This is a lecture I gave at the end of an Advanced Argumentation class. In it I discuss Buddhism as a way to expand the theories of the class to a more global perspective. You can view the lecture as an automated PowerPoint presentation with the recorded audio of my lecture. Slides will automatically progress along with the narration. You can also skip ahead to any slide and the narration will start from that point in the lecture. Some of the transitions were cut off and the meditation segment cut short, but all the lecture and discussion is there. If you would like to use portions of the presentation slides for your own class, please feel free to do so.

Materials: PowerPoint presentation with my lecture narration, Web-viewable version without narration, meditation guide

Video Clips: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Last Samurai

One great way to explore argumentation in contemporary settings is by having students create their own blogs to argue for a particular issue. This assignment has students take on a blog for one month and encourages them to take advantage of non-text-based means of argumentation that the medium allows for.

Materials: Assignment Guide, Example blog

This activity is great for exploring the definition of argument as it applies to contemporary electronic media, knowledge production, and what "bias" means today. The handout contains excerpts from 3 self-identified encyclopedias' entry on George W. Bush and their statements regarding Hurricane Katrina.

Time: 10 min for small group discussion, 20+ min for discussion of implications as a class

Materials: Handout, PowerPoint discussion guide

I find one of the hardest subjects to teach undergraduate students is the idea that rhetoric has material implications. Specifically, this often comes up in discussions of constitutive rhetoric and contemporary political movements (how the rhetor crafts an identity for the audience to assume). As is often the case, this abstract subject requires very specific examples to clearly illustrate it to young rhetorical critics. My favorite example is to use Mary Fischer's speech "A Whisper of AIDS." Not only is this an important historical speech (1992, the AIDS crisis), but it very clearly uses different personas toward a specific call to action. While theoretically this is an over simplification, I convey the personas as follows: The 1st persona is that of the speaker (ethos), the 2nd persona is the rhetor's desired persona of the audience, the 3rd persona is that of a group, person, or thing not part of the audience, but implicated in the current issue. The handout will help guide their thinking, but examples of some "correct" answers you should emphasize in the discussion include: 

• 1st persona: Mary Fischer is HIV positive, she is a mother (family is important), she is a compassionate conservative, etc.
• 2nd persona: The audience believes in compassion, family values, and this necessitates action on this issue.
• 3rd persona: (1) AIDS: a silent killer, indiscriminate, a threat to society and family; (2) AIDS victims: they are victims not agents of their condition, they are human and part of families, they are alone and need our help.

Time: 15 minute video, 15 minutes for directed processing of the personas and discussion

Materials: Video, Handout