Rhetoric

In the Nordic countries, rhetoric research has been actively pursued for a quarter of a century. The subject is thus both old and young. As a scientific discipline, it is still in a formative phase. The number of students and scholarly output is steadily increasing. The journal Rhetorica Scandinavica was launched in 1997 and, together with NKRF, the Nordic Rhetoric Conference, is the focal point for Scandinavian rhetoric research. The Nordic Rhetoric Association was founded in 2021 and is planned to become a unifying force for rhetoric activities in the Nordic region, for example for information and initiatives regarding seminars and conferences.

In Sweden, Lund, Uppsala and Örebro offer doctoral programmes in rhetoric. There are about half a dozen doctoral students, and the number of completed PhD theses currently amounts to just over a dozen. Rhetoric research is predominantly qualitative, mainly based on post-war theory, often with the broad rhetorical heritage of antiquity as a sounding board. The field of methodology is broad and includes everything from argumentation, propaganda and topics to visual rhetoric, genre and style.

Rhetoric research differs from other communication subjects mainly in its focus on the interpersonal. Even when we research political rhetoric, advertising or social media communication, the focus is on the sender's means to achieve a desired effect on the recipient. Where strategic communication usually uses the organisation as a frame, we focus on the individual or group based on the appeal between sender and receiver. Where media and communication studies often focuses on the medium, we are more interested in the message's purpose, impact and quality.

The subject of rhetoric has a deep historical vein. The constitutive definitions of rhetoric and central concepts often come from Aristotle and Quintilian. In Rhetoric, Aristotle describes rhetoric from an analytical perspective. After a long period of oblivion, this work has been revived, retranslated, and inspired new insights. Another reassessment concerns the Sophists and ancient rhetoricians' views on education. Using the classics is based on the view that several fundamental features of rhetoric are timeless. A significant part of rhetoric research in Sweden analyses historical texts or applies ancient theories.

Rhetoric research has an ethical and social starting point and offers critical analyses of communication intended to influence. The areas of enquiry are broad, with a focus on contemporary methods. Examples include crisis and campaign communication, analyses of ideological, religious and political advocacy communication, as well as communication challenges in education, climate change and historical conflicts. For most rhetoricians, it is natural to combine different methods, old and new.

The following texts serve as examples of the type of research conducted in rhetoric in Lund:

• Eriksson, Anders. ”Apocalyptic Argumentation. Trump and ISIS.” Journal of Argumentation in Context 12 (2023): 116–34.
• Hietanen, Mika. ”The Sweden Democrats and the Twitterstorm of the Decade – From Social Media to Riot through a Rhetorical Vision.” Res Rhetorica 10, no. 4 (2023), 28–57.
• Sigrell, Anders. ”Att tala är silver att tiga är guld. Om Lennart och lyssnandet”. I Är man två har man alltid en publik. Festskrift till Lennart Hellspong, 35–44. Red. Lisa Källström och Anders Sigrell. Studia Rhetorica Lundensia 7. Lund: Institutionen för kommunikation och medier, Lunds universitet, 2022.
• Lämsä, Joni Wallin. ”I stället för en annan. Minnesplatser och vittnesretorik i Göran Rosenbergs Ett kort uppehåll på vägen från Auschwitz”. Samlaren 143 (2023): 83–103.