All 3 papers information and requirements are listed n the additional materials.
Introduction to The Laramie Project All of the work you have done thus far in terms of rhetorical analysis, consideration of multiple points of view, identification of forms of proofs and types of fallacies, etc. will help guide your reading of the course’s assigned book, The Laramie Project. I chose this book for a number of different reasons. For example, The Laramie Project is an excellent example of a multi-faceted argument in which numerous characters espouse different and often conflicting positions on various social and political controversies. Some characters all across the spectrum of perspectives offer sound reasons to support their claims, while others display exceptionally poor communication skills. The book also requires multiple readings since there are so many characters and perspectives to keep straight. However, it lends itself well to analysis and consideration of controversies. As you read the text, I suggest that you write in the margins, highlight important passages, and keep track of various themes that pervade the text. Your notations will help you as you go back and write your reading response and formal writing assignments. As with the other reading material, you should read this text with a critical eye and reflect on the aforementioned sections of Module 2 that pertain to reading rhetorical and analytically, appeals, fallacies, argument, and so forth. Pay careful attention to the book’s strengths and weaknesses, the way in which it is organized, the choices that went into the text (e.g., whom to quote and to what extent), any biases you feel are implicit or explicit in the text, etc. Do not feel obligated to like the book or agree with what you perceive to be the authors’ points of view. Just be sure that you are able to articulate your analysis clearly and support it with evidence from the text, using the analytical terms you have learned thus far. Formal Assignment #2 requires you to consider multiple arguments in The Laramie Project that are advanced by multiple authors in conversation with one another. Consider how individuals wishing to make successful persuasive arguments on an issue such as the Matthew Shepard case must be sensitive to the elements of their own particular rhetorical situations. They need to take account of such situational factors as the audience’s beliefs and values and the audience’s knowledge of the subject matter. This assignment asks you to examine the importance of considering more than two, conflicting perspectives and claims and the reasons used to support them. Speakers and writers who want to change an audience’s allegiance from one position to another need to fully comprehend what their audience’s positions are and the rationales that justify them before they can convincingly argue that another position is preferable. Such concern for the knowledge, beliefs, and values of an audience would be unnecessary, of course, if everyone were in perfect agreement about the topic under discussion. But experience probably tells you that this is rarely, if ever, the case. The real world of human interaction is much more complicated. People come from different ethnic, cultural, social, regional, educational, religious, and family backgrounds. In addition to such group-based differences, people embody individual differences and express idiosyncratic perspectives grounded in personal identity and personal history. Although being able to anticipate objections to your position and refute them enhances your chance of successfully pressing your own position, “winning an argument” or persuading others to change their minds is not the only or most important reason you need to listen to other people’s positions and understand their points of view. If you have ever been in an argument in which you felt other people were dismissing your position without really listening to you or without trying to understand your thinking, then you understand the importance of sincerely trying to understand and appreciate perspectives other than your own. Often, a willingness to listen and consider other people’s points of view leads to a valuable learning experience. You may find that learning about other perspectives and rationales causes you to reflect upon and re-evaluate your own position.
