SPE-301 Oral Argumentation 3 credits
Prerequisites: SPE-101
The course will identify and explain the concepts students must know and the steps they must take when constructing an argument. The course will emphasize argumentation as a communicative activity in which students advance claims and their grounds, then strengthen and refine them using compelling evidence that will resist the refutation of others. Real life application of the theories of argumentation will be stressed along with the importance of academic debate of current social issues. Students will participate in debates and presentations designed to build their skills in argumentation. Students will also be tested on their understanding of argumentation models starting with Aristotle and the Greeks, then concluding with Chomsky and other modern critics of rhetoric.