Oral and Written Communication: Historical Approaches

The relationship of difference and similarity in oral and written communication is discussed in this volume which reveals the complexity and richness of how meaning has been and continues to be made. This historical study of oral and written expression by international scholars offers eleven essays that range in period, culture and topic. These diverse contributions are grounded in a central concern: how meaning is conceived and created between rhetor and audience within a social context. Each essay examines a unique feature of this communication process and explores persistent characteristics of inquiry that have influenced particular periods.