What “Comparative World Rhetorics” Has to Offer Intercultural Communication Studies

Abstract

Due to their common focus on means and modes of communication, the fields of rhetoric and communication studies overlap in many ways. However, many scholars in these separate fields remain relatively unaware of connections and differences between them. One case of parallel, but separate, fields of study are the subfields of comparative rhetoric and intercultural communication studies. Both of these disciplines study communicative practices within various cultures and peoples around the world. This essay describes and explores two Hindu/Indian approaches to logic, rhetoric, and performance, Nyaya and Sadharanikaran, in order to illustrate and discuss the inter-relationship between comparative rhetoric and intercultural communication. This presentation is an expanded version of a keynote address delivered to the 2021 Manipal, India meeting of the International Association of Intercultural Communication Studies.

Keywords

comparative rhetoric / intercultural communication / Nyaya / Sadharanikaran

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