Presentations 3 of 3

Chicago Style Footnotes

We’re shifting from MLA to Chicago Style footnotes for the remainder of the semester. To get you up to speed, I’ve posted some basic instructions here (along with links to quizzes on Blackboard). Please do the quizzes in time for class, and post any questions or confusions in the comments below.

If you DON’T have a question, then instead please post a sentence from essay 1 where you cited a source, along with the relevant Works Cited entry. We’ll use those to practice creating footnotes.

Socrates and the Problem of Justice

Read the first page of the chapter commentary and all of Plato’s dialogue, Euthyphro, pp 41-58. Look for this file among the readings posted on the Lecture class’s Blackboard site.

In thinking about what’s at stake in Plato’s takedown of Euthyphro, consider the following:

• Since Euthyphro is identified as a seer or mantis, read a short excerpt from Michael Flower’s book on that profession in Ancient Greece.
• Since this is the second consecutive “takedown” by Plato, read a short excerpt from Michael Gagarin’s book on the Sophists of Ancient Greece—the profession to which Gorgias belonged.

If you’re curious to read more of either book, both are available online through the BU Library portal.

For homework, write a response to ONE of the following questions:

1. What’s your opinion about the moral predicament faced by Euthyphro? What should he do?
2. Given the difficulty of Euthyphro’s predicament, why does Plato/Socrates think that he’s a fool? What does Plato/Socrates think Euthyphro should do?
3. What similarities (or differences) do you see between Plato/Socrates’ treatment of Gorgias and their treatment of Euthyphro? What conclusion might you reach as to Plato/Socrates’ political/philosophical objective?
4. Based on these two dialogues, what relationship do you see between Plato and Socrates? Can/should they be meaningfully merged together, or do they stand at some remove from one another?

Presentations 2 of 3

Presentations 1 of 3

News vs. Opinion

I promised on Tuesday to create a Google Form clear up the difference between news and opinion sources. The finished form has 11 examples; don’t get too bogged down in reading these. Read the headline and skim the article to figure out whether you’re looking at an opinion piece or a news analysis piece.

Socrates vs. Gorgias: Grudgematch

Read Gorgias, the philosophical dialogue where Plato puts his mentor Socrates in conversation with the famous sophist and rhetorician Gorgias. Look for this file among the readings posted on the Lecture class’s Blackboard site.

As you read, take note of how Socrates uses questions to challenge his interlocutor Gorgias. Does Socrates’ method fit the pattern described by Abram? (In preparation for this assignment, you may want to review David Abram’s account of the Socratic method, pp 109-113 in the file posted on the course’s Blackboard site.) Depending on your answer, do one of the following:

• If “Yes,” write a 2¶ sequence where the first ¶ presents a passage from Plato and the second ¶ dramatically introduces Abram to deepen our understanding of the Socratic method.
• If “No,” write a 2¶ sequence where the first ¶ presents Abram’s claim about the Socratic method and the second ¶ introduces an example from Plato’s Gorgias to challenge, refute or complicate our understanding of how Plato employs the Socratic method.

Paste your HW as a response under the appropriate header, below.

Talk It Out

In a recent New Yorker article, historian Jill Lepore argued that the current crisis of faith in democracy isn’t the first the world has faced. If you have trouble getting access, I’ve added the essay to the readings posted on the Lecture class’s Blackboard site.

Lepore’s article details parallels between the present day and the 1920s and 30s, an era of economic collapse that saw the rise of both Communist and Fascist regimes. But Lepore finds reason for hope in the vigorous public debates about democracy’s future that arose in the 1930s in the US: “It’s a paradox of democracy that the best way to defend it is to attack it, to ask more of it, by way of criticism, protest, and dissent.”

Homework: post a brief, 1¶ response to one of the following prompts.

• Lepore doesn’t insist too strongly on the historical parallel between the early 20th century and the present day. How close a parallel do you see between the worldwide threats to democracy in the 1920s and 30s and anxieties today? In answering, focus on a particular instance.
• Lepore suggests that questioning democracy is the best way to save it, pointing to the impact of public forums that spread across the US starting in Des Moines, Iowa. How might we apply the lessons of 1930s civic debate to our present difficulties? In answering, make a specific proposal.
• After reading Lepore’s account of 1930s civic debates, held in lecture halls and broadcast over the radio, some might question whether new media have rendered that lesson obsolete. Is a 1930s solution still viable in the era of social networking? In answering, focus narrowly, noting a particular aspect of modern-day interaction on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Study the Opposition

Find 10 articles that take a different stance on the controversial issue you’ve been working on. Aim to gather articles from a variety of sources (newspapers, personal blogs, etc.) In some cases, you may find that there are several distinct kinds of opposition:

• people who disagree with you on principle
• people who agree on principle but disagree on method

If so, take note of that complication and consider gathering articles for both categories. You may decide to focus just on one group in your speech, but by gathering more sources now, you’re prepping for either possibility, allowing you to make that big decision later on, once you know more.

Choose two articles from your collection, one that’s completely wrongheaded and another that you’re impressed by. Write a ¶ on each article, as follows:

• A ¶ referencing the wrongheaded article to dismiss the logic of some members of the opposition. Note: quoting from the source will help you pin down your opponent’s false logic or bad faith—or whatever other objection you’re lodging.
• A ¶ referencing the impressive article to acknowledge the strength of its argument, followed (possibly) by a refutation of some kind. You may decide to make this a 2-¶ sequence.

From these two responses, choose ONE to share with the class, under the appropriate heading below.

MLA Redux

As discussed in class a week ago, the MLA changed its guidance in recent years on topics like URLs. So I’ve created a new Google Forms quiz so we can hammer down these pesky details in advance of the final essay draft. The quiz (scored for completion only) should take 20-30 minutes.

Different Modes of Eloquence

For lecture today, I’d like you to watch three different speeches. Each is excellent in its own way.

Harvard Male Orator Jonathan Roberts

I heard Roberts speak at Harvard’s graduation a few years ago, and I thought of him when I created this collection of videos. What do you think makes him memorable?

Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza

I found Garza’s speech in a YouTube search for Black Lives Matter activists. Her style is effective, but notably different in her approach from Roberts. What techniques does she draw on?

John McWhorter: Txtng is killing language. JK!!!

Columbia U linguist John McWhorter has a number of speeches up on YouTube, some of them more political than this. I chose this speech because it exemplifies the “Ted Talk Style.” What qualities distinguish Ted Talks from political speeches and graduation speeches?

Having watched all three videos, respond to one of the questions posed above and post in the appropriate space below. A bullet-point list of qualities or techniques is fine; you don’t need to write a ¶.

Research a Pressing Issue

Pick a controversial issue from the past few years. Some suggestions:

• Black Lives Matter
• #MeToo
• Immigration
• North Korea
• Global Warming
• Gun Control
• The Second Impeachment of President Trump
• "Cancel Culture"
• China: nation and diaspora
• something else of your choosing

Find 10 articles on your issue of choice that share your political outlook. Some of your articles should be from major news publications, but others can and should come from political pressure groups or personal blogs.

Since all 10 articles share your political outlook, you’re probably in broad agreement with all of them. But that doesn’t mean you like them all equally. Choose your favorite OR your least favorite and write a brief 2-¶ response, as follows:

1. Use the first ¶ to introduce the author and argument to your reader.
2. Use the second ¶ to critique the article: why is it rhetorically effective or ineffective? In your analysis, consider the article’s intended audience: pieces of rhetoric can only be judged effective in relation to an audience.

Post your 2-¶ response in the appropriate heading below, along with links to ALL 10 of your articles.

Note: if you chose a topic that I didn’t list, feel free to create your own Topic Header by typing an appropriate title into a comment, and then pasting your HW as a response to the comment you just created. I can edit your comment to make the topic header boldface later on.

Cancelled in 2021

Was:

Turning in Paper 1

When your essay is complete, Print/Export to .pdf. Give the file a name like “Your Name.pdf”

Choose a one-¶ or two-¶ sequence you’re particularly proud of. Paste that passage into a comment below, and use the “choose file” option to attach your .pdf essay to that comment.