Seminar on the 'Commonplaces' of Argument

Featured Seminar: Marc van der Poel on "Loci Communes"

This seminar, held concurrently with the RSA Conference and offered in cooperation with the International Society for the History of Rhetoric, will address the meaning, development, and persistence of the "loci communes". the so-called commonplaces of argument and rhetorical construction. in reading, speaking, and writing from classical times through the early modern period, from Aristotle to Vossius.

A leading and prolific classicist and expert on Renaissance rhetoric who served for many years as editor of the massive Erasmus project, Professor van der Poel is currently Professor of Latin and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands. He is well known for his Cornelius Agrippa: The Humanist Theologian and His Declamations, a study based on a reading of the entire correspondence, the surviving orations, declamations, and other relevant treatises of Henry Cornelius Agrippa of Nettesheim.

The seminar will be open to twenty participants, by application. Those accepted commit themselves to read texts suggested by the seminar leader and to attend the three seminar meetings scheduled (90 minutes each) during the RSA conference.

To apply for the"Loci Communes" seminar with Professor Marc van der Poel (in cooperation with the International Society for the History of Rhetoric): You may request a place in this year's seminar by sending an application by email to Professor Lawrence Green (lgreen@usc.edu): include your background, your current interests, and a commitment to attend every scheduled session of the seminar.Participation is limited to twenty. Applications should be submitted by February 1, and notifications will be sent shortly after that date.