Quick Facts
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Herbert Wichelns (December 29, 1894 — March 4, 1973) was an American rhetorician.
Personal life
Wichelns grew up in New York attending Boys’ High School, in Brooklyn.He attended college at Cornell University.Wichelns was awarded an A.B. degree in 1916 and a Ph.D in 1922.He was a second lieutenant in the US Army during the World War 1.
University career
He taught at Dartmouth College from 1920-1921 and New York University in 1922.After that he became an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh in 1923-24. After that he returned to Cornell as an assistant professor until 1931, when he became a full professor Cornell and retired in 1962.
Rhetoric
Herbert Wichelns addressed Neo-Aristotelianism in his work “The Literary Criticism of Oratory.” Wichelns focused on discovering criticism through rhetoric.He developed the study of the single speaker.Wichelns judged a rhetorician in terms of preparation, main ideas, credibility, personality, audience and other factors.His piece, “Historical Studies of Rhetoric and Rhetorician is considered the most influential study in the field of speech.Wichelns turned students into scholars and teachers in modern rhetorical theory and criticism.
Recognition
He shared an award with James A. Winans, also a Cornell professor for scholarship published by NCA members.
Published works
- A History of the Speech Association of the Eastern States 1909-1959 (1969)
- James Albert Winans, 1872-1956 (1957)
- Colleague and Scholar(1955)
- Burke’s Essay on the Sublime and its Reviewers (1922)
- James Albert Winans (1961)
- Great Teachers of Speech: Wayland Maxfield Parrish: Colleague and Scholar (1955)
- The Literary Criticism of Oratory (1925)
- Analysis and Synthesis in Argumentation (1925)
- Public Speaking and the Dramatic Arts (1959)
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1960)