Long convinced that the subjects of rhetoric and philosophy need not be mortal enemies, James Crosswhite, an associate professor of English at the UO, set out to create peace between the two disciplines and move them forward.

In “Deep Rhetoric” (2013, The University of Chicago Press), Crosswhite writes that although their opposition is historical, one need not take sides.

“The controversy with philosophy is internal to rhetoric; it is part of what rhetoric is," he says. "This ability to host controversy is in fact one of the most important and valuable things about rhetoric.”

Whereas the term “rhetoric” has come to have negative connotations, Crosswhite says that rhetoric is not a debased kind of communication. “It is the reality of all communication,” he says.

Through the process of reasoned analysis, people can learn to communicate their perspectives to others and receive others’ points of view in an open, nonviolent way. As our society becomes more global, Crosswhite believes rhetoric will help broaden understanding among people and allow individuals to make wise choices.

Considering the study of rhetoric in academia, Crosswhite says in a changing world, students will have to adapt. “They will need to innovate and solve problems and not simply apply skills and knowledge based on previous learning," he says. "An important dimension of their lives and societies will be rhetoric itself: the economic and social power of sound deliberation and reasoning that leads to the best choices.”

In “Deep Rhetoric,” Crosswhite aims to renew the understanding of rhetoric by reconstructing its concept  – “its status as a discipline, its research interests and its ability to generate the goals and processes of a liberal arts education.”

Crosswhite believes this renewed concept of rhetoric “provides a new approach to the human capabilities that are essential for living and working and participating in roughly free and democratic societies.”

At the UO, Crosswhite says many of these ideas have been put to work in an interdisciplinary minor in writing, speaking and critical reasoning.

“We have barely advertised, yet most of our courses this term are full, and the students are from many different majors,” he says. “The minor is a small start, but it’s a whole-hearted contribution to the renewal of the liberal arts curriculum.”

-Aria Seligmann, UO Office of Stategic Communications