Orality, Literacy, and the Birth of Rhetoric
Dr. Richard L. Enos, expert on classical rhetoric, shares some of his insights on the historical moment in antiquity where rhetoric was conceived as a discipline. The innovation of the alphabet gave a larger portion of society easy access to tools for abstract thought, leading to fundamental changes in society. Dr. Enos traces how the ancient traditions of oral histories and memorization techniques laid the foundations for modern poetry, literature, and rhetoric.