Retired Professor, Writing Center Director, Scholar of train wrecks in public deliberation
Fallacies One of the signs of demagoguery is heavy reliance on fallacies. Whether demagogues use fallacies because they are cynical about their audience (thinking their audience is too stupid to catch them), or whether their own thinking is really so deeply flawed (so that they believe their own fallacious arguments) is a fascinating question, but … Continue reading “Fallacies”
A Short and Highly Idiosyncratic History of Rhetoric By Trish Roberts-Miller Please note: This is not intended as a definitive history, but a very, very broad-brushed attempt to give a general background. Anything this short is necessarily simplistic and truncated, so readers should be aware that the history of rhetoric is both much more complicated … Continue reading “A Short and Highly Idiosyncratic History of Rhetoric”
Advice on Writing By Trish Roberts-Miller Much advice on writing that you’ve been given is lore—that is, it is passed down from teacher to students (who go on to become teachers repeating the same lore) without being checked against reality. When people started doing real research on how people actually write, they found that effective … Continue reading “Advice on Writing”
Past Courses Spring 2016 Deliberating War Fall 2013 Deliberating War (PDF) Principles of Rhetoric (PDF) Syllabus for SP14 grad course (pdf) Spring 2013 Demagoguery (PDF) Racism (PDF) Fall 2012 Principles of Rhetoric (PDF) Spring 2012 Deliberating War (PDF) The Use and Abuse of Science in Public Policy Debates (PDF) Fall 2011 Principles of Rhetoric (PDF) Demagoguery (PDF) Spring 2011 Principles of Rhetoric (PDF) Deliberating War (PDF) … Continue reading “Course Syllabi”