Morphing
Textbook ~ Rhetoric Tools
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“Describing a controversy” (sometimes called “mapping”) refers to a summary and analysis activity which asks students to present an in-depth exploration and discussion of several viewpoints (usually at least four, but preferably more) to show how these viewpoints intersect with and challenge each other. The goal is to cultivate an appreciation for the wide range of differences—some subtle, some dramatic—among various opinions, and to combat the initial tendency most students have of thinking in simple dichotomies or recognizing only two or three major “sides” to an argument (i.e., pro-life, pro-choice, etc.: positions in an arguments are not just pro and con). The focus of describing a controversy can take many forms: You can ask students to describe opinions ranging across the entire field of controversy; to describe several opinions which make up one “side” of that controversy; to describe opinions about what exactly constitutes the controversy (i.e., what is the problem exactly); to describe opinions about causes (i.e., why this problem occurs); to describe proposed solutions (i.e., what we should do to fix the problem); to describe opinions about some sub-topic within the controversy (i.e., assuming we do accept euthanasia, in what cases or by what guidelines, should it be administered?); and so on. I recommend asking students to describe major opinions ranging across the entire controversy, but also requiring them to include a focus on the underlying values that inform these opinions. In other words, students should not only discuss how these various authors agree, disagree, or complicate each other’s ideas, but should strive to include some sense of how the authors’ values about suffering shape or determine the specific opinions they advocate. Examples of Describing a Controversy exercises: Describing Controversies Exercise, Human Likert Scale Activity |