Cites problems (with possible remedies) in current study of classical rhetoric, specifically, (1) reductivist tendencies that decontextualize classical rhetoric to yield a set of rules, dicta, lists and formulae; (2) a nostalgia for the perceived golden past that replaces intellection with faith and creates unquestionable authority; and (3) an elitism that obscures usefulness of rhetoric in the English curriculum. (JG)