Reading and Writing for Civic Literacy

Donald Lazere is Professor Emeritus at California Polytechnic State University and is the editor of American Media and Mass Culture: Left Perspectives.

Preface for Teachers (and Curious Students) to the Brief Edition Acknowledgments PART I: INTRODUCTION Chapter 1: An Appeal to Students Chapter 2: What Is an Argument? What Is a Good Argument? Chapter 3: Definitions and Criteria of Critical Thinking Chapter 4: Semantics in Rhetoric and Critical Thinking Chapter 5: Writing Argumentative Papers PART II: ATTAINING AN OPEN MIND: OVERCOMING PSYCHOLOGICAL OBSTACLES TO CRITICAL THINKING Chapter 6: From Cocksure Ignorance to Thoughtful Uncertainty: Viewpoint, Bias, and Fairness--Culturally Conditioned Assumptions and Centrisms Chapter 7: Overgeneralization, Stereotyping, and Prejudice Chapter 8: Authoritarianism and Conformity, Rationalization, and Compartmentalization PART III: ELEMENTS OF ARGUMENTATIVE RHETORIC Chapter 9: Some Key Terms in Logic and Argumentation Chapter 10: Logical and Rhetorical Fallacies Chapter 11: Causal Analysis Chapter 12: Uses and Misuses of Emotional Appeal PART IV: THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THE RHETORIC OF POLITICS AND MASS MEDIA Chapter 13: Thinking Critically About Political Rhetoric Chapter 14: Thinking Critically About Mass Media Chapter 15: Deception Detection: Varieties of Special Interests and Propaganda PART V: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER IN A LONG PAPER Chapter 16: A Case Study: Rhetoric and the Wealth Gap Chapter 17: Collecting and Evaluating Opposing Sources: Writing the Research Paper Chapter 18: Documentation and Research Resources Index Credits