Course Description

An introduction to Classical rhetoric, with special attention to Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero.

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Athena Title

Classical Rhetoric

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Equivalent Courses

Not open to students with credit in CLAS 4230W

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Grading System

A - F (Traditional)

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Course Objectives

Students completing this course will have been introduced to significant authors and concepts of argument and persuasion from ancient Greece and Rome. Lecture topics will include the history of rhetoric, the origins of rhetoric, rhetoric versus dialectic, and the role of rhetoric in ancient Greek and Roman culture. The course will be in lecture-discussion format. Students will be graded on the standard A-F grading scale and will provide end-of-course evaluations on the instruction and course content following Classics department course evaluation procedures. Students will engage in critical analysis of the methods, functions, and results of classical rhetoric. Students will produce writing appropriate to the subject of classical rhetoric and to the discipline of classics.

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Topical Outline

I. Introduction to Rhetoric A. Strategies of Argumentation, Present, and Past II. Origins of Rhetoric III. Rhetoric in Greece A. Pre-Socratics B. Plato C. Aristotle IV. Moving From Greece to Rome V. Rhetoric in Roman Culture A. Republican B. Imperial C. Early Christian

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