Into the real world with classical rhetoric
“Rhetoric is the backbone of Liberal Arts and Sciences,” says Patricia Canning, Lecturer in Linguistics at ľϸӰ College Utrecht. This semester, she started a new course in Rhetoric.
“I was already giving a short course in Stylistics, which is effectively contemporary Rhetoric. The ancient Greek mode of persuasion and developing arguments was included in it, to some extent,” explains Patricia.
“In my opinion, it was a pity that we were not paying more attention to the classical virtues of oratory. In today’s world, the art of persuasion is needed in almost any profession, from lawyers to marketing professionals. It is no less relevant to academics who have to learn to make a case and argue it well. Rhetoric is virtually everywhere. Just look at social media influencers, for example.”
Systematised art
Well over the midterm break, the course has been well received by the students. In fact, this course - open to all students, from juniors to seniors, and with all major subject combinations - was born out of students’ wish to delve deeper in the subject, which is not about persuading alone. The students are introduced to the other components of rhetoric as well.
“It is a systematised art, and a pretty well-codified one at that,” says Patricia with a smile. “But it helps students understand the power of argument, and of language, and how persuasion is fundamental in our daily life. I urge them to analyse all sorts of discourse from song lyrics to their own WhatsApp messages. I want them to go into the real world, where they can apply classical rhetorical skills.”
“They learn to discover the right words at the right moment in the right place, whereby the ‘discovery’ originates both from within themselves and in the outside world. The whole exercise helps them be more conscious of the form and content of discourse.”
“I see this course as complementary to all tracks we teach at ľϸӰ College Utrecht. Rhetoric is fundamental.”
