Retired Professor, Writing Center Director, Scholar of train wrecks in public deliberation
We are, again, at a point in time when the term “demagoguery” is getting thrown around, or, perhaps more accurately, the accusation. As has often happened, the prominence, and disturbing power of an individual, gets us to worry about that kind of rhetoric, but specifically as a question of identity. We are talking about whether … Continue reading “Rhetoric and Demagoguery (Denver talk)”
One of my criticisms of conventional definitions of demagoguery is that they enable us to identify when they are getting suckered by demagoguery, but not when we are. They aren’t helpful for helping us see our own demagoguery because they emphasize the “irrationality” and bad motives of the demagogues. And both strategies are deeply flawed, … Continue reading “Rationality, demagoguery, and rhetoric”
Writing about the proslavery argument in the antebellum era was actually painful. The Slave Power, as many people called it, completely dominated American policy deliberation for far too long. The antebellum era was wickedly factional, and not just in binaries. People could read nothing but information from a Van Buren or Calhoun (both Democratic), or … Continue reading “What do we do now?”
A lot of people cite studies that show that people can’t be persuaded. As though that should persuade people not to try to persuade others. That isn’t even the biggest problem with those studies. The studies are often badly designed (no one should be persuaded to change an important belief by being told by one … Continue reading “Conditions that make persuasion difficult”
There is a conventional understanding of demagogues, represented in dictionary definitions, and much conventional understandings: a demagogue is a person who deliberately misleads the common people through appealing to emotions and prejudices. That isn’t what “demagogue” has always meant, and it’s a useless definition. Explaining why it’s useless is complicated, and arguing why we should … Continue reading “Donald Trump is not a demagogue, but he does engage in demagoguery”
A long, rambling narrative of my research projects What follows is, as promised above, a long, rambling narrative of my research interests, as represented in my major projects. If, for whatever reason, you’re interested in the narrative of articles, consult my equally long and rambling narrative of my articles. [I can’t remember the title of … Continue reading “A long, rambling narrative of my research projects”
Fallacies One of the signs of demagoguery is heavy reliance on fallacies. Whether demagogues use fallacies because they are cynical about their audience (thinking their audience is too stupid to catch them), or whether their own thinking is really so deeply flawed (so that they believe their own fallacious arguments) is a fascinating question, but … Continue reading “Fallacies”
A Short and Highly Idiosyncratic History of Rhetoric By Trish Roberts-Miller Please note: This is not intended as a definitive history, but a very, very broad-brushed attempt to give a general background. Anything this short is necessarily simplistic and truncated, so readers should be aware that the history of rhetoric is both much more complicated … Continue reading “A Short and Highly Idiosyncratic History of Rhetoric”
Advice on Writing By Trish Roberts-Miller Much advice on writing that you’ve been given is lore—that is, it is passed down from teacher to students (who go on to become teachers repeating the same lore) without being checked against reality. When people started doing real research on how people actually write, they found that effective … Continue reading “Advice on Writing”
Past Courses Spring 2016 Deliberating War Fall 2013 Deliberating War (PDF) Principles of Rhetoric (PDF) Syllabus for SP14 grad course (pdf) Spring 2013 Demagoguery (PDF) Racism (PDF) Fall 2012 Principles of Rhetoric (PDF) Spring 2012 Deliberating War (PDF) The Use and Abuse of Science in Public Policy Debates (PDF) Fall 2011 Principles of Rhetoric (PDF) Demagoguery (PDF) Spring 2011 Principles of Rhetoric (PDF) Deliberating War (PDF) … Continue reading “Course Syllabi”