Society for Classical Studies 157th Annual Meeting
JANUARY 7-10, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO
Call for Papers for Panel Sponsored by the Colloquium for Ancient Rhetoric
Parts and the Whole of Rhetorical Theory
Organized by Irene Peirano Garrison (Harvard), Niek Janssen (Amherst), Laura Viidebaum (NYU)
Since the fourth century BCE, most ancient theorists of rhetoric present the field as made of a different set of subfields that somehow build a unified core around which the art (techne) can grow. Five canons of rhetoric, three genera dicendi, three methods of persuasion (Aristotle’s famous ethos, pathos, logos), the list goes on. The productive afterlives of these feisty fourth century BCE debates in Hellenistic, Roman, Late Antique, and Byzantine contexts see many of the taxonomies challenged and/or elaborated, but the central thesis about rhetoric as made of different foundational elements appears to remain unchallenged. This panel seeks to take a closer look at the different elements that make up the art of rhetoric and how the unified larger structure is supposed to hold the various subfields together. We invite papers that reflect on these questions from the perspective of different authors, texts, themes, or theories across time and space in ancient rhetorical thought. Papers might examine questions and topics such as:
* To what extent does the Athenian conceptualization of rhetoric as consisting of distinct “parts” reflect (or contribute to) wider trends in intellectual history (e.g. in philosophy, law, science)?
* What do taxonomical accounts of rhetoric make visible or obscure as contrasted with more holistic accounts, like Plato’s Phaedrus or Cicero’s Brutus?
*How do works that are structurally organized according to these subfields or parts, such as, for example, Aristotle’s Rhetoric and Quintilian’s Institutio Oratoria, manage the tension between the endless subdivisions of rhetoric and its existence as a unified whole?
* Does rhetorical theory’s emphasis on categories, subfields, and classes lend itself better to descriptive or prescriptive accounts, and how does the tendency in either direction affect our understanding of the art of persuasion?
Please send abstracts of 500 words (excluding bibliography) in PDF format to colloquium.ancientrhetoric@gmail.com with the subject “SCS CfP” by February 25th, 2025. Abstracts should follow the SCS guidelines for individual abstracts (see the SCS Guidelines for Authors of Abstracts).
Please ensure that the abstracts are anonymized.
All submissions will be reviewed anonymously by two peer-reviewers, and their decision will be communicated to the authors of abstracts by March 25th, 2025, with enough time that those whose abstracts are not chosen can participate in the individual abstract submission process for the upcoming SCS meeting.