From A.D. 395 to 404, Claudian was the court poet of the Western Roman Empire, ruled by Honorius. In 399 the eunuch Eutropius, the grand chamberlain and power behind the Eastern Roman throne of Honorius's brother Arcadius, became consul. The poem In Eutropium is Claudian's brill…
From high school cafeterias to the floor of Congress, from The Daily Show to every comments section on the internet, insult is a truly universal and ubiquitous cultural practice with a long and earthy history. And yet, this most human of human behaviors has rarely been the subje…
The range of insult -- Terms of abuse: the lexical approach -- Beyond the lexicon -- Non-verbal "terms"--The problem of the intrinsic -- Traditional principles of insult -- Sex, lies, and rhetorical community -- All those nauseous epigrams of Martial -- The domestication of Sir …
Toward a Rhetoric of Insult
From high school cafeterias to the floor of Congress, insult is a universal & ubiquitous cultural practice with a long & earthy history. Viewed through the lens of the study of rhetoric insult is revealed as at once antisocial & crucial for human relations, both divisive and uni…
From high school cafeterias to the floor of Congress, insult is a truly universal and ubiquitous cultural practice with a long and earthy history. Viewed through the lens of the study of rhetoric, insult, Thomas M. Conley argues, is revealed as at once antisocial and crucial for…
From high school cafeterias to the floor of Congress, insult is a truly universal and ubiquitous cultural practice with a long and earthy history. And yet, this most human of human behaviors has rarely been the subject of organized and comprehensive attention--until Toward a Rhe…
"The schoolyard chant "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is not really true. In reality, words have effects, and in the end the popular as well as standard legal distinctions between speech and conduct are as problematic as they are helpful. Ind…