Rhetoric & Argumentation

In this section the chapters specifically address argumentation–a word that we note multiple times in this text and a term that takes center stage in many discussions of rhetoric. As we hope the following discussion demonstrates, argument is not everything, but it is an important area for research. The word rhetoric is often considered as synonymous with persuasion and argument, but the readings in this section invite us to consider how rhetoric also functions to bring awareness and understanding. Rhetorical traditions beyond the western canon help us think broadly about communication and its cultural connections. We hope these ideas build on your existing understanding of rhetoric and argumentation and offer nuance (and not nuisance)!

In Creating Arguments, Melanie Gagich and Emilie Zickel offer discussion and prompts that will help you better understand features of arguments and what they accomplish.

Contextualizing the Limitations of “Argument”, by Kate Pantelides, focuses on rhetorical invention and dispenses basic knowledge about types of argument, as well as shares an approach to understanding the arguments of others.

In Including Cultural Rhetorics, Kate Pantelides introduces the idea of embodied rhetoric, cultural rhetorics, and, specifically, North American Indigenous rhetorics.

Cayla Buttram, David MacMillan III, and Leigh Thompson Stanfield provide useful considerations for selecting scholarly texts to employ for your argument in Tips for Selecting Sources.

The Research and Argumentation section primarily focuses on the objectives Rhetorical Knowledge and Information Literacy. Chapters 27, 28, and 29 analyze aspects of rhetorical knowledge for the purposes of written and oral communication (Rhetorical Knowledge). Chapter 30, however, addresses various types of evidence, including what counts as sufficient evidence in a variety of disciplines (Information Literacy).