Chapter 1

The Communication Tradition

If communication is seen as a
game:
Harley

Shands

people,

in cultures, speaking to each other

in the local tongue and following the rules
and regulations of the group, are playing a
great game, the central game of the human
condition.
Trenholm, S. (2011) p.1

We will study Verbal

Nonverbal
Contexts

of communication such as:

Group
Organizational
Public
Mass
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal(Self Talk & Perceptions)
Intercultural

A Brief History of
Rhetoric & Communication Study
Four

periods of study

Classical

Period (500 B.C. A.D. 400)

Medieval Period and the Renaissance (4001600)
Modern Period (1600 1900)
Contemporary Period (1900 present)

Paradigm Shifts
When

studying the history of

communication and the four major
periods of study:

Pay

attention to the paradigm shifts in

each period or the major changes that
affected how we communicate (or study
communication).

Classical Period
500

B. C. to 400 A.D.
Rhetoric the study of communication
Rhetoricians

- teachers of
communication

In

335 B.C. Aristotle founded the lyceum

a place to study rhetoric.

Aristotle - interesting facts Was

a student of the Greek Philosopher

Plato.

Was

a tutor to the young son of Philip of

Macedon who grew up to be
Alexander the Great.

Lyceum interesting facts

No

girls allowed!!

Axiothea

female that studied there by

disguising herself as a man.

Paidagogos

where paid attendants by your

parents so you didnt cut classes!

Aristotle

would teach in the mornings and have

ethical discussions in the afternoon with his
students in the peripatos or shaded
walkways thus called the Peripatetic School.

The science of rhetoric - persuasion

Aristotle

3 means of persuasion

Ethos

persuasion based on the speakers

personal character (ethics) Plain style
Logos persuasion based on words,
wording and logic - Middle style
Pathos persuasion based on emotional
appeal vigorious style
Think

about advertising and political campaigns

Cicero warned of this style

Classical Period
The

Classical Period included debate and the

ability to win arguments

Cicero

was known as the greatest orator.

While

Aristotle was known as the greatest

rhetorician and theorist, he was not the first.

Corax

and Tisias were the first early western

rhetoricians, two Sicilian Greeks.

The study of communication as

prompted by practical problems.
Due

to Sicilys political upheaval from a

tyrannical government to a democratic
constitution.

People

came back and demanded their

land and property prompting legal
problems.

Corax and Tisias contributions

Corax

recognized that the people were

ill-equipped to argue their own cases.

Tisias

studied ways in which speakers

could effectively order their ideas.

Public Speaking influences from the

classical period
Hence,

the art of public speaking emerged

from great Greek orators and philosophers.

Much

of what modern public speaking

instructors teach comes from Greek orators
and philosophers of the Classical period.

Building audience rapport, organizing ideas,

arguing to hostile audiences and delivering a
speech.

Time Period of the classical period

The

classical period ran from the

Athenian democracy through the Roman
Empire and ended with the advent of
Christianity.

Importance of study of
communication to ancient Greece

3 reasons
1.

2.

3.

The Greeks revered the spoken word (oral

was both the main source of informaiton
but also entertainment).
The put a great deal of emphasis on
persuasion and argumentation
They banned professional lawyers
citizens had to have the skills to argue
their own cases

Sophists
Professional

speech teachers that taught

the tricks of persuasive speaking for use
in law courts and assemblies.

Not

always the most ethical.

The five canons of rhetoric

Invention

process of deciding on subject matter

of ones speech and discovery of
information/evidence

Style

- the process of selecting the proper words

to convey a message

Arrangement

- Ways to order ideas effectively.

Memory

- the ability to hold content, style, and

arrangement in ones mind

Delivery

- the speakers presentation in a

natural, varied, and appropriate way

Medieval Period (400-1400) and the

Renaissance (1400-1600)
Rhetorical

study declined after the fall of the

Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity

Period

characterized by the rise to power of

Christian clergy and the decline of pagan
theories of rhetoric.

Goal

was no longer to discover possible truth

through debate but to instruct the faithful in
certain truth.

Medieval and Renaissance (cont)

It

was though that there was a practical

need for training in communication due
to the two most important
communication activities:
1.

Letter Writing
2. Preaching

Letter writing and preaching

Feudal

societies dictated a need to

communicate over long distances
hence, the need for letter writing.

Preaching

was of great importance

because it was the duty of the Christian
clergy to teach the word of God.

Augustine, Christian theorist

Augustine,

a major Christian theorist

argued that it would be foolish for truth
to take its stand unarmed against
falsehood (p. 9)
The armor was: Its not what you say,
but how you say it.
Emphasizing the need for preachers to
know how to deliver messages
effectively.

Goals and signs

Preachers

goal to interpret the word of

God.
Augustine

believed that people

communicated through signs
something that causes something else
to come to mind as a consequence of
itself (p. 9)

Natural and conventional signs

Natural

signs are created by God

Ex. Smoke = fire

Conventional

signs (for example, the spoken

or written word) are arbitrarily created by
humans and interpretation more difficult.
(As we will demonstrate and discuss later, until we
come to shared meaning.)
All symbols are arbritrary until we come to shared
agreement, then they become conventional.
Class example - tight

Communication process according

to Augustine
Augustine

communication - a process
whereby a sender transmits symbols to
a receiver who interprets and acts on
them very close to view of many
modern theorists.

Modern Period 1600 1900

rational science of rhetoric
The

world became more secular and religion

was less influential.

The

rise of the scientific method ideas and

arguments should be empirically ground (by
means of observation)

The

rise of nationalism and democratic forms

of government gave importance to practice of
rhetoric and free speech.

Douglas Ehninger four directions

of rhetorical study
Classical approach - theorists sought
to recover the thoughts of classical
rhetoricians adapting them to modern
times.
2. Psychological / epistemological
approach the relationship between
communication and thought
1.

scientific way of how people influence

one another through speech.

Ehningers four directions of

rhetorical study continued
3.

Belletristical approach - focused on

writing and speaking as art forms
(standards for judging drama, poetry and
oratory)

4.

Elocutionary approach - designed to

elaborate systems of instruction to
improve speakers verbal and
nonverbal presentation

PP. 18-19 in the Workbook are a good resource for this theorist.

Francis Bacon Four Idols

Analysis

of Perceptual bias -Idols = distortions

that get in the way of clear thinking

1.Idols

of the ? fallacies due to human nature

2. Idols of the home - individual prejudices due
to background and personalities
3. Idols of the ? social in nature and center
on imprecise use of language
4. Idols of the fads fallacies that occur when
we accept fashionable ideas uncritically.
Page 15 of your workbook is a good study resource for this theorist .

Rene Descartes & John Locke

Argued

truth could only be obtained

through discourse that was solidly
grounded in rationality.
George Campbell emphasized that the
audience is an active participant in the
persuasive process
The

effective communicator should study

the inner working of the mind (audience)

Contemporary Period 1900

present (Most Current)
New

technologies emerged
Written versus oral use of rhetoric
English versus Communication Departments
of study
Humanity orientation versus Social Science
Researchers and scholars
Source credibility
Effects of gender