I spend a fair bit of my time thinking, reading, and occasionally writing about higher education. So I find it rather jarring when I reading something that demands and end to what is purported to be a widespread practice that I had never heard of before. Actually, I've long thought that we should be more open to, and more reflective upon, the rhetorical practices in which we (academics, scientists, psychologists, teachers) engage. But I've never thought that teaching Aristotle's rhetoric had come to displace "critical thinking" (vague as that phrase is) in the undergraduate curriculum. Then again, I don't hang out near composition classes much. Has anyone else run into this recently?
Here's a long column decrying the rise of rhetorical analysis as having been a key part of the academy's response to the pressure put upon it by conservative critics over the course of the past eight years. http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2008/12/23/kugelmass Festive Festivus! Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 [email protected] http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ ========================== --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
