Rhetoric is today once again a flourishing and dynamic academic discipline, but research on the discipline's own history is to a large extent lacking. During the 18th century rhetoric dominated all areas of public communication, but it was also questioned, in the cultural debate, in the educational sphere and as a means for public and artistic communication. In spite of the recent strong interest in the status of rhetoric during the 18th century, a systematic analysis of this process of dethronization is still missing. In this project the changed status of rhetoric will be scrutinized, with special attention to the later half of the 18th century. How can this dethronization be described? What changes can be discerned in the public sphere, in literature and in the educational system? Are we in fact warranted, as has been claimed, to speak of a "death of rhetoric" in the period? The project consists of two parts. The first part examines the alternative rhetorical patterns developed in the early stages of the public sphere, most notably magazines and erudite societies. This part of the project will also look into the consequences of the erosion of rhetoric for the gender system of the era. In a second part the primary subject is the status of rhetoric as it is reflected in the educational system and in cultural debate during the period 1750-1840.