“I tremble with my whole heart”: Cicero on the anxieties of eloquence

Goodman, Rob

doi:10.1177/1474885119843116

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 29 publications

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“…In this context, Cicero began to shift the conception of the orator’s traditional virtus , his courage or manliness, from a quality of dominance to a quality of endurance. The orator could no longer plausibly claim to dominate events, but he could bravely face up to the trials of oratory and the risks of rejection or lost honor that it invited (Goodman 2021). These, in turn, were harms that were bound up with the idea of slavery, “the lowest condition and fortune” (Cicero 1887, 1.13).…”

Section: Slavery and Oratory In The Classical Imaginarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Slavery and Oratory: Frederick Douglass in the History of Rhetoric

Goodman

2023

Am Polit Sci Rev

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The antislavery and antiracist oratory of Frederick Douglass is a powerful case study of the appropriation and transformation of “the master’s tools.” Douglass’s formative exposure to the classical rhetorical tradition is well known—but just as important are the ways in which he subverted it. He did so by developing a categorically new, hybrid role: the orator-slave. Slavery played an important part in the conceptual apparatus of the Ciceronian rhetoric that Douglass absorbed: it conceived of oratory as a willing, temporary submission to the harms that were commonly associated with slavery. An explanation of the force of Douglass’s oratory should begin with his translation of the orator-slave identification from the metaphorical to the literal plane. Drawing on Douglass’s self-education in rhetorical discipline and artifice, an account of the symbolic uses of slavery in classical rhetoric, and Douglass’s own oratory, I reconstruct his claim to embody classical rhetoric in a uniquely vivid way.

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Section: Slavery and Oratory In The Classical Imaginarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Slavery and Oratory: Frederick Douglass in the History of Rhetoric

Goodman

2023

Am Polit Sci Rev

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Preaching to the Choir? Rhetoric and Identity in a Polarized Age

Goodman

Bagg

2022

The Journal of Politics

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How might discourse generate political change? So far, democratic theorists have focused largely on how deliberative exchanges might shift political opinion. Responding to empirical research that casts doubt on the generalizability of deliberative mechanisms outside of carefully designed forums, this essay seeks to broaden the scope of discourse theory by considering speech that addresses participants' identities instead. More specifically, we ask what may be learned about identity-oriented discourse by examining the practice of religious preaching. As we demonstrate, scholars of homiletics-the study of preaching-have identified three core features that support its focus on identity: its unconditionality, its appeal to authoritative texts and traditions, and its diffuse instrumentality. We then ask what each of these features might look like in more straightforwardly political contexts. Finally, we address several normative questions raised by this practice, as a way of exploring the promises and dangers accompanying identity-oriented discourse more generally.

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“I tremble with my whole heart”: Cicero on the anxieties of eloquence

Cited by 2 publications

References 29 publications

Slavery and Oratory: Frederick Douglass in the History of Rhetoric

Slavery and Oratory: Frederick Douglass in the History of Rhetoric

Preaching to the Choir? Rhetoric and Identity in a Polarized Age

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