Reading and Writing for Civic Literacy: The Critical Citizen's Guide to Argumentative Rhetoric, Brief Edition

A rhetoric-and-reader textbook is designed to teach college students critical reading, writing, and thinking skills for self-defense in the contentious arena of American civic rhetoric. It includes readings on civil rights, socialism versus capitalism, the beauty myth, war rhetoric, identity politics, abortion, and student debt, and trains students in techniques to locate fallacies and other weaknesses in argumentation. It also discusses whether objectivity is possible and whether there is a liberal or conservative bias in news and entertainment media and education.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 316 pages
Publication date: 07 October 2020
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive rhetoric-and-reader textbook is specifically designed to equip college students with critical reading, writing, and thinking skills that will serve as a powerful defense mechanism in the highly contentious realm of American civic rhetoric. Recognizing the heightened tensions surrounding race, gender, and economic inequality, as well as the escalating decibel level and polarization of public discourse, this edition has been extensively revised to address these contemporary challenges.

The readings encompass a diverse range of topics, including civil rights advocate Michelle Alexander's exploration of the new Jim Crow, recent reevaluations of socialism versus capitalism, contrasting perspectives offered by Naomi Wolf and Christine Hoff Sommers on the beauty myth, a section dedicated to the rhetoric of war, and engaging debates on identity politics, abortion, and student debt.

The textbook is intended for first-year or more advanced composition and critical thinking courses, aiming to train students in a multitude of techniques to identify fallacies and other weaknesses in argumentation both in their own prose and in the writings of others. Through engaging exercises, students gain a deeper understanding of the ideological positions and rhetorical patterns that underpin opposing views, ranging from conservative figures such as Ann Coulter to progressive figures like Bernie Sanders.

Widely debated issues such as the possibility of objectivity, whether there exists a liberal or conservative bias in news and entertainment media, as well as in education itself, are placed at the forefront of rhetorical analysis. By delving into these complex topics, students develop the skills necessary to analyze and evaluate the persuasive strategies employed in public discourse, enabling them to engage more effectively and critically in the ongoing debates shaping American society.

Weight: 634g
Dimension: 177 x 253 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780415793667
Edition number: 3 New edition