500 Years of Treasures from Oxford is available for touring before and after the talk. Galleries close at 8:00 p.m.
Folger Shakespeare Library
201 East Capitol Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Chris van den Berg specializes in the study of literary and political rhetoric, focusing on Greco-Roman texts. He also studies the history of rhetoric to the present day, and is interested in how the long tradition of European rhetoric helps us to understand contemporary versions. In 2016 he taught a First Year Seminar at Amherst College, "From Cicero to Trump: Political Rhetoric and Public Self-Presentation," which explored the political rhetoric of the 2016 presidential campaign in light of ancient authors.
This talk will consider how Greco-Roman authors such as Aristotle and Cicero can help us to understand the rhetorical innovations, successes, and failures of present-day American political discourse.
500 Years of Treasures from Oxford - Founded 500 years ago in 1517, Corpus Christi College, one of the oldest of the 38 self-governing colleges at the modern University of Oxford, is a repository of extraordinary treasures, few of which have ever been seen by the public. To mark its 500th anniversary, a selection of fifty manuscripts and early printed books from its celebrated Library, ranging in date from the 10th to the 17th centuries, is being brought to America for the first time and may be viewed at the Folger through April 30, 2017. The exhibition is curated by Peter Kidd, Guest Curator, Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and Caroline Duroselle-Melish Curatorial Advisor, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Early Modern Books and Prints, Folger Shakespeare Library. David Bloch '97 who helped to organize the exhibition with them will be available for a guided tour in the gallery after the talk by Professor van den Berg.
Questions? Please contact Amanda Rivera López '93, director of alumni and parent programs, at arlopez93@amherst.edu.