Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts

Friday, November 13, 2009

A Companion to Roman Rhetoric by William Dominik and Jon hall




In this authoritative Companion of specially commissioned studies, 31 scholars from nine countries have combined to produce a survey of Roman rhetoric that explores its wide-ranging cultural importance. The contributors include not only internationally recognized figures with established reputations in the field of Roman rhetoric but also emerging scholars with fresh perspectives on the discipline. Among the topics covered by A Companion to Roman Rhetoric are the evolution of Roman rhetoric from its origins to the Renaissance; rhetoricrsquo;s role in the education and acculturation of the elite; the seminal importance of rhetoric in statesmanship and politics; the relationship between rhetoric and social identity; the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of rhetoric; the dynamics of oratorical performance; and rhetoricrsquo;s interaction with the major genres and figures of Roman literature. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
This authoritative Companion of specially commissioned studies, 31 scholars from nine countries have combined to produce a survey of Roman rhetoric that explores its wide-ranging cultural importance. The contributors include not only internationally recognized figures with established reputations in the field of Roman rhetoric but also emerging scholars with fresh perspectives on the discipline.

Among the topics covered by A Companion to Roman Rhetoric are the evolution of Roman rhetoric from its origins to the Renaissance; rhetoric’s role in education and acculturation; the seminal importance of rhetoric in statesmanship and politics; the relationship between rhetoric and social identity; the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of rhetoric; the dynamics of rhetoric performance; and rhetoric’s interaction with the major genres and figures of Roman literature.

This Companion will be valuable to a wide readership including undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars in Roman culture, as well as scholars in adjacent disciplines seeking an accessible introduction to Roman rhetoric. All Greek and Latin passages are translated. The volume complements A Companion to Greek Rhetoric published in the Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World series.
William Dominik is Professor of Classics at the University of Otago. He is a contributor to A Companion to Ancient Epic (2005) and A Companion to the Classical Tradition (2006). He has also published numerous books, chapters, and articles on Roman literature and other topics.

Jon Hall is Senior Lecturer in Classics at the University of Otago. He is the author of numerous articles and chapters on Cicero’s oratory and rhetorical treatises. He has also completed a book on Cicero’s correspondence.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Robert Harris' second novel about Cicero due this month


I noticed with excitement that "Conspirata", Robert Harris' second novel about the career of famous Roman politician Marcus Tullius Cicero is due out this month. I also see that it will be available on audio CD so hopefully I'll be able to get the audio version up on audible.com as well.

All I could find out about the plot was this rather generic blurb up on the Audio Editions website (Amazon, surprisingly, had nothing but a note that it was not yet available):

"Cicero returns to continue his quest for supreme power in the state of Rome. Amid treachery, vengeance, violence, and treason, he finally reaches the summit of all his ambitions: he becomes the world's first professional politician, using his compassion and cunning to overcome all obstacles. By the author of Imperium."

I'll have to be sure to email my son about it. He surprised me recently in a phone call telling me how much he enjoyed "Imperium". He's not normally a fan of historical fiction (he, himself, writes sci-fi) so I'm not quite sure what prompted him to read it except curiousity about what could be prompting his mother's fanatical obsession with the Roman Empire