Author Archives: Todd Battistelli
Words or Actions?
The question—words or actions?—is a false choice. Change can and does emerge through dialogue, debate, deliberation, diplomacy, and other modes of talk, but language is not enough on its own. Power can be exercised—and opposed—through direct action, such as described … Continue reading
When Disagreement Is Inclusive
When I say that I’m interested in disagreement, my interest is not in bridging the biggest gulfs that might come to mind—of getting “both sides” together to talk. Rather, I’m interested in how our disagreements go: the disagreements within a … Continue reading
Some Ways of Measuring Quality of Conversation
There are many ways to consider how well a discourse community handles disagreement, including the following: To even begin to consider these questions requires more self-awareness than is often available, especially within a setting of hierarchical power relations. And all … Continue reading
I can’t quit paper
As both student and teacher, I have used a lot of digital tools. During my graduate studies at the University of Texas, I worked at the Digital Writing and Research Lab. I’ve been responding to student writing in digital-only format … Continue reading
Think of the Children, Avoid the Issue
People who run afoul of the Constitution’s Establishment Clause say the strangest things in defense of their violations. Instead of admitting their error, they try to rationalize it, often painting defenders of the Constitution as the real wrongdoers. I know … Continue reading
Buyer Beware, Rhetor Beware
My mobile phone service provider Ting tweeted about an endorsement they received on reddit recently. Commericial rhetoric often serves as classroom fodder for analysis of manipulative persuasive techniques, but the reddit discussion demonstrates some different problems that arise in a context … Continue reading
The Courage of Pseudonymous Conviction
Anonymous speech poses a challenge to defining responsible civic discourse. The New Rhetoric provides one model of responsibility in noting that “since rhetorical proof is never a completely necessary proof, … thinking [people] who give [their] adherence to the conclusions … Continue reading
Begging Off The Question By Changing It
It seems at times that people will do anything they can to avoid engaging in an extended back-and-forth conversation. Obviously we all would like to frame our positions in the most favorable light, but when we go beyond framing to … Continue reading
The Uses and Abuses of Dyslogistic Phrasing
Laura Sneddon at comicbookGRRRL offers a moving condemnation of DC Comics’ decision to hire Orson Scott Card to write a Superman story. I couldn’t agree more with her conclusion: When the greatest hero of all is written by someone like … Continue reading
Lighting A Lamp And Cursing The Darkness
Religion Professor Stephen Prothero’s essay on the place of religion in politics exemplifies the muddled terminology that often accompanies state-church separation discussions that I consider in my research. Prothero’s argument also interests me for another reason. In advocating for the … Continue reading
From the Rostra 