Talking democracy : historical perspectives on rhetoric and democracy

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Talking democracy : historical perspectives on rhetoric and democracy

edited by Benedetto Fontana, Cary J. Nederman, Gary Remer

Pennsylvania State University Press, c2004

  • : cloth
  • : pbk

Available at  / 8 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Contents of Works

  • Introduction : deliberative democracy and the rhetorical turn / Benedetto Fontana, Cary J. Nederman, and Gary Remer
  • Rhetoric and the roots of democratic politics / Benedetto Fontana
  • Democratic deliberation and the historian's trade : the case of Thucydides / Arlene W. Saxonhouse
  • Deliberation versus decision : platonism in contemporary democratic theory / Gary Shiffman
  • Rhetorical democracy / Russell Bentley
  • Cicero and the ethics of deliberative rhetoric / Gary Remer
  • Disarming, simple, and sweet : Augustine's republican rhetoric / John von Heyking
  • The road to heaven is paved with pious deceptions : medieval speech ethics and deliberative democracy / Cary J. Nederman and Tsae Lan Lee Dow
  • Deliberative democracy and the public sphere : answer or anachronism? / Thomas Murphy
  • Auditory democracy : separation of powers and the locations of listening / John Uhr
  • Reading J.S. Mill's The subjection of women as a text of deliberative rhetoric / Nadia Urbinati
  • Criteria of rationality for evaluating democratic public rhetoric / Douglas Walton

Description and Table of Contents

Description

In their efforts to uncover the principles of a robust conception of democracy, theorists of deliberative democracy place a premium on the role of political expression-public speech and reasoned debate-as the key to democratic processes. They also frequently hark back to historical antecedents (as in the Habermasian invocation of the "public sphere" of eighteenth-century bourgeois society and the Arendtian valorization of the classical Athenian polis) in their quest to establish that deliberative procedures are more than "merely theoretical" and instead have a practical application. But for all this emphasis on the discursive and historical dimensions of democracy, these theorists have generally neglected the rich resources available in the history of rhetorical theory and practice. It is the purpose of Talking Democracy to resurrect this history and show how attention to rhetoric can help lead to a better understanding of both the strengths and limitations of current theories of deliberative democracy. Contributors, besides the editors, are Russell Bentley, Tsae Lan Lee Dow, Tom Murphy, Arlene Saxonhouse, Gary Shiffman, John Uhr, Nadia Urbinati, John von Heyking, and Douglas Walton.

Table of Contents

Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Deliberative Democracy and the Rhetorical Turn Benedetto Fontana, Cary J. Nederman, and Gary Remer 1. Rhetoric and the Roots of Democratic Politics Benedetto Fontana 2. Democratic Deliberation and the Historian's Trade: The Case of Thucydides Arlene W. Saxonhouse 3. Deliberation versus Decision: Platonism in Contemporary Democratic Theory Gary Shiffman 4. Rhetorical Democracy Russell Bentley 5. Cicero and the Ethics of Deliberative Rhetoric Gary Remer 6. Disarming, Simple, and Sweet: Augustine's Republican Rhetoric John von Heyking 7. The Road to Heaven Is Paved with Pious Deceptions: Medieval Speech Ethics and Deliberative Democracy Cary J. Nederman and Tsae Lan Lee Dow 8. Deliberative Democracy and the Public Sphere: Answer or Anachronism? Thomas Murphy 9. Auditory Democracy: Separation of Powers and the Locations of Listening John Uhr 10. Reading J. S. Mill's The Subjection of Women as a Text of Deliberative Rhetoric Nadia Urbinati 11. Criteria of Rationality for Evaluating Democratic Public Rhetoric Douglas Walton Contributors Index

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