Foundations for Sociorhetorical Exploration: A Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity Reader ed. by Vernon K. Robbins, Robert H. Von Thaden Jr., and Bart B. Bruehler

Abstract

Reviewed by: Foundations for Sociorhetorical Exploration: A Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity Reader ed. by Vernon K. Robbins, Robert H. Von Thaden Jr., and Bart B. Bruehler Sean A. Adams vernon k. robbins, robert h. von thaden jr., and bart b. bruehler (eds.), Foundations for Sociorhetorical Exploration: A Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity Reader (Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity 4; Atlanta: SBL Press, 2016). Pp. xxv + 492. $65.95. This volume collects eleven previously published essays and one SBL paper (Berquist), representing intellectual milestones that advanced the analytic capacity of sociorhetorical interpretation and inform current iterations of the approach. According to the editors, these essays have emerged as dominant dialogue partners and so represent the “classic” texts with which students or scholars should be familiar should they desire to employ said interpretive strategy. Following an introductory chapter by the editors, the essays are arranged into five parts, representing major conceptual themes. Part 1, “The Emergence of Sociorhetorical Interpretation” contains “Sociorhetorical Criticism: Mary, Elizabeth, and the Magnificat as a Test Case,” by Vernon K. Robbins. Part 2, “Reworking Rhetoric and Topos” includes “Reworking Aristotle’s Rhetoric,” by George A. Kennedy; “The Aristotelian Topos: Hunting for Novelty,” by Carolyn R. Miller; and “Paul’s Inclusive Language: The Ideological Texture of Romans 1,” by L. Gregory Bloomquist. Part 3, “Cultural Geography and Critical Spatiality” comprises “Theories of Space and Construction of the Ancient World,” by Jon L. Berquist; “Storied Space, or, Ben Sira ‘Tells’ a Temple,” by Claudia V. Camp; and “From This Place: A Theoretical Framework for the Social-Spatial Analysis of Luke,” by Bart B. Bruehler. The essays in part 4, “Metaphor, Conceptual Blending, and Rhetorolects” are “KNOWING IS SEEING: Theories of Metaphor Ancient, Medieval, and Modern,” by Lynn R. Huber; “A Cognitive Turn: Conceptual Blending within a Socio rhetorical Framework,” by Robert H. von Thaden Jr.; and “Conceptual Blending and Early Christian Imagination,” by Vernon K. Robbins. Part 5, “Rhetorolects and Rhetography,” contains “Rhetography: A New Way of Seeing the Familiar Text,” by Vernon K. Robbins, and “Clothes Make the (Wo)Man,” by Roy R. Jeal. Also included are three indexes (primary sources, modern authors, and subjects) and a bibliography, which is helpful, though naturally a bit dated. In the introductory essay, the editors lay out the rationale for the volume and introduce the reader to sociorhetorical interpretation. The authors emphasize that this is an interpretive approach and not a method with a prescribed series of steps. Because of its interdisciplinary nature, sociorhetorical interpretation allows for the multifaceted analysis of texts, which explores the ways that “rhetorolects” (i.e., rhetorical dialects) and “rhetography” (i.e., the constructed picture in the mind of the reader/hearer) are developed by ancient authors in their compositions and the various textures these features develop therein. Similarly, the essays represent examples of good practice but do not exhaust the full range of interpretive options. Indeed, each essay provides a distinctive contribution to the development of sociorhetorical interpretation. Theoretical diversity and methodological diversity are strengths of this approach but are also a challenge to the uninitiated reader, as conceptual frameworks shift from essay to essay. Furthermore, as the texts are reprinted from stand-alone pieces, there is some overlap among certain chapters. The editors of this collection recognize that part of the intended readership will not be familiar with this approach, and so they consciously attempt to make sociorhetorical interpretation more accessible. This is partly accomplished through the inclusion of a glossary of technical terms (pp. xv–xxv) but finds its fuller expression in portions of the introduction [End Page 744] in which the novice is explicitly addressed. These two elements are useful but insufficient for someone without some prior knowledge of sociorhetorical criticism. The second essay of the volume, “Sociorhetorical Criticism: Mary, Elizabeth, and the Magnificat as a Test Case,” by Vernon K. Robbins, is helpful in this regard but is dated, only bringing the reader up to the state of the question in 1994. As a result, if one wanted to use this collection as a class text, it would require supplementary introductory material. An example of such is highlighted in the introduction (e.g., Robbins’s entry “Socio-Rhetorical Criticism” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Biblical...