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Advanced Public Speaking

Welcome to the research guide for your advanced course in public speaking.

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The library catalog searches a variety of resources by title, author, keyword, or phrase linking you to ebooks, print books in the on-campus collection, and journal articles from both general and subject specific databases. The more specific your search terms, the more specific the results will be.  For our Distance Learning (DL) students, excerpts from print items held in the on campus library can be provided on request

Professional library assistance is cheerfully available on campus, by phone at 540-441-8400, or by email at askalibrarian@phc.edu.

Great Speeches on the Internet

  • American Rhetoric is possibly the best speech bank on the web. This database contains over 5000 full-text, audio and visual versions of public speeches, sermons, legal proceedings, lectures, debates, interviews and other media events.

  • The History Place - Great Speeches is an easy-to-navigate site that can link you quickly to great speeches.

  • Wikipedia's List of Great Speeches is another easy-to-navigate site linking you to more great speeches.

Speeches in the On-Campus Collection

  • Great Speeches - Each DVD contains at least 5 of the most significant speeches of the last century. Search the library catalog for "Great Speeches" then limit to DVD's.

Information on Controversial Issues

  • Congressional Digest Debates provides access to a variety of scholarly sources that provide both sides to a number of controversial issues.

  • Brookings Institute provides access to scholarly position papers on a variety of subjects, usually from a more liberal perspective.

  • Heritage Foundation provides access to scholarly position papers on a variety of subjects, usually from a more conservative perspective. 

Rhetoric Resources Available Online

Primary Texts Online

  • Archive.org is a key resource for primary source documents.

  • MIT International Classics Archive provides access to 441 works of classical literature by 59 different authors focusing primarily on Greco-Roman works with some Chinese and Persian, all in English translation.

  • UPenn Online provides access to a variety of online classics.

  • Cicero Online provides access to a variety resources on Cicero, including writings, background, and biography.

Additional Suggested Internet Resources

Created: Dr. James Tallmon/Thornhill, 2011.  Last update: Thornhill, 2022

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