Hello, Everyone:
We will most likely spend the first few minutes of Tuesday's class blogging in groups to prepare for our discussion of David Kaufer's "A Plan for Teaching the Development of Original Policy Arguments" and Rebecca Jones's "Finding the Good Argument." Here are some questions to help you read (they are long-winded, but not difficult):
- Jones distinguishes between "simulations" of arguments and real "ethical deliberations" (158). What makes something a simulation vs. an authentic ethical deliberation? Search her entire chapter to see if you can generate a list of qualities, characteristics, principles, or criteria that you think fall under each side of the distinction. For example, based on her dissatisfaction with multi-panel talk shows, we can guess that one of the properties of "simulated" arguments is that the various people who participate are only responding to each other in order to rebut other positions or defend their own (159). Generate as full a list as you can.
- From our <"Course Resources,"> locate a brief op-ed in one of the "Blogs and Online Journals of Opinion," or -- if you prefer -- select one of the op-ed pieces from our Texts for Editing folder on Blackboard. (Select one that is explicitly biased.) Quickly skim it and decide whether it operates based on inductive or deductive reasoning (Jones 164-165).
- Notice the difference between "Level 5 Conflict" and "Some Associated Issues" (Kaufer 58, 63). The issue is the topic or the particular example in which the conflict resides, while the conflict itself is the opposing pair of ideologies that clash in order to make the issue. Can you locate the conflict (the opposing pair) in the op-ed piece you selected?
- Is there anything in the op-ed that acts like a "value" term or an "ideograph"? The concept of "Ideograph" was popularly coined for rhetoric by Michael Calvin McGee, although the word in its general definition has existed for some time. McGee's "ideograph" is a word that uses abstractions in order to develop support for a political position (e.g., "freedom," "liberty," "justice," "pursuit of happiness," etc.). Not just any term can be an ideograph, but if -- in the context of discourse -- the word carries ideological assumptions and inspires familiar associations among an audience, it is likely functioning this way.
- For analyzing and improving some arguments, Jones suggests a "middle ground" activity (160). However, some issues may lend themselves better to a middle ground than others. Isolate the issue that is at the heart of the op-ed you selected, and see if you can perform Jones' middle-ground activity on that issue. Is it a particularly polarizing issue, or not that big of a deal? What are the difficulties of finding a middle ground, or, what makes it easy to find a middle ground?
- Apply the Toulmin method (Jones 169, 171) to the argument in the op-ed you selected. Does analyzing the argument this way allow you to notice any complexities in audience construction (i.e., how the text was written to make an audience feel they are being addressed as a kind of specific person or group)? Does analyzing the argument in this way allow you to notice any disruption of coherence or cohesion? Feel free to visualize the argument if you find that easiest.
- Which one of Kaufer's "levels" of policy conflict (58-59) shows a violation of the Unexpressed Premise Rule (Jones 174), or the Starting Point Rule (Jones 175)?
- Of the ten rules Jones summarizes, it is highly likely that Williams/Colomb would be interested in The Usage Rule (Jones 177), which may be one reason why their longest chapter in Style has to do with ethical violations of clarity. Can you quickly skim their chapter on "Ethics of Style" and find a statement or passage in their discussion that reflects what Jones has to say about The Usage Rule? Can you find connections between The Usage Rule and Williams/Colomb's sections on "Avoiding Distractions"(43) and "Absent Characters" (23-36)?
- Jones claims that -- in the history of rhetorical argumentation -- there is a distinction to be made between being logical and being truthful (163). How does this resonate with or differ from Kaufer's claim about weight of policy conflicts versus scale of conflict (61)?
- (Added question) Visit <http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/> and select any campaign ad from any year, OR visit <http://vserver1.cscs.lsa.umich.edu/~crshalizi/election/> and read about various ways that digital tools can re/present electoral results. Each of these visualizations makes an argument about re/presentation. I invite you to draw on any aspect of today's readings in order to explain how the argument works.
Looking forward to our discussion,
--Prof. Graban
