This colloquium addresses the variety of ways in which emotions are used in \;strategies of persuasion within and between societies\, groups and \;individuals in the ancient world\, considering different strata of society\, \;and diverse media of communication. \;Persuasion may be effected\, for \;example\, by narrative\, explicit exhortation\, or covert manipulation through \;the judicious use of certain words and phrases. \;Emotional strategies can be \;aimed at superiors\, inferiors or one&rsquo\;s equals\; to strangers or friends\; and \;attempted for personal gain or the public good. They can appear in oral \;communications designed to be heard briefly &ndash\; i.e. forensic\, deliberative\, \;epideictic\, hortatory or supplicatory oratory &ndash\; their representations in \;literature\, or in written communications that can be read again and again \;(philosophical treatises\, other literary works\, letters\, inscriptions).
In recent years scholarship on emotive persuasion techniques has focused \;primarily on explicit exhortation to feel a small group of emotions (anger\, \;hatred\, envy\, gratitude\, pity) in Attic forensic oratory\, rhetorical \;techniques as propounded by philosophers (Aristotle\, pseudo-Aristotle\, \;Cicero\, Quintilian)\, and theatrical techniques such as dress\, gesture or \;vocal techniques. The last of these is outside the scope of this \;colloquium\, and we aim to move discussion well beyond the former two.
Contact: Ed.Sanders@rhul.ac.uk \;and \;Matthew.Johncock.2011@live.rhul.ac.uk.