Our Next Event

Language and Nation-Building in Early English Rhetorics

Colette Moore, Assistant Professor

Friday, May 14 @ 3:30 PM / Communications Bldg 226

The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw a proliferation of rhetorical texts written in English. These texts present an "anglicization" not merely of the words of classical rhetorics, but of their tools and objects as well: an attempt to gain recognition for English as a language suitable for poetry and for its analysis. The Early Modern impulse to codify and organize English was reflected in a self-conscious approach to literary language: these rhetorics were designed to develop and classify literary usage. Literary texts and their analytic tools contributed to English nation-building efforts during the 16th and 17th centuries; efforts to develop a language of literature sought to legitimize English as a medium for artistic expression. The choice of English as a language for learning and literature in the Early Modern period then becomes a point of national pride cast as a rejection of "bondage" to classical languages.

For a listing of our past events, please visit our archive.

Call for Papers

In addition to the above, the Language and Rhetoric Colloquium is sponsoring a series of student and faculty talks on the theme, "Rhetoric in the Strangest Places." If you would like to participate in this series, please contact us with your pitch!

To get an idea of the kinds of events we have sponsored in the past, please visit our archive.

Give Us Your Ideas!

Informed by our goals, the Language and Rhetoric Colloquium seeks to sponsor both formal and informal events, limited only by the imagination of the people doing them and the needs of the audience attending them. Some examples of programs we welcome are:

If you have an idea for an event, please let us know!