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6 books match the query 'Orators'

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An Imaginative Whig

Reassessing the Life and Thought of Edmund Burke

Edited & Intro by Ian Crowe

University of Missouri Press, 2005

This collection of essays shifts the focus of scholarly debate away from the themes that have traditionally dominated the study of Edmund Burke. In the past, largely ideology-based or highly textual studies have tended to paint Burke as a “prophet” or “precursor” of movements as diverse as conservatism, political pragmatism, and romanticism. In contrast, these essays address prominent issues in contemporary society—multiculturalism, the impact of postmodern and relativist methodologies, the boundaries of state-church relationships, and religious tolerance in modern societies—by emphasizing Burke’s earlier career and writings and focusing on his position on historiography, moral philosophy, jurisprudence, aesthetics, and philosophical skepticism.

The essays in this collection, written by some of today’s most renowned Burke scholars, will radically challenge our deeply rooted assumptions about Burke, his thought, and his place in the history of Western political philosophy.

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Cicero on Oratory and Orators

Translated by J.S. Watson. Introduction by Ralph A. Micken. Foreword by David Potter. Preface by Richard Leo Enos

Southern Illinois University Press, 1986

Contains Cicero’s De Oratore and Brutus, influential sources over the centuries for ideas on rhetoric and training for public leadership.

The De Oratore, written in 55 B.C., argues that rhetoric is socially significant because states are established and maintained through the leadership of eloquent men.

The three books of dialogues in this volume feature discussions between well-known figures in Roman history, including Lucius Crassus, Marcus Antonius, Quintus Lutatius Catulus, Quintus Marcius Scaevola, Caius Aurelius Cotta, Julius Caesar Strabo Vopicus, and Publius Sulpicus Rufus.

The Brutus continues the theme of the dialogues, giving a history of eminent orators whose performances exemplify the Ciceronian theory that rhetoric finally adds up to leadership.

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Fortune's Favored Child

Raouf Mama

Northwestern University Press, 2014

Raouf Mama is widely beloved by children and adults alike for his books and especially for his African and multicultural storytelling, which incorporates poetry, song, music, and dance.

In Fortune’s Favored Child, the master storyteller tells his own story, beginning in the West African country of Benin. Through a harrowing experience with sickness, an encounter with a clairvoyant traditional healer, and astonishing twists of fortune, the protagonist struggles to uncover his real identity, to get an education, and to make his own way in the world. His journey takes him to the shores of the United States to attend graduate school at the University of Michigan and begin a new chapter in his life.

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Q. Aurelius Symmachus

A Political Biography

Cristiana Sogno

University of Michigan Press, 2010

Symmachus was a brilliant orator, writer, and statesman, often flatly labeled as one of the last pagan senators. Cristiana Sogno offers a reconstruction of the political career of Symmachus through close analysis of his extensive writings, while also proposing a critical reevaluation of his historical importance. In contrast to traditional interpretation, Sogno's study demonstrates that Symmachus was primarily an influential politician, rather than a mere pagan zealot.

By portraying the individual experience of Symmachus, the book sets forth a new approach for interpreting the political aspirations, mentality, and attitudes of Roman senators. The much-studied question of the Christianization of the Western aristocracy has created the illusion of a Christian and a pagan aristocracy rigidly separated from each other. Through her study of Symmachus, Sogno demonstrates the primary importance of politics over religion in the public activity of the late Roman aristocracy. Although the book is specifically addressed to scholars and students of Late Antiquity, it will also be of interest to classicists, ancient historians, and non-specialists who wish to know more about this pivotal period in Roman history.