Date of Award
Spring 2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
Committee Chairperson
Amy Anderson, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Eleanor Shevlin, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Justin Rademaekers, Ph.D.
Abstract
The term “mnemotechnics” has been misinterpreted by scholars due to a lack of a clear and concise definition available for reference. Though there are contemporary scholarship references to mnemotechnics, these references avoid a definition and are often in a context that does not consider how ancient rhetoricians utilized the practice. Without a concise and unified definition, the term mnemotechnics takes on a variety of divergent meanings through different scholarship, preventing a similarity in terms to ideas and obscuring the practice of the rhetoricians who utilized mnemotechnics. In this thesis, the writings of Quintilian, Augustine of Hippo, and the anonymous author of the Rhetorica ad Herennium — referred to as Pseudo-Cicero — are evaluated alongside contemporary works by Mary Carruthers and Lina Bolzoni to create a clear definition for mnemotechnics in three parts. This newly clarified definition is then compared to works utilizing mnemotechnics to understand the impact that a lack of a clarified definition has caused. Scholarships relating to multiple disciplines that utilize mnemotechnics are then presented in which usages of mnemotechnics do not align with the clarified definition. Finally, scholarship that could benefit from this clarified definition is offered to illustrate points of clarity for where a long misinterpreted rhetorical practice can be understood and new academic conversations about mnemotechnics can be had.
Recommended Citation
Goodrich, Ian, "Sure Imagination: Distinguishing Mnemotechnics from Spatial Mnemonics" (2024). West Chester University Master’s Theses. 311.
https://digitalcommons.wcupa.edu/all_theses/311