Global rhetorical studies

Global rhetorical studies, also known as comparative world rhetorics, or transnational rhetoric, is an interdisciplinary field examining rhetoric and persuasive practices across diverse cultures, languages, historical periods, and geopolitical contexts. It seeks to move beyond the traditional Euro-American rhetorical canon, focusing instead on a pluralistic, comparative, and often decolonial orientation to understanding how different societies conceptualize and engage in rhetorical activity.

Scope

Global rhetorical studies encompasses comparative rhetoric, transnational and decolonial approaches, digital rhetoric in global contexts, feminist transnational rhetoric, and rhetoric of science and technology worldwide. A common objective of global rhetorical studies is to transcend dominant Western perspectives and recover marginalized rhetorical traditions.^[1]^[2]^[3]

History

Global rhetorical studies grew out of comparative rhetorical approaches such as Robert T. Oliver’s examination of ancient Indian and Chinese rhetoric in 1971^[4] and George A. Kennedy’s cross-cultural surveys in 1998.^[5] Although both scholars would later be criticized for re-inscribing western paradigms and promoting east/west binaries through their comparative work across cultures, they are generally recognized as influential to the field's beginnings.^[6]

References

^ Wu, Hui; Graban, Tarez Samra, eds. (2023). Global rhetorical traditions. Lauer series in rhetoric and composition. Anderson, South Carolina: Parlor Press. ISBN 978-1-64317-335-1.
^ Stroud, Scott R. (2023-07-03). "Global Rhetorical Traditions: edited by Hui Wu and Tarez Samra Graban, Anderson, SC: Parlor Press, 2022, $59.99 (paperback)". Quarterly Journal of Speech. 109 (3): 298–301. doi:10.1080/00335630.2023.2230728. ISSN 0033-5630.
^ Lloyd, Keith, ed. (2021). The Routledge handbook of comparative world rhetorics: studies in the history, application, and teaching of rhetoric beyond traditional Greco-Roman contexts. Routledge handbooks. New York, NY London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-367-49077-5.
^ Oliver, Robert T. (1971). Communication and culture in ancient China and India. New York: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-0082-4.
^ Kennedy, George Alexander (1998). Comparative rhetoric: an historical and cross-cultural introduction. New York, NY: Oxford Univ. Pr. ISBN 978-0-19-510933-7.
^ "Globalized World, Globalized Composition: In Praise of Comparative Cross-Cultural Rhetoric • Locutorium". Locutorium. Retrieved 2025-06-27.

[1] Wu, Hui; Graban, Tarez Samra, eds. (2023). Global rhetorical traditions. Lauer series in rhetoric and composition. Anderson, South Carolina: Parlor Press. ISBN 978-1-64317-335-1.

[2] Stroud, Scott R. (2023-07-03). "Global Rhetorical Traditions: edited by Hui Wu and Tarez Samra Graban, Anderson, SC: Parlor Press, 2022, $59.99 (paperback)". Quarterly Journal of Speech. 109 (3): 298–301. doi:10.1080/00335630.2023.2230728. ISSN 0033-5630.

[3] Lloyd, Keith, ed. (2021). The Routledge handbook of comparative world rhetorics: studies in the history, application, and teaching of rhetoric beyond traditional Greco-Roman contexts. Routledge handbooks. New York, NY London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-367-49077-5.

[4] Oliver, Robert T. (1971). Communication and culture in ancient China and India. New York: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-0082-4.

[5] Kennedy, George Alexander (1998). Comparative rhetoric: an historical and cross-cultural introduction. New York, NY: Oxford Univ. Pr. ISBN 978-0-19-510933-7.

[6] "Globalized World, Globalized Composition: In Praise of Comparative Cross-Cultural Rhetoric • Locutorium". Locutorium. Retrieved 2025-06-27.

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