Using Case Studies in First-Year Composition: Teaching

Argument and Introducing Students to the Public Sphere

Tom Bowers

Iowa State University

March 18, 2005

Constructing a Public Sphere With Case Studies

Our Argument

Online, multimedia case studies offer first-year composition students a more complex understanding of argument.

The complexity of argument emerges through the students’ engagement with and construction of a public sphere.

Constructing a Public Sphere With Case Studies

Argument and public discourse in FYC

The personal, technical and public spheres

A case study on genetic testing

Construction of the public sphere in FYC

Teaching Argument in FYC

We teach the laws of logic and the etiquette of dispute but . . .

Students lack any real knowledge of the complexity of the issue

Papers result in pointless arguments among people who do not care much about the outcome(Lynch, George,and Cooper 1997)

FYC and the Public Sphere

Rhetoric and civic discourse

Find ways for students to engage in civic issues within a public forum

Have students not only engage with but also shape the public sphere

Goodnight’s Three Spheres of Communication

Personal: open-ended laws of logic, constructed through the personal relations of those engaged in conversation

Technical: formally coded laws of logic and stipulated, field grounded reasoning

Public: resolution cannot occur simply through the contingent norms of the private sphere nor the state of the art procedures of technical

Creativity, Conflict and the Public Sphere

Public spheres are those “discursive spaces where society deliberates about normative standards and even develops new frameworks for expressing and evaluating social reality” (Hauser 1987)

Deliberation:

convergence and conflict of the personal and technical

The Personal and Technical Spheres in Robert’s World

Personal Sphere

Videos of Robert, his wife and daughter

Family records

Video of a genetic counselor

Web links to support organizations for HD

Interview with a bioethicist about the ethics of testing.

The Personal and Technical Spheres in Robert’s World

Technical Sphere

Documents and video outlining the genetic basis of the disease and testing techniques

Video of an insurance company representative

Links to legislation and other information on anti-discrimination policies

Information on commercial pilot fitness testing standards

Sequence of Case Assignments

Background Report to Counselor

Letter to Robert

Position Paper Role—airline employer

Purpose—Determine course of action with respect to Robert’s future with the company

Conflicts and Congruence Between the Personal and

Technical Spheres“I have to consider moral and legal obligations to Robert and to his family.”

“My decision is based on my responsibilities as Robert’s employer and basic facts about Huntington’s Disease.”

“There are ethical, business, and legal issues involved and I feel that I need to address them all so that I can make the right decision.”

Justification for Keeping Robert Employed

The Personal Sphere

“I believe that good employees are hard to find. Because of this, I think that if Robert spent 6 years employed at my company with no problems so far, I have the obligation to not only him but to his family as well.”

Justification for Keeping Robert Employed

The Technical Sphere

“Under the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINDA) of 2003, Robert will not be terminated and Robert’s pay and benefits will not be changed or modified.”

But Can He Still Fly?

More from the Technical Sphere

“According to GINDA, the employer is responsible for allowing Robert to stay in his current position as long as he is able to perform his job within normal standards. By passing the pilot’s physical, Robert’s position as a pilot will be ensured.”

But Can He Still Fly?

The Technical Sphere

“Some symptoms of HD could put Robert in a situation to cause harm to others while flying the aircraft.”

“If symptoms of the disease set in, he may not be able to control an airplane as he could once before.”

“I’m sure that the disease will not only be strenuous physically but emotionally as well on Robert.”

 

Robert’s Employment Moves to the Public Sphere

Who Communicates What About Robert to Whom?

“If customers know that their pilot has Huntington’s Disease they may be scared off and choose to fly with a different airline. However, the information about Robert and his disease will not be advertised to the public. This information will not be withheld but will also not be readily given to the customers.”

Robert’s Employment Moves to the Public Sphere

Who Communicates What About Robert to Whom?

“It would be the right of the airline to let customers know that the pilot of their aircraft carries the gene for HD and what is involved with it.”

“In my own opinion, I would not be comfortable knowing that my life is in the hands of someone that could have a violent outburst at anytime.”

Robert’s Employment Moves to the Public Sphere

Who Communicates What About Robert to Whom?

“If Robert confided in private with me, and I know he has Huntington’s Disease, I cannot, nor should I tell anyone. If Robert wants me to tell the rest of the employees so that they are aware, I would. I think that Robert should tell the co-pilot he flies with, just in case something happens while in flight.”

The Personal and Technical Can Justify Robert’s Employment, but

then. . .

What is said to whom?

A public space emerges where the laws of logic and the norms of discourse need to be deliberated and fashioned

Students’ position papers do not end the cycle of communication but rather construct and make evident a call for further discourse