Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
KISO Akiko OSAKA UNIVERSITY, PROFESSOR EMERITAS, 名誉教授 (10088015)
KITANO Masahiro GUNMA PREFECTURAL WOMEN'S UNIVERSTY, FACULTY OF LETTERS, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, 文学部, 助教授 (80195271)
YOSHITAKE Sumio NAGOYA UNIVERSITY, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF LETTERS, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, 文学研究科, 助教授 (70254729)
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Research Abstract |
The purpose of our project is to clarify the dynamism of verbal communication with a view to persuasion engineered by the speaker's art of rhetoric in Athens of the fourth century B.C. focusing on the speeches of Demosthenes, the first and foremost orator of the time and also to trace the continuity of his oratory into our contemporary world. Kitajima, the head investigator, supervised the critical inspection of the latest editions of standard texts in comparison with some of the oldest manuscripts. She also expounded how the so-called enthymema, a type of logic peculiar to the art of rhetoric, was utilized effectively by Demosthenes in producing persuasion. Part of her work was presented in introduction to one of the forensic speeches recently translated and published. Yoshitake, one of our investigators, directed his attention to persuasion in Greek tragedy and read a paper in an international conference. He also proposed to evaluate Demosthenes' 60th Speech as a land-mark in Greek funeral oration with its logical and structural distinction. Kitano reviewed the early history of the rhetorical term diegesis, one of the essential elements to produce persuasion in oratory, and its relationship with two other important elements, plausibility and character. Kiso illustrated, from the view points of reception theory, Demosthenes extensive influence on Roman oratory Sugiyama, the cooperator, analyzed the so-called stasis theory of forensic speeches of Hermogenes and indicated how dynamically his system was organized so as to work as a practical handbook. Kitano and Sugiyama contributed notes to the Proceedings from the discussion held on the problems in the transmission of Demosthenes' manuscripts. The project has enabled us to acquire new perspectives in the study of rhetoric and will certainly benefit others interested in this comparatively unexplored field.
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