Challenging Post-Truth Rhetoric Beginning in the Writing Classroom
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2019
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University of Hawai'i at Manoa
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Traditional forms of unethical rhetoric have always existed; however, with the relatively new freedoms and abilities afforded by the rise of digital media, a new, more dangerous form of unethical rhetoric has made its impact in the public sphere: post-truth rhetoric. As the name implies, post-truth rhetoric is not concerned with truth and thereby relies on creating arguments that are often premised by observable falsehoods. As absurd as it may seem, the use of post-truth rhetoric has recently proven to be very rewarding in public discourse. Perhaps the most glaring example of its success is that of the 2016 presidential election, where Donald Trump often presented falsehoods as truths in order to gain favor and mobilize certain groups of people. It is imperative to reassert the value of fact-based arguments by training the next generation of voters, and teachers of argumentative writing and rhetoric stand at the forefront. In this study, I identify current approaches that are being implemented at UHM through asynchronous surveys with current argumentative writing teachers, while also thinking about current suggestions posed by the literature. Based on my findings, I argue that it is necessary to modify current forms of teaching argumentative writing so that it is more conducive to the realistic digital media practices by students.
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37 pages
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