Rhetorica Jun 2010

Case Studies in Material Rhetoric: Joseph Priestley and Gilbert Austin

Debra Hawhee ; Cory Holding

Abstract

This essay offers “material rhetoric” as a new addition to the usual list of categories used to describe rhetoric in the eighteenth century (neoclassical, belletristic, elocutionary, epistemological/psychological) by examining the material elements of treatises written by Joseph Priestley and Gilbert Austin. Those material elements—namely heat, passion, and impression—are tracked through Priestley and Austin’s scientific writings, thereby positioning their particular strains of material rhetoric as legacies of philosophical chemistry.

Journal
Rhetorica
Published
2010-06-01
DOI
10.1353/rht.2010.0005
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism scientific writing body and rhetoric
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