John Poulakos (born 1948) has worked in the field of rhetoric as a professor and author, contributing to the study of classical rhetoric.
Biography
Poulakos received his MA from
California State University
The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...
, San Jose in 1972 with a thesis "Toward an existential theory of dialogue". PhD in Communications from the
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...
in 1979 with a thesis "Gorgias on rhetoric". Poulakos moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is currently the associate professor of Communication and Rhetoric at the
University of Pittsburgh.
Academic work
At Pittsburgh, Poulakos specializes in classical rhetorical theory, philosophy and rhetoric, and history of rhetoric. His publications have promoted the work and importance of the
Sophist
A sophist ( el, σοφιστής, sophistes) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, and mathematics. They taught ' ...
s in Ancient Greece, who were often overlooked due to Plato's harsh criticism. In 1996, Poulakos was given the Everett Lee Hunt Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric, along with the Winans/Wichelns Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric.
Main themes
Poulakos says that sophistry, as a rhetorical era, has been bogged down by philosophers like Plato, and deserves more respect and contemporary appreciation.
[Poulakos, John. "Toward a Sophistic Definition of Rhetoric." Philosophy & Rhetoric: Penn State University Press 16.1 (1983): 35-48. Print.] Poulakos' main concern is that the importance in sophistic discourse can be broken down into five different points: rhetoric is an art, style can be used as personal expression,
kairos, which is the opportune moment, to prepon, also known as the appropriate moment, and to dynaton, meaning "the possible."
Sophistry has influenced three modern rhetorical practices: the logic of circumstances, the ethic of competition, and the aesthetic of exhibition.
[Poulakos, John. Sophistical Rhetoric in Classical Greece. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, 1995. Print.]
Published books
*''Possibility of Rhetoric's Early Beginnings: : the Van Zelst Lecture in communication, May 14, 1991'' (1991)
*''Sophistical Rhetoric in Classical Greece'' (1997) According to
WorldCat, the book is held in 951 libraries
[ WorldCat author listing]
/ref>
*''Classical Rhetorical Theory'' (1999) Co-writer with Takis Poulakos According to WorldCat, the book is held in 102 libraries
References
External links
Official biography at the University of Pittsburgh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poulakos, John
Living people
American rhetoricians
University of Pennsylvania faculty
San Jose State University alumni
University of Kansas alumni
1948 births