Grounded Tradition in a Flexible Present: Eloquentia Perfecta, Multimodal Composing, and Writing for the Greater Good

What is it about?

This chapter explains how the Jesuit rhetorical tradition of eloquentia perfecta (skillful communication in service of the greater good) can be paired with contemporary writing pedagogy to teach ethically grounded multimodal composing for diverse audiences. Drawing on classroom research, it shows how instructors can introduce students to this historical framework, help them locate themselves within it, and then adapt its principles to present-day rhetorical situations and exigencies.

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Photo by The Cleveland Museum of Art on Unsplash

Photo by The Cleveland Museum of Art on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This chapter is timely because it shows how an historically grounded, ethics-centered rhetorical tradition can be meaningfully adapted for the communicative realities of the present, especially as public discourse grows more polarized and less civil across platforms. Readers will gain a practical way to connect multimodal composing to an explicit commitment to the common good, using eloquentia perfecta as a framework for making rhetorically effective choices that are also ethically accountable. In doing so, the chapter demonstrates how contemporary writers can anchor current ethical action in a long tradition of rhetoric, drawing on its resources without treating it as fixed or nostalgic.

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