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Articles on Rhetoric

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‘Rhetoric’ has a bad rap – but some of the original rhetoricians’ techniques can actually help foster productive conversations. smartboy10/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

‘Rhetoric’ doesn’t need to be such an ugly word – it has a lot to teach echo-chambered America

Ancient Greek philosophers despised the Sophists’ rhetoric because it searched for relative truth, not absolutes. But learning how to do that thoughtfully can help constructive debates.
Supporters of former President Donald Trump rally in Bedminster, N.J., on Aug. 14, 2022. Kyle Mazza/Andalou Agency via Getty Images

GOP ‘message laundering’ turns violent, extremist reactions to search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago into acceptable political talking points

Threats to law enforcement have risen in the aftermath of the FBI raid on former President Trump’s Florida estate. Does ‘message laundering’ by top GOP figures have something to do with it?
An image of a mock gallows on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is shown as the House select committee holds hearings in June 2022 into the attack. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Why the Jan. 6 hearings should be making corporations nervous

It’s easy to consider the erosion of democratic norms in the U.S. as purely political, but it poses serious risks to the country’s economic order. Is democracy in the gallows?
In hackathons, people come together to build more extensive and cohesive datasets. (Shutterstock)

Hackathons should be renamed to avoid negative connotations

“Hackathons” can imply breaching security and privacy. To more accurately reflect their creative and constructive intent, they can be referred to instead as “datathons” or “code fests.”
Instead of asking how universities might benefit from shifting courses online permanently, we ought to ask how students might suffer from fewer opportunities for lived experience and practice. (Shutterstock)

The problem with online learning? It doesn’t teach people to think

We ought to worry that the pandemic has made it even easier to reduce teaching to disseminating knowledge.
Fringe groups have long understood that capturing the public’s attention is the best way to spread their views. Karwai Tang/WireImage via Getty Images

Strange costumes of Capitol rioters echo the early days of the Ku Klux Klan - before the white sheets

For many extremist groups, a primary goal is to spread their ideology. Costumes and uniforms – even ridiculous ones – are a form of spectacle that can garner attention and interest.

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