Contributes to scholarship advancing the understanding of human communication by elaborating a theoretical framework for understanding the synthesis of self-definition and social advocacy in social movement autobiographies. Uses insights from Kenneth Burke and posits that in a rhetorically effective movement autobiography, form enables the…

Investigates differences among student writers at three grade levels (6, 8, 10) and between expert writers and students in terms of the uses and complexity of arguments presented in persuasive texts. Develops a model that could account for structural variations across a range of writing to analyze argument. Reveals that argument was the…

Surveys young business practitioners regarding challenging work-related communication episodes. Reports primarily face-to-face oral events requiring the respondent to function as an advocate or to manage conflict. Notes that both gender and first language correlated with responses. Calls for management communication courses to give attention to…

Describes how a professor teaching a "Writing Arguments" course focused on two cases involving the death penalty to show students how arguments are constructed, and how students can form strong arguments of their own. Notes that this approach does not force students to choose sides when they stand somewhere in the middle. Describes four…

Explores the notion that some social interactions are more conducive to the construction of knowledge than others. Describes the use of argumentation as a learning tool during play by analyzing transcripts of the interactions of four-and-a-half year olds. Derives implications for early childhood education from these examples and from a theoretical…

Establishes a black essentialist aesthetic for jazz rap, showing its relation to an African-derived history and other black traditions. Examines newer lines of argument in aesthetics about contemporary recordings focusing on Theodore Gracyk. Argues that jazz rap is defined by actual, not recorded, performance. (CMK)

Responds to the article "Making the Past into Prologue: A Response to Professor Bennett" by Stephen T. Leonard. Argues against various points made by Leonard. Believes that concern for civic education and scholarly research are not at odds with one another and can be combined. (CMK)

Proposes a shift from ideological critiques of the English language teaching industry to an exploration of the emancipatory potential for minority groups in appropriating the language systems of dominant social groups so as to take their own cultural visions into the forums of everyday politics. (Author/VWL)

States that participants in a qualitative case study of nonacademic R&D authors thought their reports were more informative than persuasive. Describes how three definitions of "persuasion" emerged. Concludes that most of the participants felt they owed a greater debt to their subject matter rather than the audience; some participants…

Discusses issues and appropriate behaviors for college and university fundraisers when a major donor shows signs of burnout, noting causes (oversolicitation, ignoring the donor's interests, neglecting to steward past gifts) and warning signs (telephone tag, no-shows, disgruntled spouse), and offering techniques for bringing donors back (personal…

Debating can teach students how to investigate new ideas, develop critical thinking, and open their minds to different viewpoints. It is a way to explore a world filled with diverse viewpoints. Debating topics can come from the books students are reading. The debating process develops critical reading skills by challenging students to examine text…

Discusses the four aspects of Max Weber's argument against including advocacy in the political science classroom. Believes that Weber's critique is a useful starting point for considering the issue in relation to contemporary education. Describes two models, critical thinking and civic education, that present advocacy in the political science…

Uses interviews to examine how the self-help book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" shapes the identity of organization members who read and use the book. Suggests that such people are simultaneously enabled and constrained as they confront tensions between individualism and community, competition and cooperation, and domination and…

Reports on a study in which students with and without learning disabilities wrote persuasive essays about controversial topics. One group of students was given an elaborated goal that included explicit subgoals based on the elements of argumentation. Sixth-grade students in the elaborated goal condition produced more persuasive essays and included…

Notes the value of using simulations to teach negotiation in business communication classes. Offers advice for designing and writing effective simulations. Describes a favorite simulation written by the author, and illustrates with it the process of teaching a simulated negotiation. (SR)