Thinking beyond Aristotle: The Turn to How in Comparative Rhetoric

Abstract

Any modest attempt in comparative rhetoric to think beyond aristotle and beyond a single culture is enough to reveal Diversity in the use of language to converse, to instruct, and to persuade and in the concepts and theories developed to inform language practices. Since the publication, in 1971, of Robert Oliver'sCommunication and Culture in Ancient India and China, one of the early studies that recognized the need for and benefits of studying non-Euro-American rhetorics, comparative rhetoric has made significant advances as interest in moving beyond Euro-American-centrism in studies of rhetoric steadily grows. Comparative rhetoric, committed to different ways of knowing and speaking and to different forms of inquiry, investigates across time and space communicative practices that frequently originate in noncanonical contexts and are often marginalized, forgotten, or erased altogether. Acting in response to globalization, comparative rhetoric aims to transform dominant rhetorical traditions and paradigms. As an interdisciplinary enterprise, it intersects with cognate studies and theories to challenge the prevailing power imbalances and patterns of knowledge production.