Rhetoric, the power of the word, is a central concern of literary studies and of the humanities in general. What Quintilian termed the science of speaking well, constitutes a fundamental element common of all engagements with texts and linguistic objects, whether in terms of narrative or discursive structures, strategies of persuasion or representation, or cultural and historical perspectives on the use of terms and concepts. Rhetoric could be seen as justifying the existence of academic disciplines: literary studies and the humanities define themselves with reference to rhetoric, and the use of rhetorical patterns and strategies is also a natural condition of the texts and positions they produce. A focus on the linguistic form and composition of thought is a constitutive part of both literary theoretical work and that of its objects. This will be the subject of the summer school “The Rhetoric(s) of Literary Studies.”

Call for Application (Deutsch / English)