Narrative

Dr. Graff’s current research considers the theories of prose style presented in the rhetorical treatises of ancient Greece and Rome.  He is especially interested in the ways early theories of style reflect or respond to circumstances of oratorical performance and textual production in classical antiquity.  His articles on this subject have appeared in Rhetorica, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, and Advances in the History of Rhetoric.  He has also published essays on evolving historiographies of rhetoric and on the rhetorical theory of Chaim Perelman, and is co-editor of The Viability of the Rhetorical Tradition.

He is a past president of the American Society for the History of Rhetoric (ASHR) and serves as referee for several journals in rhetorical studies. He has held a University of Minnesota McKnight Summer Research Fellowship and been a visiting Senior Associate Member of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece. Dr. Graff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Writing Studies and teaches graduate courses and seminars in Classical Rhetoric, Modern Rhetorical Theory, and Rhetorical Stylistics. He is recipient of the College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences’ (now CFANS) Distinguished Teaching Award.