Advances in the History of Rhetoric Jan 2005

Cradle of Public Discourse: Bowdoin College Public and Literary Society Exercises (1820–1845)

Beth L. Hewett Kairos (United States)

Abstract

Abstract A case study of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, can inform nineteenth-century North American rhetorical history by exposing the interplay of rhetorical theory and practice in an educational setting during the antebellum period. Evidence of this interplay emerges in the subject matter of students' quarterly exhibition and commencement orations and of their literary society presentations from 1823 to 1845. When considered as a curricular whole, this evidence suggests a symbiotic relationship between the primarily moralistic and belletristic discourse favored by the college's curriculum and the more broadly civic judicial and deliberative discourse favored by its literary societies.

Journal
Advances in the History of Rhetoric
Published
2005-01-01
DOI
10.1080/15362426.2005.10557248
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis archival research qualitative research public rhetoric
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (40) · 4 in this index

  1. Adams (1810)
    Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory.
  3. Bacon et al. (2000)
    Reinventing the master's tools: Nineteenth‐century African‐American literary so…
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  4. (1991)
    Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature.
  5. Berlin (1984)
    Writing Instruction in Nineteenth-Century American Colleges.
Show all 40 →
  1. Blair (1784)
    Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres. Philadelphia: Robert Aitken. Rtp. (in part).
  2. Campbell ([1776] 1850)
    The Philosophy of Rhetoric.,
  3. (1823)
    Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Bowdoin College and the Medical School of Maine…
  4. Channing (1968)
    Lectures Read to the Seniors in Harvard College.
  5. Clark (1993)
    “Introduction.”.
  6. Crowley (1990)
    The Methodical Memory: Invention in Current-Traditional Rhetoric.
  7. Gere (1987)
    Writing Groups: History, Theory, and Implications.
  8. Halloran (1990)
    “From Rhetoric to Composition: The Teaching of Writing in America to 1900.”.
  9. Harding (1965)
    “Editor's Introduction.”.
  10. Beth
    “Nineteenth-Century Commencement Orations at Bowdoin College: American Praxis in Development.”
  11. Beth (1997)
    “Samuel P. Newman's A Practical System of Rhetoric. An American Cousin of Scottish Rhetor…
  12. Beth (1997)
    “Samuel P. Newman's A Practical System of Rhetoric: The Evolution of A Method.”
    Advances in the History of Rhetoric
  13. Johnson (1991)
    Nineteenth-Century Rhetoric in North America.
  14. Kitzhaber (1990 [1953])
    Rhetoric in American Colleges, 1850–1900.
  15. Kremers (1983)
    “The Practical Rhetoric of Samuel P. Newman.”
  16. Kremers (1983)
    Samuel Newman and the reduction of rhetoric in the early nineteenth‐century Ame…
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  17. Kunitz (1938)
    “Newman, Samuel Phillips.”.
  18. Moss (1996)
    “Discordant Consensus”: Old and New Rhetoric at Trinity College, Dublin
    Rhetorica
  19. Murray (1795)
    English Grammar, Adapted to the Different Classes of Learners. With an Appendix, Containi…
  20. Newman (1826)
    “Address Delivered Before the Benevolent Society of Bowdoin College.”
  21. Newman (1827)
    A Practical System of Rhetoric, Or, The Principles and Rules of Style: Inferred from Exam…
  22. Newman (1834)
    A Practical System of Rhetoric, Or, The Principles and Rules of Style, Inferred from Exam…
  23. Newman (1843)
    A Practical System of Rhetoric, Or, The Principles and Rules of Style, Inferred from Exam…
  24. Oravec (1986)
    The Democratic Critics: An Alternative American Rhetorical Tradition of the Nin…
    Rhetorica
  26. Peucinian Society: (1954)
    “The Literary Society.”.
  27. Stewart (1990)
    “The 19th Century.”.
  28. Stewart (1948)
    Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Biography.
  29. Thompson (1938)
    Young Longfellow: 1807–1843.
  30. (1823)
    Votes of the Executive Government.
  31. (1831–1870)
    Votes of the Executive Government.
  32. Weidner
    “Members of Literary Societies are Exempt from Rhetorical Exercises: Claiming Literary So…
  33. Welsh
    “Popular Periodicals and Rhetoric and Composition Textbooks in the Nineteenth Century: A …
  34. Whately ([1828] 1846)
    Elements of Rhetoric: Comprising an Analysis of the Laws of Moral Evidence and of Persuas…
  35. Witherspoon (1810)
    Lectures on Moral Philosophy, and Eloquence.,
CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Philosophy & Rhetoric Jun 2012
    Introduction ↗
    Stephen Howard Browne
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis writing pedagogy revision argument archival research qualitative research race and writing gender and writing public rhetoric editorial matter
  2. Philosophy & Rhetoric Sep 2024
    Where’s the Rhetoric? Imagining a Unified Field ↗
    Joshua Hanan
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism composition theory genre theory discourse analysis cultural rhetorics argument qualitative research quantitative research digital rhetoric social media grammar and mechanics gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric affect and writing body and rhetoric editorial matter
  3. Rhetoric & Public Affairs Sep 2023
    Rhetoric of Democracy in the Americas ↗
    José G. Izaguirre
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis decolonial rhetorics graduate education qualitative research race and writing public rhetoric book reviews
  4. Rhetoric & Public Affairs Mar 2022
    The Discourse of Propaganda: Case Studies from the Persian Gulf War and the War on Terror ↗
    Yishan Wang
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis writing pedagogy graduate education qualitative research multimodality public rhetoric
  5. Pedagogy Jan 2022
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis african american rhetorics decolonial rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing writing across the curriculum graduate education teacher development argument collaborative writing transfer assessment portfolios writing program administration writing centers peer tutoring technical communication professional writing archival research digital rhetoric social media grammar and mechanics literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric community literacy literary studies editorial matter