Rhetoric and Human Understanding

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Inroductory Overview of Rhetoric
Review: This is an outstanding text for gaining an elementary grasp of rhetoric and human understanding of Western Culture. It is a secondary source summarizing the findings of rhetorical scholars covering preliterate societies, through Greece, Rome and the Middle Ages, to Post Modernism. There is even a chapter on some examples of critical voice in rhetorical studies of contemporary issues.

Gill explains complex issues very understandably, and provides nice illustrations to help clarify more difficult concepts. She also does a very nice job of tying together trends and similar issues through the ages, such as how different eras view metaphors, knowledge, reality, etc. . .

What is sacrificed is depth of analysis and exposure to excerpts of the original works themselves. Golden, Berquist and Coleman's Rhetoric of Western Thought does a very good job in this area. But that does not appear to be Gill's intent. Golden, et al is probably a more complete text for those with the time to explore the original works of virtually every movement in western rhetoric. But I use it as one of two books in a course I teach that must cover both rhetorical theories and rhetorical criticism. So I am not able to utilize the more comprehensive texts like Golden, et al.

Gill also does not attempt to go into much depth on rhetorical criticism, merely introducing a few schools of thought. A book on rhetorical criticism such as that by Foss, or Foss, Foss and Trapp also by the same publisher fleshes the criticism scholarship out nicely. But for a nice, understandable summary of basic rhetorical theory that is surroundable in a semester by undergraduates, I would highly recommend Gill's text.