Archive • Steve's Rhetoric World • Buttondown

September 1, 2024

What are we going back to when we say this? What is being indicated here? Are we turning around? About face, march? Are we on vacation and returning to work?...

Writing for You

Had another fantastic lunch today in Lakeland, Florida where I’ve been visiting for the past week. Afterwards, took a walk around an outdoor mall and found a...

Florida Water on Tap Nothing quite like those smells or flavors that send you back in time right away, without warning, to times that are so central to your...

A recent conversation with a colleague and friend who is newer to the professor life got me thinking about the role of cynicism in the academy. They have...

YouTube and Discourse

YouTube is a fantastic rhetorical challenge. For the June 28th CNN Debate I did a live stream, which hit my normal numbers for viewers and interaction....

I am by no means pro cell phones in class, but the idea that banning cell phones in class is going to lead to massive gains in student learning overestates...

Debate is an Instrument

Debate is an instrumental art form, not a complete one, and not transformative on its own. It transforms the way we operate, think, and approach other forms...

How to watch the June 27th CNN Presidential Debate

I study and teach argumentation and debate. Here are some tips on how to watch the upcoming CNN Presidential debate. Let’s deal with the begged question...

Hello to Some of That

Many new things in life as I approach 50 but one of them that continues to elude me is working with cameras. I have my trusty GoPro 7 and GoPro 9, and they...

What It Means to Debate

We perceive debate as a heated, aggressive exchange between two sides (maybe more than two people) where someone will emerge victorious because they either...

I think I am an Art Teacher

I think that I am an Art Teacher Oxford University Press wants me to buy their books at a discount, just like every other university press that emails me...

Goodbye to Some of That

By the time you read this it will be nearly a month since I left New York City. Such an event is meant to be an incredible exigence, one that will spark the...

Three Suggestions to Improve ITV's Terrible Leader Debate

I’m not really sure what to say about this unhinged excuse for a debate. I feel these events are crafted to create sensationalized media content, directly...

The Rhetorical Onside Kick

The Rhetorical Onside Kick American football confuses me. One of the most confusing things is the onside kick, which, if someone tells you they understand it...

A More Serious Writer

I wish I was a more serious writer. Or at least more consistent. Or wrote in a way that people could see it more and more often. Graduate school ruined my...

The Froth Of War

The Froth of War The Nova Music Festival massacre on October 7th isn’t over and won’t be for a very long time. The trauma will stay with the survivors and...

Recovering Education from the Dismal Demands of School

Education has been boiled down to school. All of the elements of education now have to be reduced to fit into very small test tubes and slides called...

The New Sophistic Disputation Blog

Welcome Substack subscribers. This is the new place where I hope to blog. We’ll see if this is as easy as that was without all the negativity of the hosts....