Rhetoric and Rhetorical Studies: The Diversity and Eclecticism of Scholarship

Abstract

Developed in ancient Greece as the verbal art of public delivery, rhetoric has evolved into a widely applied interdisciplinary framework for communication, critique, and knowledge production. This paper serves three primary purposes. First, it introduces rhetoric as a classical art with reference to its foundational definitions, canons, and genres. Second, it discusses rhetorical criticism as a mode of scholarly inquiry, outlining its representative theoretical perspectives and methodological orientations. Third, it highlights the contemporary expansion of rhetorical studies across diverse disciplines within the humanities and social sciences. By tracing rhetoric’s historical evolution and its modern disciplinary proliferation, the article foregrounds the eclectic nature of rhetorical scholarship and underscores its relevance as a critical, interpretive, and communicative practice in contemporary academic and cultural contexts.