Courses: Argumentation, Public Speaking, Political Communication. Objectives: After completing this unit activity, students should be able to (1) demonstrate comprehension of Burke's (1941) concept of terministic screens; (2) apply the concept of terministic screens to write a brief political autobiography of themselves that analyzes the history…

In this paper I introduce the background situation that triggered the need for a particular project offered in a senior undergraduate course in health care ethics. Background information is provided to support the rationale of the project in the course. Then, the argument that opens the challenge to the students is outlined, followed by a…

The two articles in this publication focus on ways of teaching argumentation and debate in the college setting. The first article examines the place of the argumentation and debate course in the speech communication curriculum and suggests cognitive and behavioral objectives and assignments for use in such a course. The second article discusses…

Despite a professional commitment to "teach ethics," speech communication literature and textbooks contain almost no advice or help on how to accomplish this task. An integrated teaching approach, however, can involve students more directly in the ethical issues that may arise in a persuasion course. The first element in increasing student…

Until the late 1960s, rhetoric instruction in the United States ignored forms of rhetoric used by black Americans, although black rhetoric has existed in the United States for as long as black people have lived there. A course in black rhetoric must acknowledge the persuasive intent of all rhetoric, but note at the same time that black rhetoric…