the genre.[6] c/o Part one on Spotify --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bhsales/message
About ekphrasis, Latin in western North Carolina, and making the transition from classroom teacher to school administrator. Ben Alexander is the Principal of A.C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, North Carolina. Before he moved into administration, Ben was a high school Latin teacher, first at White Knoll High School in Columbia, South Carolina and then Enka High School in Asheville. He began his administrative career in 2015, serving as an Assistant Principal at Enka High School and then Cane Creek Middle School. In 2019, he became Principal of Valley Springs Middle School, a position he held for three years before accepting his current position. Ben earned an undergraduate degree in Latin from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, a master's degree in Latin from the University of Georgia, and master's degrees in educational administration from the University of Scranton and Appalachian State University. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About REDI, leisure on the Bay of Naples, and leadership initiatives for the American Classical League. Jennie Luongo has been teaching Latin at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin, Texas for the past 28 years. She has taught every level of high school Latin, from level one to post-AP, and she has also coordinated study programs in Italy and Greece for both students and teachers. In 2018, she received the St. Andrew's Teaching Award, and she was also presented with the inaugural Gaylan DuBose Teaching Award from the Texas Classical Association. Jennie is currently serving as Lead Consultant for the AP Latin program, Moderator of the AP Latin Online Teacher Community, and Certamen Chair for the National Junior Classical League. She is also currently serving as President of the American Classical League. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About Maine, the term "Classics," and the creation of the Latin Tutorial series. Benjamin Johnson is the creator of Latin Tutorial, a series of short instructional videos about Latin grammar and ancient culture. Since the series launched in 2011, he has produced more than 250 videos, attracting more than 100,000 subscribers and 12 million views in the process. He is also the creator of Hexameter.co, an online dactylic hexameter practice site, and Aeneid.co, a repository of resources for students who are studying Vergil. A member of the Advanced Placement Latin Development Committee, Ben has also created a series of College Board AP Latin review videos. Ben earned a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.A. from the University of Florida. He teaches Latin at Hampden Academy, a school located just outside of Bangor, Maine. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
Judea Pearl of Solidarity LLC talks about liking bloodstones and Quintilian.
Would you like to receive a daily, random quote by email from my Little Box of Quotes? https://constantine.name/lboq A long long time ago I began collecting inspirational quotes and aphorisms. I kept them on the first version of my web site, where they were displayed randomly. But as time went on, I realized I wanted them where I would see them. Eventually I copied the fledgeling collection onto 3×5 cards and put them in a small box. As I find new ones, I add cards. Today, there are more than 1,000 quotes and the collection continues to grow. Hello, I'm Craig Constantine
Would you like to receive a daily, random quote by email from my Little Box of Quotes?https://constantine.name/lboqA long long time ago I began collecting inspirational quotes and aphorisms. I kept them on the first version of my web site, where they were displayed randomly. But as time went on, I realized I wanted them where I would see them. Eventually I copied the fledgeling collection onto 3×5 cards and put them in a small box. As I find new ones, I add cards. Today, there are nearly 1,000 quotes and the collection continues to grow.My mission is creating better conversations to spread understanding and compassion. This podcast is a small part of what I do. Drop by https://constantine.name for my weekly email, podcasts, writing and more.
About Juvenal, the Nashville Parthenon, and animated representations of the classical world. Chiara Sulprizio is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Classical and Mediterranean Studies at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She received a B.A. in Classics from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in Classics from the University of Southern California. She regularly teaches courses in ancient tragedy, ancient comedy, and classical mythology, and in 2020, she published a book entitled “Gender and Sexuality in Juvenal's Rome: Satire 2 and Satire 6,” a text that offers translation and commentary on two of Juvenal's most provocative poems. Chiara is also interested in classical reception, and this interest led her to create a website called Animated Antiquity, a repository of cartoon representations of the classical world. Clips are organized by decade, going all the way back to a stop-motion animated version of Aesop's “The Grasshopper and the Ant” fable from 1913. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you'd like to leave a voice message, here's the link. Perhaps we'll include your comments in the next episode of the show.
About Sewanee, a new translation of Ovid, and the importance of seizing the day. Stephanie McCarter is a Professor of Classical Languages at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. She received a B.A. in Classics and English from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Classics from the University of Virginia. Since her arrival at Sewanee in 2008, she has taught a wide variety of Greek, Latin, humanities, and classical civilization courses. Stephanie's academic research primarily involves Latin poetry of the late Republic and early Empire. She is the author of two books (one translation, one monograph) on the poet Horace, and her translation of Ovid's "Metamorphoses" will be published, as a part of the Penguin Classics series, in October of 2022. The description of the book on the Penguin website reads: "The first female translator of the epic into English in over sixty years, Stephanie McCarter addresses accuracy in translation and its representation of women, gendered dynamics of power, and sexual violence in Ovid's classic." Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About Atalanta, approaches to translation, and reflections on life in both Athens, Georgia and Athens, Greece. A.E. (Alicia) Stallings is a highly acclaimed poet and translator. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation, and, in 2011, a prestigious “genius grant” from the MacArthur Foundation, which recognized her for “mining the classical world and traditional poetic techniques to craft imaginative explorations of contemporary life that evoke startling insights about antiquity's relevance for today.” Her most recent verse translation is called “The Battle Between the Frogs and Mice: A Tiny Homeric Epic,” and her collection of poems “This Afterlife” will be published later in 2022. Alicia earned a bachelor's degree in Classics from the University of Georgia and a master's degree from the University of Oxford. Since 1999, she has lived in Athens, Greece. CORRECTION: Hershel Walker won the Heisman Trophy in 1982. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
Why should we study the humanities, subjects like history, English, or philosophy? Shouldn't the humanities make way for more relevant, more practical subjects, such as STEM education? We study subjects like history and literature for their own sake (they make us happy), and they help us learn what it means to be human. Listen to this episode from Thales Press to learn more about how the subjects in the humanities contribute to human flourishing and human happiness so that such subjects are relevant now more than ever.Check out our Thales Press YouTube channel and follow us on Instagram for more information and content like this. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl-5t4R8RSLX9A-CWJC9wDQInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thalespress/
On our occasional series "Classically Educated," we are looking at the life and work of the Roman educator Quintilian (AD 35 - 100). Born in Spain with the full name Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, Quintilian is one of the few educators from the Roman world who wrote down anything concerning tips for running a classical classroom. Quintilian's great work, the "Institutio Oratoria" or, in English, "On the Education of an Orator," includes tips that range from teaching phonics to small toddlers to delivering speeches before crowds of senators. Quintilian's "Institutio Oratoria" is available here from the Loeb Classical Library: https://www.loebclassics.com/view/quintilian-orators_education/2002/pb_LCL124.51.xml?rskey=VPkNHn&result=1George Kennedy's "Quintilian: A Roman Educator and His Quest for the Perfect Orator," available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Quintilian-Roman-Educator-Perfect-Orator/dp/0989783618/ref=sr_1_1?crid=399HPPBVHXRCL&keywords=george+kennedy+quintilian&qid=1655472354&sprefix=george+kennedy+quintilian%2Caps%2C51&sr=8-1
Marcus Tullius Cicero was born in 106 BC in a small municipality of Arpinum, 100 kilometers from Rome – He was assassinated in 43 BC, in Rome, at the age of 63. His mother was a housewife, and his father was a well-to-do member of the equestrian order, a wealthy landowner who possessed good connections in Rome. Cicero was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, and philosopher. His extensive writings include treatises on rhetoric, philosophy, and politics. He is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists. During his time in Roman history, "cultured" meant being able to speak both Latin and Greek. Cicero was therefore educated in the teachings of the ancient Greek philosophers, poets, and historians, he obtained much of his understanding of the theory and practice of rhetoric from the Greek poet Licinius Archias, and from the Greek rhetorician Apollonius Molon. Cicero used his knowledge of Greek to translate many of the theoretical concepts of Greek philosophy into Latin, thus translating Greek philosophical works for a larger audience. It was precisely his broad education that tied him to the traditional Roman elite. Cicero introduced into Latin, the arguments of the chief schools of Hellenistic philosophy, and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary with neologisms such as: evidentia, humanitas, qualitas, quantitas, and essentia, distinguishing himself as a translator and philosopher. Cicero has been traditionally considered the master of Latin prose. Quintilian, a well know Roman educator declared, that Cicero was "not the name of a man, but of eloquence itself. The English word Ciceronian (means "eloquent") derive from his name. He is credited with transforming Latin from a modest utilitarian language into a versatile literary medium, capable of expressing abstract and complicated thoughts with clarity. Though, he was an accomplished orator and successful lawyer, Cicero believed his political career was his most important achievement. Following Gaius Julius Caesar's death, Cicero became an enemy of Mark Antony, who view Cicero as an enemy of the state, consequently, Cicero was executed. Today Cicero is appreciated primarily for his humanism and philosophical and political writings. His voluminous correspondence, much of it addressed to his friend Atticus, this correspondence has been especially influential, for introducing the art of refined letter writing, to the European culture. According to John William Mackail, the reformer of the British education system "Cicero's unique and imperishable glory is that he created the language of the civilized world and used that language to create a style, which nineteen centuries have not replaced, and in some respects have hardly altered. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/uirapuru/message
About Detroit, "Ovid and the Art of Love," and the challenges involved in making a movie about an ancient Roman poet. Esmé von Hoffman is the writer and director of the 2020 film “Ovid and the Art of Love.” On its official website, the film is described as follows: “Based on the life of the famous Roman poet Ovid, this fun, classic story full of adventure, romance, and intrigue gets a modern twist. Set in a mash-up world of contemporary Detroit complete with togas, sneakers, hip-hop, oration, and poetry slams and filmed amidst the Motor City's classical ruins, graffiti, and burgeoning art scene, ‘Ovid and the Art of Love' is cinematically beautiful, engaging, and uncannily relevant." “Ovid and the Art of Love” was an official selection of the 2019 Festival of Cinema NYC, a film festival at which Esmé received the award for Best Director. In addition to her critically-acclaimed work on “Ovid and the Art of Love,” Esmé has written and produced documentary films, written journalistic articles, and worked as a film editor. This marks the final episode of Season One of Quintilian. Look for Season Two to premiere at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year. Thanks to all of my amazing guests for making this season such a success! Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you'd like to leave a voice message, here's the link. Perhaps we'll include your comments in the next episode of the show!
About Roman Britain, the pressure of following a legendary teacher, and the importance of giving students in under-resourced schools the opportunity to study Latin. Starting in the fall of 2022, Michael Garcia will be a Latin teacher at White Station High School in Memphis, Tennessee. Michael earned bachelor's degrees in anthropology and history from Louisiana State University. He then went to England to pursue postgraduate degrees in archaeology and medieval studies before eventually landing in Memphis, where he has taught in the public school system for the past six years. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening! If you'd like to leave a voice message, here's the link. Be sure to say who you are and where you live. Perhaps we'll include your message in the next episode of the show!
About declamation, IB Latin, and the benefits and challenges of having a four-year Latin requirement. Founded in 2006 and modeled after the Boston Latin School, The Brooklyn Latin School (TBLS) is one of nine specialized high schools in the New York City public school system. With an emphasis on public speaking, structured writing, analytical thinking, and Socratic seminars, TBLS requires all of its discipuli – and yes, they're referred to as discipuli, not as students – to complete a full four-year Latin program. The discipuli of TBLS wear uniforms whose purple accents “reflect the color worn by Roman nobility,” and the school's motto is reflective of the high expectations to which its discipuli are held: CUI MULTUM SIT DATUM, MULTUM AB EO POSTULABITUR (“To whom much has been given, much from him will be demanded”). According to data collected and analyzed by U.S. News and World Report, The Brooklyn Latin School is among the top one hundred public high schools in America. Jennifer Snyder serves as Chair of the Department of Classics at TBLS. Jennifer earned a B.A. in Classics from Smith College and an M.A. in Classics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and she has been teaching at TBLS since 2011. The Brooklyn Latin School CORRECTION: A listener in Boston pointed out that the Boston Latin School still requires four years of Latin. Quintilian is supported by a Bridge Initiative Grant from the Committee for the Promotion of Latin and Greek, a division of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. Quintilian is on Facebook! Find us, follow us, and join the conversation. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
Classical education is uniquely suited to teach social studies, political theory, and economics. classical education emphasizes reading primary source documents so that students see important founding documents like the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution as the culmination of a longstanding intellectual and philosophical tradition spanning thousands of years. Check out our Thales Press YouTube channel and follow us on Instagram for more information and content like this. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl-5t4R8RSLX9A-CWJC9wDQInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thalespress/
Remixing is essential to contemporary culture. We see it in song mashups, political remix videos, memes, and even on streaming television shows like Stranger Things. But remixing isn't an exclusively digital practice, nor is it even a new one. Evidence of remixing even appears in the speeches of classical Greek and Roman orators. Turntables and Tropes: A Rhetoric of Remix, by my guest Scott Haden Church, is the first book to address the remix from a communicative perspective, examining its persuasive dimensions by locating its parallels with classical rhetoric. Church identifies, recontextualizes, mashes up, and applies rhetorical tropes to contemporary digital texts and practices. This groundbreaking book presents a new critical vocabulary for scholars and students to use as they analyze remix culture. Building upon scholarship from classical thinkers, such as Isocrates, Quintilian, Nāgārjuna, and Cicero, as well as contemporary luminaries like Kenneth Burke, Richard Lanham, and Eduardo Navas, Scott Haden Church shows that an understanding of rhetoric offers innovative ways to make sense of remix culture. SCOTT HADEN CHURCH teaches courses in media studies, communication theory, and popular culture at Brigham Young University, where he is an associate professor in the School of Communications. He has been awarded the Phyllis Japp Scholar award from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the Ruth S. Silver Research Fellowship in Mass Media Ethics from Brigham Young University. Scott Haden Church's Turntables and Tropes: A Rhetoric of Remix is available at msupress.org and other fine booksellers. You can learn more about the book at scotthadenchurch.com and Scott is on Twitter @scotthchurch. You can connect with the press on Facebook and @msupress on Twitter, where you can also find me @kurtmilb.The MSU Press podcast is a joint production of MSU Press and the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University. Thanks to the team at MSU Press for helping to produce this podcast. Our theme music is “Coffee” by Cambo. Michigan State University occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Anishinaabeg – Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi people. The University resides on Land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.
The reading and discussion of the very best books have long held a unique place in a Classical curriculum. We human beings make sense of the world through meaningful works of literature because such books provide us with the tools by which we may remind ourselves of what is true, good, and beautiful. In this webinar, Josh Herring and Winston Brady will present an overview of the role that literature plays in classical education, how the Classical approach is better for students than modern methods of teaching and reading works of literature, and an overview of the Junior High and High School Literature program.This webinar was delivered on April 8 at 3 pm. Check out our YouTube channel here for more information: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl-5t4R8RSLX9A-CWJC9wDQ/videos
About canonization, Reginald Foster, and ten years of service in the Vatican's Office of Latin Letters. Daniel Gallagher holds degrees from the University of Michigan, the Catholic University of America, and the Pontifical Gregorian University. For ten years, he worked in the Vatican as a Latin language specialist, serving first Pope Benedict XVI and then Pope Francis. Since 2017, he has taught in the Department of Classics at Cornell University, where he currently holds the title of Professor of the Practice. Daniel has published extensively in the field of medieval philosophy, and he also translated the popular "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" into Latin, a book entitled "Commentarii de Inepto Puero." Here's a link to the complete letter about Mother Teresa that we discuss during the episode. Here's a link to the Vatican's Latin Twitter page. And here's Daniel's Latin translation of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" . . . heavy metal references included. Quintilian is on Facebook! Find us, follow us, and join the conversation. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About Sulpicia, active Latin, and the importance of not excluding women Latinists from the curriculum. Skye Shirley is a Ph.D. student in the Latin department at University College London, where she is writing her dissertation on 17th century women Latin poets. She is the founder and director of Lupercal, an international organization dedicated to increasing opportunities for women in Latin language studies. She is a Latin teacher and curriculum consultant, drawing on her decade of experience teaching Latin learners of diverse ages and levels. https://www.skyeshirley.com/ Quintilian is on Facebook! Find us, follow us, and join the conversation. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About Cleopatra, macrons on the AP Latin Exam, and the benefits of teaching courses outside of your natural comfort zone. Jennifer Sheridan Moss was born in New Jersey and attended Montclair State College, where she earned a B.A. in Classics. She went on to earn an M.A. and Ph.D. in Classical Studies from Columbia University. Jenni has taught at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan since 1995, where she has taught Latin at all levels, from elementary through graduate, as well as ancient history and courses on various aspects of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. In recognition of her excellent work in the classroom, she has received teaching awards both from her college and university and from the Society for Classical Studies, and she was elected to the Wayne State Academy of Teachers in 2018. Jenni has been involved with the Advanced Placement program since 2007, and she currently serves as the Chief Reader of the AP Latin Exam. Outside of her professional work, Jenni is also an enthusiastic worker of wool and distance cyclist. Quintilian is on Facebook! Find us, follow us, and join the conversation. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About Syria, "Si vis pacem, para bellum," and using music to engage students in the Latin classroom. Since 2005, Dylan Connor has taught Latin at Bunnell High School in Stratford, Connecticut. He earned a B.A. in Classics and English from Skidmore College and an M.A. in Secondary Education from Fairfield University. In 2016, he was named Stratford's Teacher of the Year, and he later advanced as a finalist for the Connecticut State Teacher of the Year Award. In addition to his excellent work in the classroom, Dylan is also a successful musician, and for reasons that he explains during the interview, he is a passionate advocate for the nation of Syria, as well. https://www.dylanconnor.com/ Some of Dylan's classroom-related music: https://dylconnor.jimdofree.com/audio-files/ "If You Want Peace, Prepare For War" - Dylan played and sang this live during our interview. Since we had some technical difficulties, however, I've inserted the album track into the podcast. Used with the permission of the artist. Quintilian is on Facebook! Find us, follow us, and join the conversation. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About comprehensible input, the prevention of teacher burnout, and strategies for improving diversity in the field of classical studies. John Bracey has been a Latin teacher in Massachusetts since 2010. He currently teaches at Belmont High School in Belmont, Massachusetts. He has a B.A. in Classics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an M.A. from Boston College. John has taught Latin exclusively using comprehensible input methodology for the past several years, and he leads workshops around the country for language teachers of all kinds. In 2016, he was recognized as the Massachusetts Latin Teacher of the Year. John has become widely known in the Classics profession through several publications in the online journal "Eidolon" dealing with race and the teaching of Latin. He was a contributor to the recent Diversity and Inclusion in the Latin Classroom online series from Cambridge University Press, and he is also working with The Comprehensible Classroom on creating the Latin curriculum "Sumus." https://magisterbracey.com/ Quintilian is on Facebook! Find us, follow us, and join the conversation. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About "Suburani," Latin in the United Kingdom, and the challenge of bringing the 99% of ancient Romans out of the shadows. Hannah Smith is a talented classicist and illustrator who loves bringing the ancient world to life for students of all ages. A director at Hands Up Education, Hannah has recently co-authored and illustrated the textbook "Suburani" and the online "Primary Latin Course," and she continues to create resources with Hands Up Education to support the field of classical studies on both sides of the Atlantic. https://hands-up-education.org/suburani.html Quintilian is on Facebook! Find us, follow us, and join the conversation. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About AP Latin, the American Classical League Institute, and strategies for responding to the appropriation of classical antiquity by hate groups. For the past 21 years, Dr. Patrick McFadden has taught Latin at St. Mary's Episcopal School in Memphis, Tennessee. Pat earned a bachelor's degree from Kenyon College, a master's degree from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. in Classics from the University of Michigan. Over the course of his long and distinguished career, Pat has held a number of important leadership positions, including State Co-Chair of the Tennessee Junior Classical League, Chair of the College's Board's SAT Latin Subject Test Development Committee, member of the Advanced Placement Latin Exam Development Committee, and Secretary of the American Classical League. He currently serves as American Classical League Vice-President. https://www.aclclassics.org/ Quintilian is on Facebook! Find us, follow us, and join the conversation. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About the National Latin Exam, the encouragement of new teachers, and the importance of making connections with colleagues. Patty Lister has a bachelor's degree from the College of William and Mary and a master's degree from George Mason University. She has been teaching Latin for 30 years, the last 12 of which have been at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. Every other summer, she also teaches a Latin methods course at the University of Virginia. About 10 years ago, Patty joined the Writing and Steering Committee of the National Latin Exam, and she currently serves as National Latin Exam Co-Chair. https://www.nle.org/ Quintilian is on Facebook! Find us, follow us, and join the conversation. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
Though typically considered oral cultures, ancient Greece and Rome also boasted textual cultures, enabled by efforts to perfect, publish, and preserve both new and old writing. In Editorial Bodies: Perfection and Rejection in Ancient Rhetoric and Poetics (University of South Carolina Press, 2018) Michele Kennerly argues that such efforts were commonly articulated through the extended metaphor of the body. They were also supported by people on whom writers relied for various kinds of assistance and necessitated by lively debates about what sort of words should be put out and remain in public. Spanning ancient Athenian, Alexandrian, and Roman textual cultures, Kennerly shows that orators and poets attributed public value to their seemingly inward-turning compositional labors. After establishing certain key terms of writing and editing from classical Athens through late republican Rome, Kennerly focuses on works from specific orators and poets writing in Latin in the first century B.C.E. and the first century C.E.: Cicero, Horace, Ovid, Quintilian, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger. The result is a rich and original history of rhetoric that reveals the emergence and endurance of vocabularies, habits, and preferences that sustained ancient textual cultures. This major contribution to rhetorical studies unsettles longstanding assumptions about rhetoric and poetics of this era by means of generative readings of both well-known and understudied texts. Lee M. Pierce (she/they) is an Assistant Professor at SUNY Geneseo specializing in rhetoric, race, and U.S. political culture. They also host the Media & Communications and Language channels for New Books Network and their own podcast titled RhetoricLee Speaking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Though typically considered oral cultures, ancient Greece and Rome also boasted textual cultures, enabled by efforts to perfect, publish, and preserve both new and old writing. In Editorial Bodies: Perfection and Rejection in Ancient Rhetoric and Poetics (University of South Carolina Press, 2018) Michele Kennerly argues that such efforts were commonly articulated through the extended metaphor of the body. They were also supported by people on whom writers relied for various kinds of assistance and necessitated by lively debates about what sort of words should be put out and remain in public. Spanning ancient Athenian, Alexandrian, and Roman textual cultures, Kennerly shows that orators and poets attributed public value to their seemingly inward-turning compositional labors. After establishing certain key terms of writing and editing from classical Athens through late republican Rome, Kennerly focuses on works from specific orators and poets writing in Latin in the first century B.C.E. and the first century C.E.: Cicero, Horace, Ovid, Quintilian, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger. The result is a rich and original history of rhetoric that reveals the emergence and endurance of vocabularies, habits, and preferences that sustained ancient textual cultures. This major contribution to rhetorical studies unsettles longstanding assumptions about rhetoric and poetics of this era by means of generative readings of both well-known and understudied texts. Lee M. Pierce (she/they) is an Assistant Professor at SUNY Geneseo specializing in rhetoric, race, and U.S. political culture. They also host the Media & Communications and Language channels for New Books Network and their own podcast titled RhetoricLee Speaking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language
Though typically considered oral cultures, ancient Greece and Rome also boasted textual cultures, enabled by efforts to perfect, publish, and preserve both new and old writing. In Editorial Bodies: Perfection and Rejection in Ancient Rhetoric and Poetics (University of South Carolina Press, 2018) Michele Kennerly argues that such efforts were commonly articulated through the extended metaphor of the body. They were also supported by people on whom writers relied for various kinds of assistance and necessitated by lively debates about what sort of words should be put out and remain in public. Spanning ancient Athenian, Alexandrian, and Roman textual cultures, Kennerly shows that orators and poets attributed public value to their seemingly inward-turning compositional labors. After establishing certain key terms of writing and editing from classical Athens through late republican Rome, Kennerly focuses on works from specific orators and poets writing in Latin in the first century B.C.E. and the first century C.E.: Cicero, Horace, Ovid, Quintilian, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger. The result is a rich and original history of rhetoric that reveals the emergence and endurance of vocabularies, habits, and preferences that sustained ancient textual cultures. This major contribution to rhetorical studies unsettles longstanding assumptions about rhetoric and poetics of this era by means of generative readings of both well-known and understudied texts. Lee M. Pierce (she/they) is an Assistant Professor at SUNY Geneseo specializing in rhetoric, race, and U.S. political culture. They also host the Media & Communications and Language channels for New Books Network and their own podcast titled RhetoricLee Speaking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
Though typically considered oral cultures, ancient Greece and Rome also boasted textual cultures, enabled by efforts to perfect, publish, and preserve both new and old writing. In Editorial Bodies: Perfection and Rejection in Ancient Rhetoric and Poetics (University of South Carolina Press, 2018) Michele Kennerly argues that such efforts were commonly articulated through the extended metaphor of the body. They were also supported by people on whom writers relied for various kinds of assistance and necessitated by lively debates about what sort of words should be put out and remain in public. Spanning ancient Athenian, Alexandrian, and Roman textual cultures, Kennerly shows that orators and poets attributed public value to their seemingly inward-turning compositional labors. After establishing certain key terms of writing and editing from classical Athens through late republican Rome, Kennerly focuses on works from specific orators and poets writing in Latin in the first century B.C.E. and the first century C.E.: Cicero, Horace, Ovid, Quintilian, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger. The result is a rich and original history of rhetoric that reveals the emergence and endurance of vocabularies, habits, and preferences that sustained ancient textual cultures. This major contribution to rhetorical studies unsettles longstanding assumptions about rhetoric and poetics of this era by means of generative readings of both well-known and understudied texts. Lee M. Pierce (she/they) is an Assistant Professor at SUNY Geneseo specializing in rhetoric, race, and U.S. political culture. They also host the Media & Communications and Language channels for New Books Network and their own podcast titled RhetoricLee Speaking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies
Though typically considered oral cultures, ancient Greece and Rome also boasted textual cultures, enabled by efforts to perfect, publish, and preserve both new and old writing. In Editorial Bodies: Perfection and Rejection in Ancient Rhetoric and Poetics (University of South Carolina Press, 2018) Michele Kennerly argues that such efforts were commonly articulated through the extended metaphor of the body. They were also supported by people on whom writers relied for various kinds of assistance and necessitated by lively debates about what sort of words should be put out and remain in public. Spanning ancient Athenian, Alexandrian, and Roman textual cultures, Kennerly shows that orators and poets attributed public value to their seemingly inward-turning compositional labors. After establishing certain key terms of writing and editing from classical Athens through late republican Rome, Kennerly focuses on works from specific orators and poets writing in Latin in the first century B.C.E. and the first century C.E.: Cicero, Horace, Ovid, Quintilian, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger. The result is a rich and original history of rhetoric that reveals the emergence and endurance of vocabularies, habits, and preferences that sustained ancient textual cultures. This major contribution to rhetorical studies unsettles longstanding assumptions about rhetoric and poetics of this era by means of generative readings of both well-known and understudied texts. Lee M. Pierce (she/they) is an Assistant Professor at SUNY Geneseo specializing in rhetoric, race, and U.S. political culture. They also host the Media & Communications and Language channels for New Books Network and their own podcast titled RhetoricLee Speaking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/italian-studies
Though typically considered oral cultures, ancient Greece and Rome also boasted textual cultures, enabled by efforts to perfect, publish, and preserve both new and old writing. In Editorial Bodies: Perfection and Rejection in Ancient Rhetoric and Poetics (University of South Carolina Press, 2018) Michele Kennerly argues that such efforts were commonly articulated through the extended metaphor of the body. They were also supported by people on whom writers relied for various kinds of assistance and necessitated by lively debates about what sort of words should be put out and remain in public. Spanning ancient Athenian, Alexandrian, and Roman textual cultures, Kennerly shows that orators and poets attributed public value to their seemingly inward-turning compositional labors. After establishing certain key terms of writing and editing from classical Athens through late republican Rome, Kennerly focuses on works from specific orators and poets writing in Latin in the first century B.C.E. and the first century C.E.: Cicero, Horace, Ovid, Quintilian, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger. The result is a rich and original history of rhetoric that reveals the emergence and endurance of vocabularies, habits, and preferences that sustained ancient textual cultures. This major contribution to rhetorical studies unsettles longstanding assumptions about rhetoric and poetics of this era by means of generative readings of both well-known and understudied texts. Lee M. Pierce (she/they) is an Assistant Professor at SUNY Geneseo specializing in rhetoric, race, and U.S. political culture. They also host the Media & Communications and Language channels for New Books Network and their own podcast titled RhetoricLee Speaking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history
Though typically considered oral cultures, ancient Greece and Rome also boasted textual cultures, enabled by efforts to perfect, publish, and preserve both new and old writing. In Editorial Bodies: Perfection and Rejection in Ancient Rhetoric and Poetics (University of South Carolina Press, 2018) Michele Kennerly argues that such efforts were commonly articulated through the extended metaphor of the body. They were also supported by people on whom writers relied for various kinds of assistance and necessitated by lively debates about what sort of words should be put out and remain in public. Spanning ancient Athenian, Alexandrian, and Roman textual cultures, Kennerly shows that orators and poets attributed public value to their seemingly inward-turning compositional labors. After establishing certain key terms of writing and editing from classical Athens through late republican Rome, Kennerly focuses on works from specific orators and poets writing in Latin in the first century B.C.E. and the first century C.E.: Cicero, Horace, Ovid, Quintilian, Tacitus, and Pliny the Younger. The result is a rich and original history of rhetoric that reveals the emergence and endurance of vocabularies, habits, and preferences that sustained ancient textual cultures. This major contribution to rhetorical studies unsettles longstanding assumptions about rhetoric and poetics of this era by means of generative readings of both well-known and understudied texts. Lee M. Pierce (she/they) is an Assistant Professor at SUNY Geneseo specializing in rhetoric, race, and U.S. political culture. They also host the Media & Communications and Language channels for New Books Network and their own podcast titled RhetoricLee Speaking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
About Certamen, Parnassus Books, and a creative twist on the choice of Achilles. With a Classics degree from Yale University, Kate Hattemer chaired the Classics Department at Flint Hill School in Oakton, Virginia and has also taught at Walnut Hills High School and Cincinnati Gifted Academy. Kate has long been deeply involved in the Junior Classical League (JCL), with a special interest in Certamen; she captained two national championship teams in high school, coached many state teams for both Ohio and Virginia, and served as the Virginia JCL's Certamen Chair. Kate also writes books for children and young adults. Her four published novels have earned starred reviews and nominations to "Best of the Year" lists by the American Library Association, Kirkus, Bustle, and the Los Angeles Public Library. She now lives and writes in Cincinnati, where she spends much of her time trying to convince her two toddlers to call her "mater." http://www.katehattemer.com/ Quintilian is on Facebook! Find us, follow us, and join the conversation. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About Cicero, the University of Tennessee, and a top-ten list of practical suggestions for effective teaching. Dr. Christopher Craig is a Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He earned a B.A. from Oberlin College and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Over the course of his long and distinguished career, Chris has published extensively in the field of Roman rhetoric and oratory, and he has served in a number of important leadership positions, including President of the Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association and President of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. In recognition of four decades of exceptional service as a teacher, scholar, and administrator, in 2019, the UT College of Arts and Sciences appointed Chris as College Marshal, the highest honor possible for a faculty member. Quintilian is on Facebook! Find us, follow us, and join the conversation. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About mosaic hammers, an upcoming meeting with President Joe Biden, and the challenge of bringing more students into the field of classical studies. Nathalie Roy teaches Latin, Roman Technology, and Classical Mythology at Glasgow Middle School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A National Board Certified Teacher, Nathalie received both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from Louisiana State University. Over the course of her career, she has served in a variety of leadership positions, including State Chair of the Louisiana Junior Classical League and President of the Louisiana Classical Association. In recognition of her innovative work in finding the parallels between classical antiquity and 21st-century STEM education, Nathalie has received grants from such corporations as Lowe's and ExxonMobil, and recently, the Louisiana Department of Education named her the 2021 Louisiana State Teacher of the Year. Quintilian is on Facebook! Find us, follow us, and join the conversation. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
About adapting to technological change, building bridges with modern languages, and reacting to a surprise announcement from the College Board. Dawn LaFon has a bachelor's degree from the University of Memphis and a master's degree from the University of Washington. She has been teaching Latin at White Station High School in Memphis since 1988. A National Board Certified Teacher, Dawn has worked extensively with the Advanced Placement Latin program, and she wrote the foreword for book two of the Latin for the New Millennium textbook series. Over the course of her long and distinguished career in education, she has been recognized with a number of prestigious awards, including the Teacher of the Year Award from the Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Association, an Ovatio from the Classical Association of the Middle West and South, and the Merita Award from the American Classical League. Quintilian is now on Facebook! Find us, follow us, and join the conversation. Music: "Echo Canyon Instrumental" by Clive Romney Comments or questions about this podcast may be directed to ryangsellers@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!
This is a story about Florentine manuscript hunters. A group of people who travelled across Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries in search of lost ancient works on philosophy and literature. At the centre of this story is a man who is often referred to as ‘Michelangelo of bookselling'. His name is Vespasiano da Bisticci. The most powerful figures across Europe came to him when they needed to find lost or rare editions of Aristotle, Plato, Quintilian or Cicero. In this episode Vashik Armenikus speaks to Ross King, the author of a brilliant book ‘The Bookseller of Florence' which illuminates the stories behind some of the greatest intellectuals who became manuscript hunters in Renaissance Italy. Ross King's profile: https://artidote.uk/episodes/ross-king Subscribe to my newsletter for books like this: http://eepurl.com/he7YKD Get Audible Trial: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audible-Free-Trial-Digital-Membership/dp/B00OPA2XFG?tag=artidote-21
This week Dave and Jeff sit down with New York Times Bestselling author Ross King whose works such as Brunelleschi's Dome and Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling have set the gold standard for erudite, popular history over the last twenty years. We cover Ross' career from academia, to novel writer, to his latest book, The Bookseller of Florence (2021). Come along as we walk the streets of Renaissance and contemporary Florence where one might have a life-altering epiphany atop a red-tiled dome or discover a long lost copy of Quintilian moldering in the dusty corner of some far-flung scriptorium. Can Jeff and Dave keep it together long enough to refrain from geeking out and going all “fan boy” on Mr. King? Just barely.
Join us for a lively discussion with Dr. Michael Fontaine (Classics, Cornell University) as we talk about his new book—How to Tell a Joke: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Humor—a translation and analysis of ancient Roman treatises on humor from both Cicero and Quintilian. Along the way we tackle such questions as “How can a politician or a lawyer use humor to win a room?”, “Is one born funny or can it be taught?” and “Did Cicero seal his own fate by telling jokes that went too far?” Tune in for the laughs, guffaws, and occasional snickers, and be sure to share your own opinion on this all important query: “Is it possible for really attractive people to be funny?”
Today’s episode features a section from Michael Fontaine’s How to Tell a Joke: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Humor part of Princeton University Press's Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers series. How to Tell a Joke is a modern translation and collection of Cicero and Quintilian’s timeless advice about how to use humor to win over any audience.This episode is brought to you by Blinkist, the app that gets you fifteen-minute summaries of the best nonfiction books out there. Blinkist lets you get the topline information and the most important points from the most important nonfiction books out there, whether it’s Ryan’s own The Daily Stoic, Yuval Harari’s Sapiens, and more. Go to blinkist.com/stoic, try it free for 7 days, and save 25% off your new subscription, too.This episode is brought to you by GoMacro. Go Macro is a family-owned maker of some of the finest protein bars around. They're vegan, non-GMO, and they come in a bunch of delicious flavors. Visit gomacro.com and use promo code STOIC for 30% off your order plus free shipping on all orders over $50.***If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it and make it even better.Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow @DailyStoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/dailystoicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoic/Facebook: http://facebook.com/dailystoicYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dailystoicTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@daily_stoic
Today’s episode features a section from Michael Fontaine’s How to Tell a Joke: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Humor published by Princeton University Press and HighBridge audio, a division of Recorded Books. How to Tell a Joke is a modern translation and collection of Cicero and Quintilian’s timeless advice about how to use humor to win over any audience.This episode is brought to you by Policygenius. Policygenius helps you compare top insurers in one place, and it lets you save 50% or more on life insurance. Policygenius will help you find the insurance coverage you need. You can save 50% or more by comparing quotes. And when your life insurance policy is sorted out, you’ll know that your family will be protected if anything happens. Just go to policygenius.com to get started. Policygenius: when it comes to insurance, it’s nice to get it right.This episode is also brought to you by LMNT, the maker of electrolyte drink mixes that help you stay active at home, work, the gym, or anywhere else. Electrolytes are a key part of a happy, healthy body. Right now you can receive a free LMNT Sample Pack for only $5 for shipping. To claim this exclusive deal you must go to drinkLMNT.com/dailystoic. Get your FREE Sample Pack now. If you don’t love it, they will refund your $5 no questions asked.***If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it and make it even better.Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/signupFollow @DailyStoic:Twitter: https://twitter.com/dailystoicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoic/Facebook: http://facebook.com/dailystoicYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dailystoic
Welcome to this weeks episode!!!! Here's what you can hear and when. Yeaaaaaah, we did the work for you:0:55: Drake has stomach issues2:39: Oh shit, we almost died.18:02: Jenn's Uber driver came back to her house and dropped off a love letter23:20: Ashton Kutcher almost committed suicide26:15: Why don't celebrities open up more?28:51: Man thinks his girlfriend is cheating, but really she's getting McDonald's behind his back because he's vegan30:36: People go to crazy lengths to not poop in front of their significant others32:12: My Uncle Jake's butt plug story37:26: Fake Nipples on 'Friends'41:43: Drake watches anime porn44:39: Who has Drake hooked up since coming out50:12: Finger Tattoos will get you weird looks57:12 I should've quit wheeeeeen1:03:09: Two truths and a lie game1:11:05: Jenn should've quit when 1:16:27: Should Drake be a dad?1:17:30 Colt and Jenn team up on Drake about his anime porn lol1:22:08 Everything we said before we started this episodeShoutout to Quintilian for the music!!! Podculters, LOVE YOU!!
Although from humble origins, Quintilian rose to prominence in Rome as a teacher of rhetoric and became the first imperial endowed chair in rhetoric in Rome. He was a skilled and compassionate educator who tried to help his students become the "vir bonus" or "good man speaking well." Towards the end of his life, he summarized his educational methods and philosophy in the "Institutes of Oratory" and laid the foundation for classical education that would last for centuries.
Scholé Sisters: Camaraderie for the Classical Homeschooling Mama
Is there really such a thing as classical education for preschoolers? You may be surprised to learn that yes the ancients actually had opinions on what to do with the little ones entrusted to us. In today’s episode, Mystie, Brandy, and Abby discuss a bit about what Plato, Aristotle, and Quintilian had to say on this subject. *** Registration for Loving Well is now open! Registration is now open for this year’s online local retreats which will take place live on Saturday October 10th. The theme of this year’s retreat is Loving Well and our guest speaker is the one and only Karen Glass! This is going to be a wonderful time in which we deeply explore the topic of love as it relates to homeschooling, mothering, and continuing our own educations. Click here to register. If you want to host a local retreat event, just click here to fill out the form and we’ll help you pull it off. *** Download this episode's Scholé Sheet! Scholé Sheets are designed to help you think through and apply the ideas you've taken in, then bring your thoughts into the Sistership and join the conversation happening there. Click here to download your copy for free. *** Click here to get the show notes for today's episode and download Your Scholé Sheet. Click here to join the Sistership. Don't forget to find us on Facebook! Click here to follow us on Instagram!
John Jackson Miller: Die Standing. Philippa Georgiou, former Emperor of the Terran Empire in the Mirror Universe, has found herself in our universe and under the watchful eye of Section 31. Believing that she has knowledge and skills useful to the organization, she is recruited to take on a mission into a mysterious region of space known as the Troika. However, she has her own agenda. Will Georgiou make good on her desire to rebuild all she has lost in our universe? In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson are joined once again by New York Times bestselling author John Jackson Miller to talk about his most recent Discovery novel, Die Standing. We talk about Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius, Section 31, a familiar face from The Original Series, a Trill gymnast named Emony Dax, a vampiric cloud creature, the mysterious Troika and the three species that comprise it, and wrap up with what John is working on now and where he can be found online. At the top of the show, Dan and Bruce review issue #12 of Star Trek: Year Five, and respond to listener feedback from The Babel Conference for Literary Treks 306: There's Shag Carpet on This Ship Somewhere. News Star Trek Year Five #12 Review (00:03:05) Listener Feedback (00:18:04)) Feature: John Jackson Miller Emperor Philippa Georgiou (00:23:57) Section 31 (00:46:03) Finnegan (00:50:06) Emony Dax (00:54:55) Quintilian and the Cloud (01:00:57) Completely Alien Aliens (01:13:31) Captain Eagan (01:19:20) The Cascade (01:20:16) The Final Journey (01:24:30) Discovery Season 3 Trailer (01:31:51) The Book Title (01:36:36) Kenobi (01:39:44) Evolving Star Trek (01:42:54) More From JJM (01:45:45) Final Thoughts (01:50:24) Hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson Guest John Jackson Miller Production Bruce Gibson (Editor and Producer) Dan Gunther (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Jeffery Harlan (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)
John Jackson Miller: Die Standing. Philippa Georgiou, former Emperor of the Terran Empire in the Mirror Universe, has found herself in our universe and under the watchful eye of Section 31. Believing that she has knowledge and skills useful to the organization, she is recruited to take on a mission into a mysterious region of space known as the Troika. However, she has her own agenda. Will Georgiou make good on her desire to rebuild all she has lost in our universe? In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson are joined once again by New York Times bestselling author John Jackson Miller to talk about his most recent Discovery novel, Die Standing. We talk about Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius, Section 31, a familiar face from The Original Series, a Trill gymnast named Emony Dax, a vampiric cloud creature, the mysterious Troika and the three species that comprise it, and wrap up with what John is working on now and where he can be found online. At the top of the show, Dan and Bruce review issue #12 of Star Trek: Year Five, and respond to listener feedback from The Babel Conference for Literary Treks 306: There's Shag Carpet on This Ship Somewhere. News Star Trek Year Five #12 Review (00:03:05) Listener Feedback (00:18:04)) Feature: John Jackson Miller Emperor Philippa Georgiou (00:23:57) Section 31 (00:46:03) Finnegan (00:50:06) Emony Dax (00:54:55) Quintilian and the Cloud (01:00:57) Completely Alien Aliens (01:13:31) Captain Eagan (01:19:20) The Cascade (01:20:16) The Final Journey (01:24:30) Discovery Season 3 Trailer (01:31:51) The Book Title (01:36:36) Kenobi (01:39:44) Evolving Star Trek (01:42:54) More From JJM (01:45:45) Final Thoughts (01:50:24) Hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson Guest John Jackson Miller Production Bruce Gibson (Editor and Producer) Dan Gunther (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Jeffery Harlan (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)
General Summary: Professor Linda Ferreira-Buckley discusses the importance of a rhetorical education and how this concept applies to Barbara Jordan's life. Ferreira-Buckley talks with two undergraduate students about the process of learning rhetoric throughout one's life and her experience at The University of Texas at Austin's Rhetoric and Writing Department. Detailed Summary: Introduction providing context regarding Linda Ferreira-Buckley and Barbara Jordan's lives (00.00-02.29); Ferreira-Buckley's ethical connection between Barbara Jordan and Quintilian's book Institutio Oratoria (02.30-04.06); Ferreira-Buckley's educational background and her interest in eighteenth and nineteenth century rhetoric (04.07-06.51); Ferreira-Buckley's emerging interest in Barbara Jordan (06.52-11.16); In-depth description as to what a rhetorical education is and how it shaped Jordan's life (11.17-17.53); Ferreira-Buckley's understanding as to why an individual's rhetorical education cannot be separated into categories, as each aspect is interconnected and equally influential (17.54-20.49); How Jordan's political career would be different without her rhetorical education and life experiences (20.50-22.41); Students' experiences outside of formal education are imperative to forming their ability to become great rhetors (22.42-26.21); Ferreira-Buckley's honors program course taught in Fall 2020 and its importance (26.22-29.24). Scholarly Article Informing this Production: Ferreira-Buckley, L.. (2013). "Remember the world is not a playground but a schoolroom": Barbara Jordan's early rhetorical education. Rhetoric, History, and Women's Oratorical Education: American Women Learn to Speak. 196-216. 10.4324/9780203073773. Credits: This podcast was produced by Madeline Simpkins, Brianna Margo, Rose Torres, Brett Coulston and Gabby Ponds, with resources and assistance provided by the Digital Writing and Research Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. It features the voices of Linda Ferreira-Bickley, Gabby Ponds and Rose Torres. Music featured in this podcast, titled “commonGround,” was created by airtone and has been repurposed here under Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial license 3.0. Additionally, conversation.wav was adapted and incorporated under Creative Commons 1.0 license.
A Memory Palace is an imaginary location in your mind where you can store mnemonic images. It has been used since ancient Rome, and is responsible for some quite incredible memory feats. Many studies have been conducted to analyze the effectiveness of the Memory Palace technique. It's all based on the scientific fact that your brain and spatial memory perceive space as a kind of image. The method of loci is also known as the memory journey, memory palace, or mind palace technique. This method is a mnemonic device adopted in ancient Roman and Greek rhetorical treatises (in the anonymous Rhetorica ad Herennium, Cicero's De Oratore, and Quintilian's Institutio Oratoria). Memory Palace “Ars Memoriae” Great Expectation Mnemosyne: Lightweight Persistent Memory Memory Takes Hold Carl Jung Semantic Web ManMachine - Semantic Memory Intel | Architect of the Future Memory of Loci Mega-mix
Topic Discussed : Four Ways to Monetize DataSpeakers: Archana Vidyasekar, Research Director, Chaitanya Habib, Research Consultant, Frost & Sullivan, Chandos Quill, SVP/General Manager, ALC, Trey Stephens, Consultant, AcxiomMore companies are building data-driven strategies to fuel growth in the upcoming data economy. Though in its nascent stages, data monetization has a considerable effect on many industry verticals. Currently, over 2.5 Quintilian bytes of data is created every single day with a utilization rate of less than 0.5%, and companies need to address the stagnant pools of data underneath to pave the path to digital transformation.Join Frost & Sullivan's experts along with Chandos Quill, SVP/General Manager at ALC, and Trey Stephens, Consultant, Acxiom, in the webinar, 4 Ways to Monetize Data. The webinar will focus on the key implications of data monetization to a company’s operating models and business functions. It will look at growth opportunities and the future perspective of how data monetization will evolve and disrupt traditional industries like Automotive and Healthcare.Key Takeaways:Jump innovation roadblocks by tapping into new categories of data within an organizationExplore the various monetization routes to identify the best possible fit to strategically monetize data assetsInteract with industry experts to understand the current advancements in data monetizationFor further insights, please join us for future podcasts and to know more about our Growth Partnership Services, reach out to digital@frost.com or click here to Contact Us.Related Keywords: Frost & Sullivan, Data Monetization, Data Driven, Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence, Monetization, DaaS, Innovation, IoT, Strategic PlanningWebsite: www.frost.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Topic Discussed : Data is the New Currency?Speakers: Chaitanya Habib, Research Consultant, Frost & Sullivan with Vince Trotta, Vice President - Sales, Data ExchangeKey Takeaways:Though in its nascent stages, data monetization has a huge effect on many industry verticals. Currently, over 2.7 Quintilian bytes of data is generated everyday in our digital universe with a utilization rate of less than 0.5%, Companies need to start addressing the stagnant pools of data underneath in order to pave path to digital transformation However, there is a lack of strategic direction and standardization in business processes among companies for building a successful Data monetization model.“The success of a Data Monetization strategy lies in extending the frontiers of Digital Innovation”This Podcast will also focus on the key implications of data monetization on various industry verticals along with growth opportunitiesFor further insights, please join us for future podcasts and to know more about our Growth Partnership Services, reach out to digital@frost.com or click here to Contact Us.Related Keywords: Frost & Sullivan, Snowflake, Data Monetization, Car Data, Autonomous cars, Digital health, Data, DAAS, Innovation, Digital disruption, AI, IOT, MonetizationWebsite: www.frost.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
"Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most": not Thucydides, whatever Colin Powell thought - but was it Menander, Quintilian, Proverbs, or the Swami Vivekananda..?
In the year 1417, 17 years before Cosimo De Medici took control of Florence, a man called Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini went hunting in the middle of Germany. Hunting for manuscripts. Thanks to Poggio, we have today several masterpieces of Roman literature, including Quintilian's Institutio Oratoria, Vitruvius' De Architectura, and Lucretius' On The Nature Of […] The post #53 Poggio Bracciolini appeared first on The Renaissance Times.
Simply Convivial: Organization & Mindset for Home & Homeschool
Quintilian wants young children to be exposed to literary thought and literary quality, because they are naturally receptive and retentive at this age – so what they are exposed to will matter to their entire course of life.
Simply Convivial: Organization & Mindset for Home & Homeschool
It is best and easiest to begin how we mean to go on – to start on the path we want to finish – rather than meander aimlessly and then think we can backtrack or fast track to where we want to be later on.
But the words of the assassin sunk deep into the mind of Commodus, and left an indelible impression of fear and hatred against the whole body of the senate. Those whom he had dreaded as importunate ministers, he now suspected as secret enemies. The Delators, a race of men discouraged, and almost extinguished, under the former reigns, again became formidable, as soon as they discovered that the emperor was desirous of finding disaffection and treason in the senate. That assembly, whom Marcus had ever considered as the great council of the nation, was composed of the most distinguished of the Romans; and distinction of every kind soon became criminal. The possession of wealth stimulated the diligence of the informers; rigid virtue implied a tacit censure of the irregularities of Commodus; important services implied a dangerous superiority of merit; and the friendship of the father always insured the aversion of the son. Suspicion was equivalent to proof; trial to condemnation. The execution of a considerable senator was attended with the death of all who might lament or revenge his fate; and when Commodus had once tasted human blood, he became incapable of pity or remorse.Of these innocent victims of tyranny, none died more lamented than the two brothers of the Quintilian family, Maximus and Condianus; whose fraternal love has saved their names from oblivion, and endeared their memory to posterity. Their studies and their occupations, their pursuits and their pleasures, were still the same. In the enjoyment of a great estate, they never admitted the idea of a separate interest: some fragments are now extant of a treatise which they composed in common; and in every action of life it was observed that their two bodies were animated by one soul. The Antonines, who valued their virtues, and delighted in their union, raised them, in the same year, to the consulship; and Marcus afterwards intrusted to their joint care the civil administration of Greece, and a great military command, in which they obtained a signal victory over the Germans. The kind cruelty of Commodus united them in death.Edward Gibbon. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1, Chapter 4, Part I.Today's strip
Mediocre News Episode #4 Ivanka Trump gets a office in the white house? http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/daughter-ivanka-trumps-role-white-house-grown/story?id=46274494 Sports NCAA brackets - 9 Quintilian to 1 change to win https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertszczerba/2015/03/17/bracketology-101-picking-a-perfect-bracket-is-actually-easier-than-you-think/#32c87b5b2abd And interesting statistics Finance Radio Shack Bankruptcy (Again) http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/09/519440212/radioshack-files-for-bankruptcy-again Other News New Red iPhones? Chicago gang members stealing guns (762 murders last year) http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/03/09/chicagos-violent-gangs-looting-freight-cars-filled-with-guns.html How bands make money? Minimum per gig $ amount Merch sales % of alcohol purchases Picks of the week: Kodi Paper towel
Welcome to MR, the podcast for beginners and insiders about the ideas, people and movements who have shaped rhetorical history. Today or rather, the day I wrote this, I got some bad news, so to make up for it, I get to talk about Jeffrey Walker, who is one of my favorite people ever, and I get to talk about one of my favorite books, too, his Genuine Teachers of This Art, subtitled Rhetorical Education in Antiquity. Basically Walker’s arguing that rhetoric as a field is, at its very core, pedagogical. It’s not just practice of rhetoric or analysis of rhetoric, but that both of these really come into being through the teaching of rhetoric. As he says “by defining ‘the art of the rhetor” as the art of producing a rhetor, one puts the other definitions into relation. The pedagogical project sets the agenda for the critical-rheoretic one and determines the appropriate objects of study… Its pedagogical enterprise is what ultimately makes rhetoric rhetoric and not just a version of something else” (2-3). Walker’s title comes from a line from Cicero’s dialogs on the orator. Antonius describes Isocrates’ subsequent rhetoric teachers as the “genuine teachers of this art” and Isocrates does feature heavily in how we think about rhetoric and the teaching of rhetoric. At the center of this text, Walker does the incredible work of reverse engineering the techne or art of rhetoric that Isocrates may have written. We think Isocrates wrote such a treatise. Zosimus’s Life of Isocrates in the the fifth century wrote “It is said that Isocrates also wrote an art of rhetoric bu in the course of time it was lost” (qtd. 57) Cicero, too, and Quintilian, seem to take it for granted that Isocrates had a complete rhetoric treatise. We might, Walker points out, not impose our own publishing tradition on what this would look like. Isocrates’ treatise on rhetoric would be, like Aritotle’s probably was “a ‘teacher’s manual’ or ‘toolbox’ containing an organized and thus memorizable and searchable, collection of ‘the things that can be taught’ and a stock of explanations and examples” (84). Combining shorter pieces of Isocrates’ with cited fragments and other sources’ admiration, parody and allusion, Walker reconstructs what this lost document might look like. He suggests that by looking at, say, the legal arguments of Isocrates, you can see evidence of a “rudimentary stasis system”: did they do it? how bad was it? was it legal or right? if it was right was that because of advantage, honor or justice? Of course there’s a bunch of stylistic rules some of which seem uniquely suited to Greek language and culture. And, of course, imitation is paramount. Over all, it seems that Isocrates’ pedagogical philosophy “assumes an ideal student of ready which who can take the imprint of the stylistic models set before him and can quickly come to imitate and absorb them” (153). One of the key pedagogical assignments, then, is declamation. We don’t think of performance and acting as part of rhetorical discovery, but back in Isocrates’ day,speaking was extremely important, and the old debate practice of speaking your opponents’ words was a key pedagocial practice. Not just your opponent, but just “others” with whom you may or may not agree, sort of playing a part and trying on an argument. Think of it a little as if you were doing mock trial back in high school and some peopel are given the role of defense counsil and some are prosecution and some are witnesses: you have the facts of the case, but then you play the role the best you can within that structure. It’s invention, but also acting and it can be an effective pedagogical tool. As Walker puts it “the student was(is) freed from the pressure to discover the ‘correct answer’” (198) and “because the the student is playing a role, his or her youthful ego is not at stake, and it is possible to both play with the lines or argument and to reflect on them as well” (199). If you have a question about some of the verbs and pronouns used in those last quotes, it’s because Walker doesn’t just study this stuff--he teaches it. Since his whole argument is that rhetoric is about being a teacher, he doesn’t shy away from describing how contemporary first year composition can embrace “rhetoric [as] an art of cultivating a productive, performative capacity” and unabashedly declares that “Rhetorical scholarship that made no consequential difference to what rhetors/writers do, or to how rhetors/writers are trained, would have little point. Perhaps that is obvious. Yet it is easy to forget” (288). Man, I get chills reading those words. I should take a moment here to say that if you use rhetorical methods from the ancients, like closely imitating exemplors or trying on other arguments, why not shoot a line at Mere Rhetoricpodcast@gmail.com? I’d love to hear about it and maybe we could do an episode just on the history and benefit of, say, imitation or declamation. Okay, here’s the last word from Dr. Walker, though “Ancient rhetorical education appealed to the desired that brought the motivated student to it and that persists today: the desire expressed by Isocrates’ students to say admirable things; or Plato’s Phaedrus’ remark that he would rather be eloquent like Lysias than rich; or Plato’s Hippocrates’ wish to learn to speak ‘awesomely’ like Protagoras … Rhetoric, as a paideia, was a ‘sweet garden’ where the young could experience and enact such things as theater, as game, and in so doing could cultivate their dunamis for wise and eloquent speech, thought and writing in practical situations as well as develop an attachment to a dream paradigm of democratic civic life” (293-4)
[SHAKERS & INTRO SONG] Welcome to Mere Rhetoric. A podcast for beginners and insiders about the ideas, movements, and terms that have shaped rhetorical history. I'm Mary Hedengren and today, I'm going to finally follow up on a promise that I made earlier. Do you remember when we were talking about Hermogenes? The hairy hearted hero who came up with a lot of extra ways of dealing with things. Well I said back then that I would come back and talk with you about stasis theory which is pretty fantastic and guess what? Now I'm finally living up to that promise. If you haven't listened to the Hermogenes of Tarsis podcast, you can go back and listen to that for some more details but we're going to focus on the basics today. Think back of the last time you had a really bad argument. Not just like a shouting, throwing dishes argument, but an argument where everyone seemed to be talking past each other. Like you couldn't even agree on what it was that you were arguing. This is a pretty common experience. I've been through it and I'm pretty sure you've been through it too. And in fact, back in the earliest ages of rhetoric in fifth and sixth century B.C. in Greece, there were rhetoricians who were beginning to recognize that we need to think about what we're arguing about when we're arguing with other people. Sometimes you may think that you're arguing about what to do when really the person you're arguing with doesn't believe you need to have any action because nothing has happened. Trying to sort these out has become sort of stasis theory. Aristotle loosely references the topic by recognizing there's a need to know something about the facts, the definition, the quality and policy of arguments but he never really talked about the need for individuals to come to an agreement about what it was that they were arguing about. The first person to really articulate this is Hermagoras of Temnos who in the second century B.C. really went in depth in it. And he's the one who set out the four elements of stasis as we recognize them today. These four elements sometimes get a little bit tweaked into five elements or in fact all the way up to the 13 that Hermogenes did but in our context, we're just going to talk about the four. These four are pretty easy to remember and they can make a real practical difference in the way that you argue today as well as the way that you look at other people's arguments. Stasis comes from the same place as sort of standing, right? So you know homeostasis for example, sort of where you are in your biology of not getting too much or too cold, your sort of standing in the middle. Stasis sort of lets you know where you stand in the argument and where your opponent stands. For me it's helpful to think about this as standing on a platform and if you and your interlocutor are standing on the same platform, you could have worthwhile conversation instead of trying to shout up to somebody standing above you or shout down to someone standing below you. So let's go through these four stages and talk about how you might go up the staircase with your interlocutor to discuss a different issue. The first and most basic level is just fact. Did the thing itself exist? So famously, a rhetorical scholar named John R.[inaudible] applied this to talking about global warming. So if you're talking with somebody about global warming, the first thing to asses is do you both believe that in fact the Earth is getting warmer? Do you agree on fact? If you guys are already in agreement about this, then maybe what your discussion is is about the next level up. So go up those stairs if you both agree and talk about the next level. Definition. But if you don't agree about fact, that's what you're going to have to argue about. Did something happen? What are the facts? Is there a problem? Where did it come from? What changes happened to create this problem and is there anything our arguing about it can do? These are some of the facts you would have to argue out with your interlocutor. But if you both agree, you can go upstairs to definition. Continuing on with our example of global warming, definition is where you talk about what the nature is of the problem. So with global warming, is this a man-made issue or is this just a periodic cycle? What exactly is this issue? What is it related to? What are the parts of this issue? And how are those parts related? Once you agree about definition, maybe what you need to be arguing about is quality. Is it a good or a bad thing? How big of a problem is this? Who's it going to affect and how much? Is this a crisis we need to resolve? Again, thinking about global warming. Is global warming going to cause catastrophic climate change that destroys human life as we know it? Or is it just an excuse to break out the shorts for a little bit? Quality sort of talks about how big or how much the issue is. Also you have to think about what the costs are with quality. So with global warming, what's the cost of stopping global warming? Should we stop all manufacture for example? Or transportation? Is it more important to focus on "the short term health of the economy or the long term stability of the climate?" Okay so when John R. [inaudible] says we've exhausted questions about quality, the next stage is policy. So if you and your interlocutor agree that there is such thing as global warming, it is man-made, and it is a really bad idea, the next step is to talk about what do we do about it? Is the better choice to ban plastic bags or make people ride only on commuter buses or change to nuclear power? Or any of the other things that people have suggested to try to stop global warming? All of these issues are about policy. What do we do now? You'll see lots of different applications to this idea of stasis. In fact, Quintilian goes through the stasis when he talks about making an argument. He gives the example of somebody saying, "you killed a man" and in response the accused says, "yes, I did kill." Okay so they agree on fact but the accused says, "it is lawful to kill an adulterer with his paramour." So now he's making a discussion more about the quality and the definition. But then the person who accuses says they were not adulterers and so it contests that idea. So the argument has moved from a question of fact, was somebody in fact killed? To a question of definition and quality - was it murder? Was it a bad thing? And for whom? This is a really fun game to play when you watch law and order and I have to confess a lot of times I kind of geek out watching the attorneys make arguments that go from fact to definition even to policy when they get to sentencing. I mean is it better to send a troubled kid to a mental asylum or to juvenile delinquency? Mostly though I just love law and order. Stasis is really useful, not just in sort of how we analyze things but also how we conduct conversations with others. Sometimes those bad arguments we have, don't need to be so bad if we just stop and think about what is it we're really arguing and how can we stand on common ground with those we speak?
James Berlin Welcome to MR. I’m Mary Hedengren, Jacob is in the Booth and we’re supported by the Humanities Media Project and UT Austin. Was English in an identity crisis in the 80s and 90s? Maybe. But it’s certain that it thought it was. Interdisciplinary projects such as cultural studies and the voluntary expulsion of groups like English language and composition from English departments was inspiring a lot of ink in the PMLA and other journals and conferences between such illuminaries as Gerald Graff and Stanley Fish. And when people are anxious about who they are, they often look back to how they ended up here. How did English get so weird? What is the background behind composition’s complaints against literary studies? What led to everyone in the department being in a department together? Enter Professor James Berlin. Berlin, a compositionist who had taught at U of Cinninati and Purdue. Berlin was a disciplinary historian who wrote two important books that tried to create a historical context for the current state of composition, which we’ll talk about today. Rhetoric and Reality: Writing Instruction in American Colleges. 1900-1985. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1987. Writing Instruction in Nineteenth-Century American Colleges. The earlier book, Writing Instruction in 19th-Century American Colleges published in 1984, traces the role of writing instruction in American political psyche. “no rhetoric—not Plato’s or Aristotle’s or Quintilian’s or Perelman’s—is permanent.” The next major book Berlin wrote picks up where Writing Instruction in Nineteenth-Century American Colleges. Left off—at the dawn of the 20th century. Rhetoric and Reality: Writing Instruction in American Colleges. 1900-1985 traces the history of composition in the United States up to what was then the modern day. In going through this history, though, Berlin weaves three strands of compositional theory: current-traditional, expressivist and social constructionist. Berlin makes no secret about which of these strands he thinks is right. Current traditionalists are grammar-obsessed ninnies who sneer at students while pushing their glasses up their noses while expressivists are berkinstocked hippies singing kumbaya without teaching anything significant. Berlin is unapologetic about his perspective. In the introduction, he mentions the criticism the book has received as having a political project. James Berlin, much like the honey badger, don’t care. He has a strong interest in the project to "vindicate the position of writing instruction in the college curriculum" (1) and he feels social constructionism is the best way to do so. He identifies several points that lead to writing instruction’s increased disciplinarity First there was the Birth of CCCC when a 1948 paper by George S. Wykoff and ensuing conflict leads to John Gerber of U of Iowa proposing a conference to discuss composition. 500 attend April 1-2 1949 (105). "With the establishment of the CCCC and its journal [...] teachers of freshman composition took a giant step toward qualifying for full membership in the English department, with the attendant privileges" (106) Then there is the Importance of pamphlet The Basic Issues in the Teaching of English published as a supplement to College English in 1959. Identify key questions for English, especially in pedagogy (such as should writing "be taught as expression or as communication") (Berlin 124). Finally there was Braddock's 1961 Research in Written Communication and subsequent founding of Research in the Teaching of English (1967) is important because "Only a discipline confident of its value and its future could allow this kind of harsh scrutiny" (135). Lit studies "have appropriated as their domain all uses of langauge except the narrowly refertial and logical. What remains [...] is given to rhetoric, to the writing course" (30). In the early 20th century, universities were becoming dominated by sciences and practical arts. Objective philosophies ruled. Current-traditional is the most vehement and widely accepted of the objective rhetorics, but behaviorist, semanticist and linguistic rhetorics are also put into this category (9). As Berlin puts it: "The new university invested its graduates with the authority of science and through this authority gave them an economically comfortable position in a new, prosperous middle-class culture" (36) On the other extreme of things was expressionist writing "the teacher cannot even instruct the student in the principles of writing, since writing is inextricably intertwined with the discovery of truth. The student can discover truth, but truth cannot be taught; the student can learn to write, but writing cannot be taught. The only strategy left, then is to provide an environment in which the individual can learn what cannot be taught" (13). Berlin describes that, "For the proponents of liberal culture, the purpose of the English teacher was to cultivate the exceptional students, the geniuses, and, at the most, to tolerate all others" (72). For expressionists "writing--all writing--is art. This means that writing can be learned by not taught" (74). How many times do we hear that? That you just need to ponder a little, get a little older and then you’ll pick up what you need to? This is still kind of the philosophy in many Eastern Hemisphere universities where writing instruction hasn’t taken off as much. And it exists here, too, even in our own departments. The method of expressionist teaching will be familiar to those in creative writing :"Most important was that the students read all papers aloud to the entire class and were given immediate responses [...] the teacher did not lecture but acted instead as an ad-[83]ditional respondant" (84). For more about expressionism and what influence it had on rhetoric and composition, check out our previous podcast on expressivism. Berlin’s last book Rhetorics, Poetics and Cultures was also a disciplinary project--reconciling composition (production) with literary studies (interpretation) by way of cultural studies--may seem a little dated to the 90s, which its heady enthrallment with cross-disciplinary cultural studies and post-modernity everywhere as specter and savior. He argues that English should reunite rhetoric and literary studies around text interpretation and production-not one or the other exclusively. He doesn’t just argue in theory but sets out his own class as an example of how to integrate textual production and analysis with general cultural studies. He emphatically defends the use of popular culture in the classroom and meeting students with the knowledge the already have. James Berlin died suddenly of a heart attack while he was still in the middle of career, but his influence is found all around the composition world. For example, the CCCC award for best dissertation is called the James Berlin award, and I think that’s fitting, considering how the establishment of a phd in composition has been such a benchmark in composition’s disciplinarity. Are we at a better place in terms of disciplinary security than we were in the 80s and 90s? I think so. I also think that part o the reason why is James Berlin’s impassioned disciplinary research and fervent argumentation. If you have impassioned discipline and fervent argumentation, feel free to email us at mererhetoricpodcast@gmail.com
Welcome to Mere Rhetoric, a podcast for beginners and insiders about the ideas, movements, and people who shaped rhetorical history. I'm Mary Hedengren. Quintilian was a transitional figure of rhetoric. Born in a Roman province of Spain to a Spanish family at around 35 CE, he lived both geographically and temporally at the peripheries of the Roman Empire. Quintilian was, as everyone was, influenced by Cicero and the Greek instructors, Progymnasmata, which we've talked about in an earlier episode. He was deeply concerned with questions about the education of rhetoric. As a teacher of rhetoric, his students were mostly historians, like Tacitus, or authors, like Juvenal, instead of politicians. In fact, his student Tacitus will later argue that there wasn't much space for rhetoric as the Roman Empire became more authoritarian. Who's going to argue with an Emperor? But Quintilian was deeply interested in not just creating better rhetoric, but better rhetors. The most famous idea from Quintilian is probably his insistence that the rhetor will be a good person all around. Educated, kind, refined. As Bruce Herzberg and Patricia Bizzell say in their introduction, "Quintilian's insistence on the moral element may bespeak his own quiet desperation about what sort of leader would be needed to galvanize the corrupt Rome of his day." Whatever Quintilian's motivation, he explains in detail, hundreds of pages of detail, how rhetors are to be educated. >> That's right, Mary. To illustrate Quintilian's preoccupation with the intersection of ethics and the art of oratory, it's worth noting that his definition of rhetoric is "a good man speaking well.” Without good words and good morals, there cannot be good rhetoric. There can be no divorce between the content and the form of statement. The reverse was also important for Quintilian, that training in rhetoric could have some sort of moral impact on the student. Quintilian hoped that people would be more moral for their rhetorical training. Although he was teaching at a time when rhetoric and Roman society was at "no longer a severe discipline for training the average man for active citizenship." Good citizenship depends, not just on speaking technically well, but also morally well. How does the student develop this kind of technical and moral excellence in speaking? Primarily, through the impact of good examples. Nurses, classmates, and especially the teacher should "all be kept free from moral fault" or "even the suspicion of it." Classmates can have good effects on students. Instructors should also frequently demonstrate because now that we teach, examples are more powerful even than the rules." This sort of reminds me of the kind of scaffolding that Lev Vygotsky, Ridley, and Carroll talk about. When students are surrounded by students doing work that is just a little bit more difficult than what they're accustomed to, they can see how their near peers rise to the problems and learn how to imitate those strategies as well. >> So teachers, classmates, instructors, you can tell from all of these influences that Quintilian is so worried about, he believes in the little sponges model of pedagogy. Some influences like nurses and classmates maybe accidental, but Quintilian also emphasizes the conscious use of imitation exercises to strengthen the student. In fact, Quintilian declares that "an orator ought to be furnished, above all things, with an ample store of examples." The things that Quintilian recommends imitation, though, vary from the standard Progymnasmata. The Progymnasmata gave students topics like kidnappers and smugglers. Standard Hardy Boy stuff. But Quintilian believed that students should imitate the sort of things they're actually going to be writing. Real life writing. In this sense, you can see how Quintilian would be comfortable with some of the scholars who emphasize learning to write in the disciplines. All of this is sort of a social-constructed view of good rhetoric, even something a little pre-writing in the disciplines. Quintilian talks about how every species of writing has its own prescribed law, each to its own appropriate dress. So this sort of emphasizes the idea that there's not just one type of good writing and you can't teach somebody just good writing or good rhetoric. He saw that you needed to practice in the types of forms that you're actually going to be doing. This is really kind of revolutionary stuff and it's surprising that it didn't get picked up earlier until in the past, about 100 years has been a real emphasis on beginning to teach writing not just was a transferable skill, but something that is really specific to a specific task. But at the same time, Quintilian believed that his students should be generalists, because eloquence "requires the aid of many arts." So even things like gymnastics, to improve lung capacity and posture, and geometry should be taught to the would-be rhetor. A sort of balance between the liberal arts and sort of like a specific kind of technical training. But especially, you have this reading, writing, listening all being taught at the same time, because they influence each other, and Quintilian says that they are so inseparably linked with one another and that they should be taught, not as separate skills, but as sort of one fluid type of learning about language. >> That's right, Mary. Quintilian saw speaking, writing, and reading as important skills of course, but not things that could be separated from the human experience as a whole. In fact, Quintilian saw it as his duty as a teacher to cultivate not just good rhetors, but the whole person. That might sound a little authoritarian, but just because Quintilian believed that students should write real-life exercises, doesn't mean he didn't think that they should have fun. Rhetoric, in varying forms appropriate to age, surrounds the student's cradle to the grave. Little children and babies could be given alphabet blocks as toys, and young students should be allowed to play with their own writing and the student should be daring, invent much, and delight in what he invents. Practice alone, though, won't lead automatically to greatness. "Talent does matter, but he who is honorably inclined will be very different from the stupid or idol," Quintilian says, "and the wise instructor will give matter designed as it were beforehand in proportion to the abilities of each, and the teacher will help them to find their strengths and apply chiefly to that in which he can succeed." Help make students succeed. The students should be happy with what they are producing even if it isn't what a professional writer would write. Not everyone has to become a famous writer but any skill in rhetoric will pay dividends for the wealth, honor and friendship, greater present and future fame," Quintilian writes, "No matter how much or how little you obtain or feel you use." >>Unlike many other teachers of rhetoric, Quintilian rejected stylistic anachronisms and effects. "Language is excellent, perspicuous and elegant and should have the public stamp like currency. Current practices matter so much that custom in speaking, therefore, I shall call the agreement of the educated just as I call custom in living the agreement of the good." There's an obvious influence here on enlightenment rhetors like Hugh Blair who similarly reject the idea that you should speak in an old timey way and that you need to consider what the modern style is for your own region. Incidentally, Blair thought that Quintilian was the best of all the rhetoricians. Overall, students should develop fasilitas, the readiness to appropriate language for any situation. To be fluid with understanding what the social conventions are and how you can apply language to it. And after a good career, Quintilian even advises the rhetor to bow out gracefully, not full of reunion tours and botox, but to leave at your peak, "Because it becomes him to take care that he speak not worse than he has been in the habit of speaking." That's not to say that retired people are off the hook. They're still expected to study like Marcus Cato who learned Greek in his old age. But Quintilian definitely sets out a line of the entire rhetor's life, from their earliest years playing with blocks to when they retire at an old age. >>So Quintilian clearly would have been no fan of Rocky V and VI, is what we're saying there [laughter]. >>How many people were? [laughs] >>I think only a few perhaps. If all of this seems like a lot of work to raise the writer, then you're absolutely right. Quintilian describes such an involved pedagogy from cradle to grave, that the relationship is less like a teacher and more like a parent. The focus in Quintilian's pedagogy is less quick and dirty tricks, and more the formation of a rhetorical character. He feels that learning rhetoric will help make you a better person. The good man speaking well and because of that he passionately promotes a study of rhetoric. In fact, we can't put it any better than he does, so we'll end with his inspiring words and if these don't make you excited about studying rhetoric, I just don't know what will. "Let us then presume with our whole powers the true dignity of eloquence then which the immortal gods have given nothing better to mankind and without which all nature would be mute and all our acts would be deprived alike of present honor and commemoration among posterity and let us aspire to the highest excellence for, by this means, we shall attain the summit and if it does not ring great advantage to studious youth it will at least excite in them what I desire even more, a love for doing well." [musical outro]
Welcome back to Mere Rhetoric, the podcast for beginners and insiders about the ideas, people and movements who have shaped rhetorical history. I’m Mary Hedengren, we today we continue our exploration of the baddies of rhetoric. Last week we talked about Thomas Hobbes and his rhetoric-hating ways for our first villain of rhetoric. Next in our series of the badnicks of rhetoric is Peter Ramus, or, if you will, Petrus Ramus. Ramus came before Hobbes, and he’s definitely one of the people that rhetoricians point to as a villain As James Jasinski once said, "the range of rhetoric began to be narrowed during the 16th century, thanks in part to the works of Peter Ramus.” And who was this villain? “ Ramus was born in Cuts, France. His father was a farmer and his grandfather a charcoal-burner. He became a servant to a rich scholar at the College de Navarre. Ramus was educated at home until he was 12 at which time he entered the Collège de Navarre in Paris. He graduated with a Master's Degree in 1536, defending a thesis on Aristotle. After graduation Ramus taught, first at the Collège de Mans, then at the Collège de l'Ave Maria in Paris where he taught until 1572.” Walter Ong chonroicled the way in which Ramus kicked rhetoric down off in the trivium in his Ramus, Method, and the Decay of Dialogue: From the Art of Discourse to the Art of Reason The title of this book gives away pretty clearly what Ramus did: ramus wanted to decrease the importances of discourse to what he called reason. Remember when we talkeda bout the canons of rhetoric? In case you’re just joining us or you’ve forgotten: It’s what the Pirate says I alwys state my demands Invention, arrangement, style memory delivery. Ramus proposed moving the invention, arrangement and memory out of the rhelm of rhetoric into logic, under a new name: iudicium (judgment). He redefined the trivium of grammar dialectic and rhetoric “Grammar’s two parts are etymology and syntax; dialectic’s two parts are invention and arrangement; and the two parts of rhetoric are style and delivery.” Ramus's goal is to show that many of the categories that Aristotle came up with regarding rhetoric, which Cicero and Quintilian and others followed, are either arbitrary or actually false, because the divisions divide the subject at the wrong joints. I think Ramus is, for the most part, right, though he is being a little more strict than the subject matter allows [per Aristotle]. Ramus says: Quintilian has added all kinds of things to rhetoric that do not belong to it. Rather, these things might be necessary in rhetoric, e.g., grammar, or must exist in the good orator, e.g., virtue, but these are not what rhetoric itself is about, as an art. Ramus identifies rhetoric with what earlier writers call eloquence, limiting its scope to style and delivery. Invention, order, and memory, he says, belong more properly to dialectic (which ends up being very similar to philosophy). In this way, rhetoric seems to be separated from both the audience and the pisteis of the argument. This makes sense, but only so long as it is remembered that rhetoric [eloquence] is nothing without dialectic as its counterpart [per Aristotle]. Ramus evidently believes that rhetoric can be taught apart from dialectic, even though speeches and even literature and poetry are constructed out of both. Dialectic and rhetoric work together in "stirring the emotions and causing delight" (Newlands 124), but training in ethics is the better place to go to learn about the emotions properly. As walter Ong says Prime inditement against Ramus as one whose work “could in no real sense be considered an advance or even a reform in logic” (5) because he was “living off the increment of intellectual capital belonging to others” (7) “Ramist rhetoric […] is not a dialogue rhetoric at all, and Ramist dialectic has lost all sense of Socratic dialogue” (287), because, as Ramus says, “The art of dialectic is the teaching of how to discourse” (qtd. 160) and as for rhetoric “Ramist rhetoric relies more on ornamentation theory than perhaps any other rhetoric ever has “ (277). In the place of rhetoric, Ramus recommended a type of logic that depends on what he called “Method”—“orderly pedagogical presentation of any subject by reputedly scientific descent from ‘general principles’ to ‘specials’” in bifurcated charts (11). These charts are familiar to us now, especially when we thinking about flow charts and technology branches. It’s also very familiar to those of us who grew up reading Choose Your Own Adcentures. It’s about splitting all of your options in to. For example Ramus creates a tree of cicero’s life. At the beginning, you have the two choices: life and death. Death is a dead end, but if you follow life, that splits into his birth and his parents on one hand and his learning on the other. Follow learning and you haveanother split between old age and youth. Follow old age and you’ll find his public career and his retirement. Following these branches, you can follow a yes or a no throughout Cicero’s life. This is a great sort of organization for computers to follow because of its bifurcation and it’s handy also when you’re following a taxonomy, but it isn’t the most useful for coming up with ideas that exists in non dialectical order. Still this method could be used for invention and memory, just as Ramus wanted. According to Yeates (1966): "...one of the chief aims of the Ramist movement for the reform and simplification of education was to provide a new and better way of memorising all subjects. This was to be done by a new method whereby every subject was to be arranged in ‘dialectical order’. This order was set out in schematic form in which the ‘general’ or inclusive aspects of the subject came first, descending thence through a series of dichotomised classifications to the ‘specials’ or individual aspects. Once a subject was set out in its dialectical order it was memorised in this order from the schematic presentation – the famous Ramist epitome." (p.232 “Ramus became a convert to Calvinism in the 1550s and in so doing became caught up in the politics associated with the French Wars of Religion between the Roman Catholics and the Calvinistic Huguenots. The Duc de Guise, a Catholic, took control of the royal family in Paris. This resulted in uprisings by the Calvinist Huguenots throughout France and a ruthless response by Duc de Guise. Near the end of 1562, the Calvinists were forced to leave Paris, and Ramus left with them. In 1572, after spending time both in and out of Paris, Ramus planned to return permanently to Paris under protection of the King. Despite this protection, during the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in which a Roman Catholic mob attacked and murdered Protestant Huguenots, Ramus was assassinated. Following his death he became regarded by Protestants as a martyr.“ Ong argues that it was in part because of Ramus’ martyrdom that he became so popular in England and other Protestant Ramus was incredibly influential for centuries, first in the Protestant continent, and then in England and America (47). Most importantly, perhaps, “Ramism assimilated logic to imagery and imagery to locig by reducing intelligence itself, more or less unconsciously, in terms for rather exclusively visual, spatial analogies” (286). Ramus was influencial, but he also limited the role of rhetoric to eloquence, to the style and delivery of ideas rather than the invention of them. It would take centuries for rhetoricians to wrestle these elements of the canon back to the rhelm of rhetoric but the idea that rhetoric equals style is still with us. Just think of how often we hear politicians say their opponents have lots of hollow rhetoric without any good ideas. Next week we’ll go even earlier to talk about the renaissance debates about rhetoric, so we’ll have a whole super team of rhetoric villains, all plotting to limit the scope or influence of rhetoric. If you have an idea for a series you’d like to hear on Mere Rhetoric, why not drop us a line at mererhetoricpodcast@gmail.com? I’ll listen respectfully, because I am not personally a super villain.
Erasmus Mere rhetoric a podcast for beginners and insiders about the people, ideas and movements that have shaped the rhetorical world. Erasmus was born in Holland, probably in 1466, and was orphaned by the time he was twenty. This meant that instead of getting to go to university, he was shuttled off to monk school, which, while he was ordained, was really not his cup of tea. Instead, he became a “wandering scholar” eventually wandering to England where he became chummy with the likes of Thomas More and the other humanists. Wandering through Italy, France, the Low Countries and England, he tried to replace medieval learning with a Greek and Latin style, called New Learning, all the while engaging and inspiring some of the most important thinkers of his age. It’s only natural that Erasmus would have been involved in rhetoric because rhetoric was a controversial topic in the Renaissance, as we’ll discuss in depth later. In Praise of Folly set out to criticize what Erasmus saw a excesses and hypocrisy within in the church, but it’s also just good language fun. For one thing, the Latin title,” Morias Encomium" may have been a pun on his friend Thomas More’s name. the tone is always a little hard to read, as Erasmus says “toys are not without their serious matter” The whole book is written in the voice of Folly, who is depicted as a goddess who keeps a court of vices like self-love, laziness and flattery. Sometimes Folly’s virtues seem sincere, like when she points out that children are happier than grown adults and that so-called folly is behind good nature, altruism and true love, but elsewhere in the book, the satire more directly castigates priests and scholars, especially rhetoricians. Folly complains that “we have as many grammars as grammarians” (41) and that they only write to each other in an echo chamber “more prattling than an echo” (43) and their works lack “the least coherence with the rest of the argument, that the admiring audience may in the meanwhile whisper to themselves, ‘what will he be at now?’” (52) De copia was one of Erasmus’ greatest successes. In his lifetime it was published more than 85 times by publishers all over the Western world. By the end of the century it had been published more than 150 times, and worked its way into many other textbooks and handbooks. Copia means simply abundance, and the Romans were so fond of it that there was even a goddess named Copia—so take that, Folly. Quintilian wrote a chapter where he touches on the idea of the abundant style, and that’s where Erasmus really takes off. He suggests that abundance doesn’t have to mean you drag on and on, but that abundance comes in what we might call the pre-writing stage. Erasmus says “who could speak more tersely than he who has ready at hand an extensive array or words and figure from which he can immediately select what is most suitable for conciseness?” Erasmus proposes a copia of ideas and of words, which will prepare the student for extemporaneous speaking under any circumstance. And then, to show off, Erasmus demonstrates how very, very many ways he can say “thank you for your letter”—if you have a chance to see this in print, I recommend you pick it up, because it’s dizzying. Here are some examples: [we go back and forth] In the second part of De copia, Erasmus talks about copia of thought, which includes embellishment through describing the thing in depth, its circumstances, its causes, its consequences and other ways to go in more depth on a topic. The amplification of what you can say about any topic is similarly dizzying, but again Erasmus emphasizes that copia is useful for even concise speech because “Let the lover of brevity see to it that he not only say few things, but let him say the best possible things in the fewest words” granted that “in our zeal for brevity we do no omit thins that should be said” (105). De copia is remarkable for me as a compositionist for two reasons. First because it represents the way that thinking about language leads to thinking about ideas. Sometimes students want to add “fluff” to a paper to get it to a page limit, but Erasmus demonstrates that coming up with a lot of ways of discussing a topic—its past and its present and its characteristics—can add substance as well. Second, I love de copia because it acknowledges that there’s a difference between the prewriting phase of brainstorming and coming up with dozens—or hundreds—of ideas and the final, polished piece. Copia is based on the concept that many or most of your ideas are going out the window anyway, but the process of coming up with ideas is itself a valuable step in the writing process.
Ekphrasis Welcome to Mere Rhetoric, a podcast for beginners and insiders about the ideas, people and movements who have shaped rhetorical history. I’m Mary Hedengren and, ah, here I am in my newly redecorated research cube. I’ve taped grey and yellow chevron wrapping paper over the old horrific 90s wallpaper and the books that completely fill my bookshelf are organized—somewhat. The tiny red and green Loeb editions look like Christmas decorations among the others and one whole shelf of books is tattooed with library barcodes. My door is propped open by the extra hard wood chair and is scrubbed clean—you almost can’t see the faint traces of pen from all of the strange graffiti, including one sloppy invitation for a previous occupant to get sushi. I’ve hung an orange-and-white abstract painting on the outside of the door and you can just see the corner of it from my seat. Why am I telling you about my cube in such detail? Because today we’re talking about Ekphrasis. Ekphrasis is the Greek term for description, a rich description that makes you see a scene before you in such detail that you feel like you’re actually there. Did it work? Did you imagine yourself in my cozy little cube? Last week I talked about a how there was a sculpture of kairos that someone had written a poem about and I called it ekphrasis, but I may have given a very short definition of just what ekphrasis is. I’ve been thinking about ekphrasis for a long time, largely because of a 2009 book called Ekphrasis, Imagination and Persuasion in Ancient Rhetorical Theory and Practice. In this book, Ruth Webb seeks to rehabilitate ekphrasis from its long misuse. We think of ekphrasis as a describing a subject matter—art—in poetic practice rather than a method—bringing something “vividly before the eyes”—used for a variety of rhetorical purposes (1). When I first learned of ekphrasis, it was in a poetry class. The teacher showed us several poems that were written to describe pictures and then challenged us to find works of art that we could transfer into words. There are several famous poems that are ekphrasis. For example, do you remember Keats’ Ode to a Grecian Urn? Or William Carlos Williams’ poem about Landscape with Fall of Icarus ? Perhaps one of the most famous examples of ekphrasis, for ancient and modern students, is the description of the achilles’ shield in Homer. In fact, Webb figures that shield led to this confusion of describing an artifact rather than just describing something. Webb doesn’t just tell us what ekphrasis is not; she describes how Progymnasmata series of educational practices and other student handbooks influenced use and understanding of this tool that permeated rhetorical life from the arts (168) to the law courts (89) to the forum (131). Ekphrasis, then, isn’t just an ornament or a figure of speech—Webb claims that it is a “quality of language” (105), something that allows listeners and readers to become what she calls “virtual witnesses” of people, places, and events (95). You can imagine how it would be useful to bring your listeners in to become “virtual witnesses” if you were, say, a lawyer painting a picture of the crime, or if you were a politician petitioning for more military spending by describing a pitiful defeat. Through ekphrasis, your listeners become shared participants in an experience. You recreate an experience so we’re all together for a moment, seeing the same thing, feeling—maybe—the same way. Ekphrasis brings people in with you. Because ekphrasis is more than just an occasional strategy, Webb has to cover a lot of ground in her book. She begins by describing the context in which ekphrasis was named, admired and taught, back in ancient Greece where memory was always connected with imagery (25). “Seeing” something was critically connecting with how you think and remember. For example, do you remember in a previous episode on canons, where we talked about how classical rhetors would create a place, say a palace, and then place facts around that palace so that they could visualize walking around to encounter the facts? It’s the same practice that popped up recently in an episode of the BBC series Sherlock. When you have a clear visual reminder of a place, an object, you can better remember the abstract principles or facts. Another reason why ekphrasis was central to the Greeks was because of the way people encountered composition: whether or not a speech was written down, it was almost always spoken aloud (26). When you’re listening rather than reading, it can be difficult to pay attention to long abstracts, but being invited into a visual scene is refreshing and entertaining. No TV, remember? This understanding of literacy may seem alien to modern readers, so Webb has to explain them explicitly Then she introduces ekphrasis to us the same way it was introduced to Greeks and Romans: through the Progymnasmata and other handbooks of instruction. In the pedagogical explanation, Webb emphasized that ekphrasis was seen as formative for young learners, a tool to advance socially, and as an absolutely transferable skill (47-51). Remember when we talked about the progymnasmata? The exercises that young Greek students went through? Well, ephrasis was part of the progymnasmata exercises and Webb sais it was “the exercise which taught students how to use vivid evocation and imagery in their speeches” as “an effect which transcents categories and normal expectations oflangauge” (53). She then gives readers a complete chapter discussing the subjects of ekphrasis that go beyond just descriptions of works of art, and, in fact, often focus on narrative aspects (68-70). She really has to define the term because we have several hundred years of misdefinition of the term as only associated with art. Webb also introduces us to two versions of ekphrasis: Enargia which makes “absent things present” and Phantasia which she links to “memory, imagination and the gallery of the mind” (v). Here’s an example of enargia from Theon: “When I am lamenting a murdered man will I not have before my eyes all the things which might believably have happened in the case under consideration? […] Will I not see the blow and the citicm falling to the ground? Will his blood, his pallor, his dying groans not be impressed on my mind. This gives rise to eneragia,[…] by which we seem to show what happened rather than to tell it and this gives rise to the same emotions as if we were present at the event itself” (qtd 94). Phantaias on the other hand, is creation, which might include “mythical and fantastic beats […] imagines through a process of synthesis, putting together man dna horse” (119) for example, or it might just be creatively expanding on the details of what we aren’t told. Quintilian describes this in terms of a quote from Cicero: “Is there anyone so incapable of forming images of things that, when he read the passace in [Cicero’s] Verrines ‘the praetor of the Roman people stood on the shoes dressed in slippers, wearing a purple cloak and long tunic, leaning on this worthless woman’ he does not only seem to see them, the place [..] but even imagines for himself some of those things which are not mentioned. I for my part certainly seem to see his face, his eyes, the unseemly caresses of both” (qtd 108). So there you have it. Ekphrasis can be about things that were or things that can be imagined To use an example, enargia would describe a scene that was distant, like a visit to Disneyland, while Phantaisa would create a scene that was fictional, like developing a new Disney movie adaption. Webb’s book is certainly readable and her argument is very thorough, taking in a very large range of Classical civilization, spanning several hundred years and including both Eastern and Western Roman Empires. She’s also made the convincing argument that ekphrasis was a little bit of the sublime that could be made an effective argument in almost any situation. Many texts that talk about rhetoric of poetics make the “audacious” claim that poetics can be rhetorical; Webb’s book seems to be claim that the rhetorical was often, poetic. I’m especially interested in this ancient idea that one thing a rhetor needs to do is make the audience see it, to be there and experience the event or object—existing, historical, hypothetical, or fantastic—to be “virtual witnesses” of it for themselves. This seems to be an interesting link between a logos-centered viewpoint that admits only one clear interpretation of objective facts and the obvious realization that the audience was being brought into “worlds […] not real” (169). The audience readily give themselves up to the “willing suspension of disbelief” to order to feel, and experience, the fictive ( and no matter its veracity, the ekphrasis is always fictive, even when the object is before the audience) world the rhetor carefully creates through word choice and selective description. There’s something potentially deceptive about ekphrasis. And to make a clean breast of it, I’ve bamboozled you, because when I’m writing this, I’m not actually in my cube—I’m flying in a window seat with an orange sunset lighting up the cabin from over the north Pacific Ocean. Even worse, I haven’t even redecorated my research cube—yet. And I’m not sure where I’ll be when I actually record this episode. Right now, the scene I described so convincingly was a bald-faced…phantasia. But I made you a witness with me. Ekphrasis is so immersive that it can be hard to challenge it It’s too bad that we don’t know more about how audiences were trained to read these ekphrasis: the handbook information is wonderful for describing the theory and practice from the rhetor’s side, but what might be the equivalent for readers? How does an audience respond to ekphrasis? Should they be skeptical or allow themselves to be swept away in the description and become willing witnesses? Hey, I don’t have the answer to this question. If you have thoughts on the proper way to respond to the ways that words create worlds, drop us a line a mererhetoricpodcast@gmail.com? Until then, I’ll be enjoying my nicely redecorated research cube. Maybe.
Hugh Blair Welcome to MR. Rebroadcast note Today in honor of Scotland voting to stick with the rest of the United Kingdom, we’re going to talk about Hugh Blair. That’s right-- a Scottish rhetorician to honor the Scottish referendum. Hugh Blair was a bit of a rising star. He was a Presbyterian clergyman, but the top of the top of Scottish clergymen, eventually getting the High Church of St. Giles: the highest honor for the men of the cloth in Scotland. Once you’ve peaked out in divinity, what do you do? Well, if you’re Hugh Blair, you begin teaching about literature and writing. Originally, he taught pro bono, as a way to stave off the boredom of dominating Presbyterian clergy, but his classes became increasingly popular and the king gave him the Regius Chair of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres. Which King? King George the III, the same one who lost the Colonies. So when you think about Hugh Blair, put him in context with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. So King George lost a hemisphere and gained a rhetoric professor, and what a rhetoric professor he gained. Think of the title. Chair of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres. Rhetoric, as listeners of this podcast, you know, but what’s Belles Lettres? Belles Lettres means beautiful or fine writing, so all of literature—poetry, drama, fiction. These were considered similar enough to rhetoric so that one chair might have both responsibilities. Blair’s classes were so popular that anyone who was lucky enough to sit in on them could take notes and then redistribute or sell them to others. But if you’ve ever gotten notes from someone in class, then you know that there can be a big different between what the teacher said and what got written down. This bothered Hugh Blair, so he decided to set his lectures down on paper and compile them into a book. This book was given the incredibly clever title Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres. The lectures are not particularly novel: Blair draws a lot on Quintilian, whom he loved, as well as contemporary theorists about writing, like the newspaperman Joseph Addison. A lot of what Blair sounds really familiar to us, for reasons I’ll discuss in a minute. Blair states that “to be truly eloquent, is to speak to the purpose” and “whatever […] the subject be, there is room for eloquence” (234). That means that you don’t have to wait for a noble subject to speak noble words. It’s more important, Blair suggests, that you pay attention to why you are speaking, to the rhetorical situation and then adapt what you say to fit the situation. It’s also important to be sincere: “Nature teaches every man to be eloquent, when he is much in earnest” (235). Language should be simple (naïve) in construction, seemingly natural, avoiding ornament and unaffected (184). This straightforward style is often what Anglo Americans expect when reading everything from newspapers to academic reports.Blair thought that national languages were best for expressing ideas. These means that instead of dropping in tons of Latin or French, you should use good old English, and instead of using the English of Shakespeare or Milton, you should use contemporary English. In short, language should be current and national He defines purity not as referring back to some long-gone golden age, but purity is “use of such words […] as belong to idiom of the language which we speak” (33) propriety depends on relation between the word and “express[ing] the idea which he intends” and “express[ed] fully” (34). So eloquence depends on language that is current and national, natural and sincere. Still, style, according to Blair, “is a field that admits of great latitude [..] Room must be left here for genius” (190). So there’s room for individuality within the boundaries of “good style.” Individuality matters an awful lot in delivery, too: “Let your manner, whatever it is, be your own; neither imitated from another, nor assumed upon some imaginary model, which is unnatural to you” (336). Like many of his time, Blair believed that Invention is beyond the scope of rhetoric—“beyond the power of art to give any real assistance” and “to manage these reason with the most advantage […] is all that rhetoric can pretend to” (316). So the first step for, in Blair’s example, a preacher, is to do research and the first step of research isn’t to go imitate someone else’s ideas but to actually start with “pondering the subject in his own thoughts” (291). Blair also made a distinction between conviction of the brain and persuasion of the will (235). So if I get you to agree that smoking is bad and unhealthily, I can convince you through charts and statistics to the point where you admit smoking is bad, but unless you persuade you in your will to take the steps necessary, you might continue to light up. Convincing gets you to know while persuasion gets you to do. This is, as you might imagine, an important distinction for a preacher. In sum, Blair’s over all argument was that “True eloquence is the art of placing truth in the most advantageous light for conviction and persuasion” (281). None of this sounds revolutionary, does it? Partially this is because Blair pretty much just updated classical sources for contemporary genres of writing, but this is also because Blair’s text was hugely successful. The Lectures on Rhetoric were the most reproduced, imitated and distributed text of its era, and even into the next century…and the next. But it wouldn’t be until the Victorian age that other theorists like Whatley would challenge Blair’s dominance in rhetoric in general and preacher-training in specific. Blair’s Lectures went through over a 130 editions in the next century and its ideas filtered down through textbooks for college students, high school students, even into elementary school readers!. Sound like the upperclass and you’ll be able to smoothly move into the upper class. All that stuff about current & national language? Turns out that there’s a “correct” type of current and national language. They were especially influential in America, where Hugh Blair’s texts were seen as a way that you could rise above your station. So around the same time that America gained its independence from England, Blair was writing his rhetoric that would encourage Americans to unite in a “current and national” language. Even though Scotland voted to remain with the rest of the United Kingdom, Blair helped them, too, to recognize the potential of their own current language. If you want to rise above your station, send us an email. We might not be able to help you but we could take a request for an episode. Email me at mererhetoricpodcast@gmail.com and I’ll do my darnest. Until next time
Welcome to Mere Rhetoric the podcast for beginners and insiders about the people, ideas and movement that have shaped rhetorical history. I’m Mary Hedengren and the University of Texas’ Humanities Media Project supports the podcast and Today we’re doing a podcast on Dionysius of Halicarnassus, not least because it’s so fun to say his name. Some people just have the kind of name that makes you want to say it all out, in full. Say it with me: Dionysius of Halicarnassus. It’s lovely. Fortunately, we’ll lget to say Dionysius of Halicarnassus several times today. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, being of Halicarnassus, was Greek, but he wasn’t one of the 5th century golden age Greek rhetoricians--he lived around 50-6 BC during the Roman empire. Indeed, he studied in Rome and gave lessons there as part of the Greek educational diaspora. Dionysius of Halicarnassus could be seen as a great reconsiler between Roman and Greek thought, or he could be seen as a stoolie for the romans. He wrote of the Romans as the heirs of Greek culture and was always talking up the qualities of the Romans. But he did love Greek rhetoricians. He writes admiringlyof Greek poets like Homer and Sappho of Greek rhetoricians Isocrates and Lysius, and even of Dinarchus, whom most people thought was kind of a lousy rhetor and even Dionysius of Halicarnassus admits was “neither the inventor of an individual style … nor the perfector of styles whcih others had invented” (1). He compiledhis thoughts on rhetoric into a more-or-less treatise known to us rather unimaginatively as the Art of Rhetoric. Not to be confused with all of the other Arts of Rhetoric, but the one by Dionyius of Halicarnasus. In the Art of Rhetoric and On Literary Composition, he offers in-depth analysis of many of the greatest Greek rhetors and rhetoricians, giving long examples in his text. As a matter of fact, much of the fragments we have from folks like Sappho comes from Dionysius of Halicarnassus, because he loved to quote big chunks of text and then go back and describe what was happening in those texts, even down to the level of the sounds of the vowels. that’s the level of analysis you get from dionysius of Halicarnassus. And rather not surprisingly. Dionysius of Halicarnassus cited big chunks of text because he was a firm believer of imitation. Imitation,in this case, wasn’t the same as mimesis. Let me describe the differences: For Aristotle, Mimesis was about looking to nature and imitation from nature. So you see a bowl of grapes, and you get your teeny, tiniest paintbrush and you paint thos grapes so realistically that someone walking by might jam their finger reaching out to grab one. that’s mimesis. Dionysian imitation, though, is about imitating an author. Or authors. So now instead of staring at a bowl of grapes, you might stare at a poem about a bowl of grapes. Pedagogically, you might first emulate the poem, trying to recreate the poem as closely as you can, then adapt the poem, maybe now instead of a poem about grapes you make it a poem about plums. then you might rework and improve the poem, cutting back the long winded parts, or where the original author used a lame analogy or something. But then, in your own work, you continue this process with not just one poem, but dozens of poems, and not just by one author, but by dozens of authors. Through careful reading and analysis, you can identify the styles and methods most appropriate to your situation. This was popular for the Romans and it’s popular with us. If you’re going to write a love poem today, for instance, you might write a sonnet because of the successful love poems of Plutarch and Shakespeare, and you might find yourself using similar kinds of tropes and figures as Plutarch and Shakespeare, cataloging the beauty of your beloved, or comparing them to an animal or flower.this is all Dionysian imitation on your part. The Dionysian imitation caught on in a big way among Latin writers. Quintilian was a fan and included imitation of authors in his own pedagogy. Dionysius of Halicarnassus’ 3-volume treatise, known to us as--surprise--on imitation became a relative best seller. It makes sense considering the politics of greco-roman relations: if the Golden Age rhetors, Isocrates and Lysius, really are teh best, they can serve as models for Roman writers. these Roman writers, though, can exceed the Greek models. Just like how Dionusus of Halicarnassus thought that Romans were the literal descendents of later Greeks, he found a way that their writing could be descended from Greek style. It may sound weird to us to not value originality, but Romans were sort of world-weary, “nothing new to be said” sorts who recognized the long literary precedent of Greek and Egyptian writers. Dionysian imitation could give them a way to feel that they were taking this long history and improving on it. And that meant a lot to them. If you, like Dionysius of Hallicarnassus, have a fun name to say, or if you know of a rhetorician who, like Dionysius of Hallicarnassus, has a fun name to say, why not drop us a line at mererhetoricpodcast@gmail.com? Until next time, Dionysius of Hallicarnassus.
Canons of rhetoric Today we’re going to talk about the canons of rhetoric (sound: boom). That’s silly. The canons of rhetoric (sound: pachabel’s canon). Okay, now this has just devolved into a morning show called something lik Zaph and the Pigman in the Mornings. The canons of rhetoric were the five parts of rhetoric that were emphasized in ancient classical rhetoric. They were canons the same way that people in literary studies might talk about whether Moby Dick or Huck Finn belongs in the canon—as essential to being an educated individual. They were the five elements that every good Roman rhetor had to study and develop as a student and also practice as a public speaker. The five canons are also kind of arranged in the order that you go through in working on a public speech. So without further introduction, here’s the canons: Invention Arrangement Style Memorization Delivery I like to remember these by a mnemonic: I always state my demands, just like I’m a bank robber. But Invention Arrangement Style Memorization Delivery Or, I always state my demands. These canons of rhetoric So let’s go through these 5 quickly: Invention: this one is one of the controversial. There are some villains of rhetoric who will say that rhetoric doesn’t have any business dealing with invention. Soctrates, sometimes, is in this camp, saying invention, or coming up with what to say, is the business of philosophy. Or Francis Bacon who will say that you just need to figure out a tree of possibilities and don’t trust rhetoric, which is slippery with telling you how to get at knowledge. It’s true that invention wasn’t always anything under the sun and could be sticky. for example, commonplaces were these common…places from which you could argue. So a commonplace is a culturally accepted argument, like that pirates are stinky, could be a starting place to come up with your speech against a stinky person who is accused of being a pirate. Aristotle separated topics of invention into common topics, which work for any type of rhetoric and special topics which have to do with judicial, oratory or forensic speeches. Common topics include things like parts and the whole, compare and contrast, past fact and future fact, things like that. Once you explore the ways to come up with something to say, the next step in arrangement. Arrangement is how you set up the argument. In Plato’s Pheadrus, which we’ve talked a bout in an earlier podcast, Socrates argues that a speech should have a head, a body and a conclusion. This is sort of the standard form that many pieces of western rhetoric begin to take Arrangement often took a very specific form in Classical rhetoric: introduction, statement of facts, division of parts, proof, refutation of the opponent and then conclusion. Okay, once you have your argument and you’ve arranged it the next step is to write the actual words. What Style are you going to use? Although Hermogenes described many types of style, generally in Roman rhetoric there were 3 types Roman Levels of Style English Term Latin Names Greek Name Rhetorical Purpose High Style or Grand Style supra, magniloquens adros to move Middle Style aequabile, mediocre mesos to please Low or Plain Style infinum, humile ischnos to teach Every thing as style. Style isn’t something you add on because even plain style is a type of style Memory and delivery were really important to classical rhetoricians, but these elements of the canon have been downplayed, even as invention has become more important in 21st century rhetoric. Memory was critical for presenting an oral argument in front of a judge or the senate without speech. There were several diff ways of looking t memory: the degree to which a speaker successfully remembers a memorized oration the facility with which a speaker calls upon his memory of apt quotations and thoughts that effectively meet the rhetorical intention an analysis of the methods a speaker uses in order for the message to be retained in the memory of those hearing (mnemonics) assessment of direct appeals to memory or the mention of it or related terms In order to keep up memory, many rhetoricians used mind maps or mind palaces. You might have seen this on the BBC Sherlock: you place different information in a physical location and then imagine yourself walking through that space. For example, maybe in your speech against the supposed pirate you’ll put the things from the introduction, the sunk ships and lost gold, in the front room of a house. Then the statement of facts: the peg leg, the stinkiness, the eye patch, might be on stairs that you step over on your way to the next floor. Then you see the division of the parts of the argument in the bedroom. And so forth as you walk through the space it’s easier to memorize locations of physical things than the order of abstract things, although I’ve lost my keys enough time to know it’s no walk in the park. Delivery is the other thing we don’t really talk about much any more. Again, back in the classical days this was all oral. Cicero and Quintilian emphasize the need for the orator to have big lungs to shout and good posture and hand gesture, stuff we don’t’ even think about in terms of rhetoric. And what about enunciation? Demosthenes the great orator who was able to incite a revolution with his words allegedly suffered from a speech impediment. So he put pebbles in his mouth and learned to speak around them. Through doing something unnecessarily hard he was able to learn to enunciate clearly. Allegedly when he was asked to name the three most important elements in oratory, he replied "Delivery, delivery and delivery! Classical orators were doing this sort of thing all the time. Many writers suggest things like doing to the sea short to shout against the waves or doing gymnastics to improve gesture and posture. So those are the canons of rhetoric. Less dangours than canons of war, less wedding-associated than pachabel’s canons, but vastly important in the anceitn world. It’s funny to think how much rhetoric has changed. For all that we look back at ancent rhetoric to clarify rheteorical theory, we forget how oral a culture it was, and how much traditions and commonplaces figured in. If you have an idea of what the new canons of rhetoric are or how modern rhetoric would look if we recaptured some of the older canons, feel free to email me at mererhetoricpodcast@gmail.com Until next time [canon]
Today we’re doing a podcast on Dionysius of Halicarnassus, not least because it’s so fun to say his name. Some people just have the kind of name that makes you want to say it all out, in full. Say it with me: Dionysius of Halicarnassus. It’s lovely. Fortunately, we’ll lget to say Dionysius of Halicarnassus several times today. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, being of Halicarnassus, was Greek, but he wasn’t one of the 5th century golden age Greek rhetoricians--he lived around 50-6 BC during the Roman empire. Indeed, he studied in Rome and gave lessons there as part of the Greek educational diaspora. Dionysius of Halicarnassus could be seen as a great reconsiler between Roman and Greek thought, or he could be seen as a stoolie for the romans. He wrote of the Romans as the heirs of Greek culture and was always talking up the qualities of the Romans. But he did love Greek rhetoricians. He writes admiringlyof Greek poets like Homer and Sappho of Greek rhetoricians Isocrates and Lysius, and even of Dinarchus, whom most people thought was kind of a lousy rhetor and even Dionysius of Halicarnassus admits was “neither the inventor of an individual style … nor the perfector of styles whcih others had invented” (1). He compiledhis thoughts on rhetoric into a more-or-less treatise known to us rather unimaginatively as the Art of Rhetoric. Not to be confused with all of the other Arts of Rhetoric, but the one by Dionyius of Halicarnasus. In the Art of Rhetoric and On Literary Composition, he offers in-depth analysis of many of the greatest Greek rhetors and rhetoricians, giving long examples in his text. As a matter of fact, much of the fragments we have from folks like Sappho comes from Dionysius of Halicarnassus, because he loved to quote big chunks of text and then go back and describe what was happening in those texts, even down to the level of the sounds of the vowels. that’s the level of analysis you get from dionysius of Halicarnassus. And rather not surprisingly. Dionysius of Halicarnassus cited big chunks of text because he was a firm believer of imitation. Imitation,in this case, wasn’t the same as mimesis. Let me describe the differences: For Aristotle, Mimesis was about looking to nature and imitation from nature. So you see a bowl of grapes, and you get your teeny, tiniest paintbrush and you paint thos grapes so realistically that someone walking by might jam their finger reaching out to grab one. that’s mimesis. Dionysian imitation, though, is about imitating an author. Or authors. So now instead of staring at a bowl of grapes, you might stare at a poem about a bowl of grapes. Pedagogically, you might first emulate the poem, trying to recreate the poem as closely as you can, then adapt the poem, maybe now instead of a poem about grapes you make it a poem about plums. then you might rework and improve the poem, cutting back the long winded parts, or where the original author used a lame analogy or something. But then, in your own work, you continue this process with not just one poem, but dozens of poems, and not just by one author, but by dozens of authors. Through careful reading and analysis, you can identify the styles and methods most appropriate to your situation. This was popular for the Romans and it’s popular with us. If you’re going to write a love poem today, for instance, you might write a sonnet because of the successful love poems of Plutarch and Shakespeare, and you might find yourself using similar kinds of tropes and figures as Plutarch and Shakespeare, cataloging the beauty of your beloved, or comparing them to an animal or flower.this is all Dionysian imitation on your part. The Dionysian imitation caught on in a big way among Latin writers. Quintilian was a fan and included imitation of authors in his own pedagogy. Dionysius of Halicarnassus’ 3-volume treatise, known to us as--surprise--on imitation became a relative best seller. It makes sense considering the politics of greco-roman relations: if the Golden Age rhetors, Isocrates and Lysius, really are teh best, they can serve as models for Roman writers. these Roman writers, though, can exceed the Greek models. Just like how Dionusus of Halicarnassus thought that Romans were the literal descendents of later Greeks, he found a way that their writing could be descended from Greek style. It may sound weird to us to not value originality, but Romans were sort of world-weary, “nothing new to be said” sorts who recognized the long literary precedent of Greek and Egyptian writers. Dionysian imitation could give them a way to feel that they were taking this long history and improving on it. And that meant a lot to them. If you, like Dionysius of Hallicarnassus, have a fun name to say, or if you know of a rhetorician who, like Dionysius of Hallicarnassus, has a fun name to say, why not drop us a line at mererhetoricpodcast@gmail.com? Until next time, Dionysius of Hallicarnassus.
Themistius, Quintilian, Lucian and other authors tell us about the connections between rhetoric and late ancient philosophy
Quintilian on pausing Pacing: Quintilian on pauses in Aeneid 1.1–8 (Inst. 11.3.33–38, trans. Russell) Arma virumque cano,/ Troiae qui primus ab oris/ Italiam/ fato profugus/ Lavinaque venit litora,/ multum ille et terris iactatus et alto . . . Albanique patres, atque altae moenia Romae./ Musa, mihi causas memora, quo numine laeso . . . Elisions: […]
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