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Larissa A. Favela

Instructor

Critical Thinking/Persuasion – SPCH 104

This course is transferable to CSU and UC.
It is advisable that ENG 101A or SPCH 101 be completed with a grade of C or better before taking this course.

“Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinions in good men is but knowledge in the making”.

- John Milton

Welcome to SPCH 104!

In this media saturated age, our senses are assaulted 24-7 with visual and aural messages that seek to “inform us” and ultimately persuade us to view the world a certain way, to think and believe a certain way, in order to influence the choices we make. This course explores persuasion as a communication process and examines the persuasive messages surrounding us, communicated to us, influencing us – shaping (changing?) our values, beliefs, our political and social perspectives, our consumer choices and personal decisions. This course also investigates how we consume these messages, help produce persuasive messages of our own, and even continue to reinforce and empower existing persuasive messages.

The goal of this course is to encourage responsible, critical, and ethical consumers and producers of persuasion. In this course, we look at persuasive premises, the theoretical foundations of research into persuasion, we will identify persuasive tools, techniques, and strategies, the arguments that form persuasive messages, the differences between truth and knowledge, facts and opinions, beliefs and preferences, as well as explore how we can use these strategies effectively and ethically as we attempt to persuade others.

Spring 2007 Course Info

SPCH 104-02, Tuesday evenings, 6:30 pm – 9:45 pm

Portable 14, Rm 14B

SPCH 104 course syllabus (Spr07)

Academic Dishonesty Policy

SPCH 104 Assignments

Assignments will be posted after assigned in class

Journal Assign. #1

SPCH 104 Handouts

To be posted after handed out in class

Course Links

[my webpage]