Teaching Argument

Well, I'm starting to teach argument in my classes. This part of the semester always brings out the romantic in me. It could be watching women read the "Ain't I a Woman" speech, or maybe it's talking about classical rhetoric, or maybe it's talking about Rachel Carson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and even Hitler--people who changed the world, for better or worse, by the force of their writing. By the end of the day I've given four lectures about the power and the responsibility rhetoric--of "good [people] speaking [and writing] well." I know my students think I'm a bit silly about this, but this is why I teach. Because there is nothing so powerful as the right person with the right message at the right time. Our words can change the world.

No comments:

Post a Comment