How to Bullshit

Go watch some Whose Line is it Anyway or something. Or, if you want to practice, go write abstracts for paper titles from the Snarxiv.

Required Readings

These New York Times articles and opinion pieces should help you understand the roots of rhetoric and speech that we'll be focusing on in class. Please read all six; each is short. Each should be findable by brief Google Search (no link, since the Times now has a paywall).

The Roots of Overheated Rhetoric, by Ross Douthat. NY Times blog.
Anatomy of a Stump Speech. NY Times Interactive Feature. Pick any one speech, watch it through, and note the commentary.
Tunisia Faces a Balancing Act of Democracy and Religion, by Anthony Shadid. NY Times article, January 30, 2012.
Bias Called Persistent Hurdle for Women in Sciences, by Tamar Lewin. NY Times article, March 22, 2010.
Internet Developments Point to Copyright Divestiture, by Jamal Ettinghof. NY Times article, August 12, 2009.
The History of Politics by Thomas Hurwics, NY Times Book Review by Harrison Lee.