The ethics of epideictic rhetoric: Addressing the problem of presence through Derrida's funeral orations

Rhetoric Society Quarterly Jan 2005

The ethics of epideictic rhetoric: Addressing the problem of presence through Derrida's funeral orations

Brooke Rollins University of South Carolina

Abstract

Abstract I identify three modern approaches used to theorize epideictic rhetoric and suggest that each approach has difficulty dealing with the category of presence assigned to the genre by Aristotle. Drawing on Thucydides and, through him, Pericles' funeral oration, I suggest that Jacques Derrida's funeral speeches provide a way of rethinking the epideictic genre's presence as rhetorical ethics. More specifically, I argue that the function of presence in epideictic rhetoric is to provide an ethical interruption, and that Derrida, as one of our most accomplished funeral orators, helps us clarify the category of presence as it is described in Aristotle's and Thucydides' discussions of epideictic oratory.

Journal: Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published: 2005-01-01
DOI: 10.1080/02773940509391301
Open Access: Closed
Topics: rhetorical theory

Citation Context

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Cites in this index (0)

No references match articles in this index.

Also cites 2 works outside this index ↓

10.2307/378414

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Walker Jeffrey (2000)

Rhetoric and Poetics in Antiquity

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