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Rhetoric in Central and South America




This article presents an overview of recent rhetorical studies by scholars from universities in Central and South America, where there is a renewed interest in this field. Generally, rhetorical studies in Central and South America are concerned with the main theoretical notions of literary criticism in antiquity; the application of such notions to the analysis of Greek and Roman classical texts; the influence of classical rhetoric on Latin American thought and literature from the discovery of the New World; and discourse analysis, especially according to modern linguistic theories.

Central American scholars have recently pursued ancient literary theory and documented its influence on historical and contemporary discourse. For instance, Campuzano (1980) has explored pre-Platonic poetics, and Sparisci Loviselli (2003) has addressed the relation of classical rhetoric to Costa Rican oratory. Critical analysis of contemporary rhetorical discourse is also represented; typical of this scholarship is Alvarez’s assessment of the oratory of Jose Marti.




Within South America, perhaps the most extensive body of rhetorical studies relates to principles of ancient rhetoric and literary theory. Among these studies, Chichi (2002) has identified and investigated the functions of rhetorical and dialectical resources for refutation in Aristotelian and Platonic texts and their Hellenistic receptions, and Santa Cruz (2003) has examined aspects of rhetoric in Plato. Additionally, a number of scholars have offered surveys of ancient rhetorical theory or literary theory.

Rhetorical studies have also addressed historical and contemporary discourse from the perspective of ancient rhetoric and literary theory. Considerable research has been motivated by the relationship between oratory and other literary genres, especially tragedy (Gastaldi & Gambon 2006). Other studies have interrogated the relationship between rhetoric and political life (Paglialunga 2004), religion (Hansen 2003), education (Pereira 2005), and constructions of the New World (Nava Contreras 2006).

Finally, some studies have applied rhetoric to the problem of discourse composition, particularly in light of contemporary theories of linguistics. For example Narvaja de Arnoux (2001) investigates the role of grammar and style in the writing process, while Dietrich (2003) offers a theoretical-methodological basis for the rhetorical analysis of discourse and the integration of rhetoric, communication, and teaching of languages.

References:

  1. Campuzano, L. (1980). Breve esbozo de poética preplatónica: Con antología de fragmentos y testimonios. Havana: Arte y Literatura.
  2. Chichi, G. M. (2002). Argumentum ad hominem in Aristotelian rhetoric. Méthexis, 15, 29–43.
  3. Dietrich, I. (2003). Lingüística e jornalismo: Dos sentidos à argumentação. Cascavel: Edunioeste.
  4. Gastaldi, V., & Gambon, L. (2006). Sophism and Greek theater. Baha Blanca: EdiUns.
  5. Hansen, J. A. (2003). Vieira e os estilos cultos: Ut theologia rhetorica. Rivista di Studi Portoghesi e Brasiliani, 4, 47–65.
  6. Narvaja de Arnoux, E. (2001). Orden gramatical y estilo en las Artes de Escribir. In G. Parodi (ed.), Lingüística e interdisciplinariedad: Desafios para el nuevo milenio. Homenaje a Marianne Peronard. Valparaíso: Editorial Universitaria de Valparaíso.
  7. Nava Contreras, M. (2006). La curiosidad compartida: Estategias de la descripción de laNaturaleza en los historiadores antiguos y la crónica de Indias. Caracas: Academia Nacional de la Historia.
  8. Paglialunga, E. (2004). Lógos poético y lógos político. In A. M. González de Tobia (ed.), Ética y estética: De Grecia a la modernidad. La Plata: Centro de Estudios de Lenguas Clásicas, Área Filología Griega, Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación de la Universidad Nacional de la Plata, pp. 269–284.
  9. Pereira, M. A. (2005). Quintiliano gramático: O papel do mestre de gramática na institutio oratoria, 2nd edn. São Paulo: Associação Editorial Humanitas.
  10. Santa Cruz, M. I. (2003). Sobre el empleo de pístis y empeiría en Platón. Apuntes Filosóficos, 22, 39–47.
  11. Scabuzzo, S., Gastaldi, V., & Gambón, L. (1998). El discurso judicial en la tragedia de Sofocles. Bahía Blanca: EDIUNS (Editorial of the Universidad del Sur).
  12. Sparisci Loviselli, L. (2003). Tradición clásica en Costa Rica: La retórica clásica en la oratoria costarricense. In G. Grammatico Amari, A. Arbea Gavilán, & L. M. Edwards (eds.) América Latina y lo clásico, 2 vols. Santiago de Chile: Sociedad Chilena de Estudios Clásicos, vol. 1, pp. 275–287.