Deliberate Conflict: Models of the Public Sphere and the Teaching of Argument Book

I had read parts of this book before, but I decided to teach the whole book for my graduate seminar in teaching argument. It was interesting to go through it with the lens of trying to figure out how much the students will understand. Roberts-Miller demonstrates the breadth of her knowledge throughout the book. There were times she did not explain her references as well as she could have for a group of graduate students who do not have much exposure to political theory or the history of rhetoric. I think her terminology may have confused some students, as the distinctions she was making were not obvious. Yet, I kept thinking as I read through just how much students needed to read this book. Her perspective is not one that we expose students to in practicum or elsewhere. Students have not theorized argument nor have they contextualized it in western philosophy. I know most of my students will not get everything she is trying to say. However, they will take away enough. I think Deliberate Conflict will impact them.

I spotted some redundancies that I didn't stumble across before, and I disagreed with her on some points. She refused to talk about research, especially the impact of propaganda on argument. I would have liked to have seen more about the influence of capitalism on democracy, as that has been theorized, and the concomitant influence on argument. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book. It's a must read for anyone who teaches composition.