Adam Smith: The Rhetoric of Propriety (Suny Series, Rhetoric in the Modern Era) [Paperback]

Stephen J McKenna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0791465829 | ISBN-13: 978-0791465820 | Edition: annotated edition

The first book-length treatment of Adam Smith’s rhetorical theory.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Before his famed career as moral philosopher and economist, Adam Smith (1723–1790) was well known for a series of public lectures on rhetoric that he gave in Edinburgh and Glasgow. In this volume, Stephen J. McKenna provides the first book-length treatment of Smith’s rhetorical theory, focusing on his theory of rhetorical propriety—the means by which effective communication is adapted to the variables of subject, audience, speaker or writer, purpose, and moment—and the centrality of this concept to his thought. McKenna shows that Smith’s contribution to the theory of rhetorical propriety offers insights into the interdisciplinarity of rhetoric, particularly its relation to ethics, and has practical implications for the ways we conceive of and conduct rhetorical discourse and education today.

"Through McKenna’s broad consideration of Smith’s entire corpus, he develops a strong reading of a man who deserves more attention than he has received from scholars of rhetoric. The book will be of great importance to scholars of the history of rhetoric and of eighteenth-century studies." — S. Michael Halloran, coeditor of Hugh Blair’s Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres

"This topic is relevant to the history of rhetorical thought and practice, and in McKenna’s hands, Smith becomes relevant to the study of current rhetorical practices, educational theories, and civic rhetoric/public literacy. An engaging book." — Lynée Lewis Gaillet, editor of Scottish Rhetoric and Its Influences --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Stephen J. McKenna is Associate Professor of English and Media Studies and Director of The Rhetoric Program at The Catholic University of America. He is the coeditor (with Lewis Copeland and Lawrence W. Lamm) of The World’s Great Speeches: 292 Speeches from Pericles to Nelson Mandela, Fourth Enlarged Edition. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press; annotated edition edition (October 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791465829
• ISBN-13: 978-0791465820
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,579,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.