The Need, Feasibility, and Means of Establishing a Speech Center

According to Tom Shachtman, "the speech of too few people achieves eloquence, and that of the vast majority does not even reach a tolerable level of articulate behavior" (5). Articulate behavior has not always been a rare characteristic; from antiquity through the mid-twentieth century, the study of rhetoric was privileged and considered necessary for a well-rounded education. If today's society is inarticulate, then how can eloquence and articulateness be reintroduced as staples of a successful person in today's society? The answer is easy - through the study of rhetoric. After examining the study of rhetoric from antiquity to the present, I will demonstrate the need for a strong rhetorical education, both Writing Across the Curriculum and Speaking Across the Curriculum (through a Speech Center) programs, a dialogic peer/tutor relationship, and a Speech Center that fits the needs of a university, in order to reverse the downward spiral of eloquence in speech.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Year dc:date.available

2005

Author dc:creator

• Irvin, Julie Carter

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Patricia H. Perry

• public speaking
• rhetoric
• eloquence
• curriculum
• syllabus
• Arts and Humanities
• English Language and Literature

Statement dc:rights

• © The Author

Identifier

https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1115

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-2114