CRRAR SUMMER INSTITUTE
May 23-27, 2016
Objectivity and Bias in Political Discourse
In
conjunction with the eleventh OSSA (Ontario Society for the Study of
Argument) conference at the University of Windsor, May 17-21, 2013,
University of Windsor’s
Centre for Research on Reasoning, Argumentation and Rhetoric will offer
a summer institute on political argumentation. The instructors for the
course will be:
William Benoit,
Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Ohio University
Christian Kock, Professor of Rhetoric in the Department of Media, Cognition, and
Communication at the University of Copenhagen
Dima Mohammed, researcher at the Institute in the Philosophy of Language of the New
University of Lisbon
Lisa Villadsen, Associate Professor and Head of the Division of Rhetoric in the Department of
Media, Cognition, and Communication at the University of Copenhagen
Christopher Tindale,
the Director of the Centre for Research on Reasoning, Argumentation and
Rhetoric at the University of Windsor will assist in organizing
and overseeing the course.
The
course is open to graduate students who wish to take it for graduate
credit (awarded through the University of Windsor); for post-doctoral
researchers
and junior faculty who may attend the course as fellows; and for others
with a suitable background who wish to take the course out of interest.
Those who complete the course will be awarded a CRRAR Certificate.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Argumentation
is central to the structure and power of political discourse. As a
means of inquiry it furthers the development of new ideas and policies,
as
a means of advocacy it promotes the merits of policies, and as a means
of persuasion it captures the strategies involved in successful
political exchange. Recent scholarship has informed each of these
threads and that scholarship is well represented in the
faculty collected for the Summer Institute. Considerations of bias—its
types and impact—are important to political argumentation, not just in
the sense in which traditional notions like that of confirmation bias
find expression there, but also in terms of
the distinct ways in which political expediency lends itself to
implicit and explicit biased thinking. While advocacy and persuasion are
vulnerable to this in distinctive ways, it is also not free from
inquiry, which poses some of the more interesting challenges
to those striving for objectivity.
Each
of the instructors has played an important role in the debates about
political argumentation and will approach the topic from a distinct
point of view.
All will participate in the course discussions, and in student seminar
presentations.
Lecture Titles:
Bill Benoit:“Accuracy in News Coverage of Political Campaigns: Functions and Topics of Newspapers versus Candidates”;“Image Repair as Altering Perceptions of Reality”.Christian Kock & Lisa Villadsen:“Rhetorical Citizenship as a Conceptual Frame. What we talk about when we talk about Rhetorical Citizenship”.Christian Kock:“Making People Hear what You don’t Say.”Dima Mohammed:“Public political arguments as simultaneous discussions”“Accountability and Deliberation: typical simultaneous discussions in public political arguments”Lisa Villadsen:“‘I’m not like that!’: Changing public perceptions of one’s character through apologia"
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The course is designed to take full advantage of the international gathering
of experts on argumentation theory that will assemble for the eleventh OSSA conference on argumentation.
Course participants are expected to participate in OSSA.
Students taking the course for credit will be graded according to the following scheme:
- Two 3-5 page reviews of OSSA papers relevant to issues of political argumentation: 30% (15% each)
- One course presentation on a concrete example of political argumentation: 15%
- One theoretical paper (10-15 pages) on the issues raised by the course material: 40%
- Class participation: 15%
For full lecture descriptions, advanced readings and further information, including costs of the Institute, please contact:
Dr. Christopher Tindale
Director, Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation and Rhetoric
University of Windsor
401 Sunset Ave.
Windsor, Ontario
Canada N9B 3P4
University of Windsor
401 Sunset Ave.
Windsor, Ontario
Canada N9B 3P4
(Fees for students in Ontario graduate programs may be covered by their regular tuition fees.)
Catherine E. Hundleby, Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Graduate Coordinator, Philosophy
Cross-appointed to Women’s Studies
Fellow, Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation & Rhetoric
University of Windsor
Office: Chrysler Hall North 2185
Phone: 519.253.3000 x3947
email:
hundleby@uwindsor.ca
Mailing address:
Philosophy, University of Windsor
401 Sunset Avenue
Windsor, Ontario
N9B 3P4
