Argumentation in dispute mediation: OUT TODAY

My book Argumentation in dispute mediation is out today!

http://benjamins.com/cgi-bin/t_bookview.cgi?bookid=AIC%203

hurry up before it is sold out :-)

New Publication on the Argumentum Model of Topics

A new paper on the Argumentum Model of Topics has just appeared on the journal Argumentation:


Comparing the Argumentum Model of Topics to Other Contemporary Approaches to Argument Schemes: The Procedural and Material Components
Eddo Rigotti and Sara Greco Morasso


See the ONLINE FIRST section from the homepage of Argumentation, from which the paper can be downloaded:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/102850/?Content+Status=Accepted

Abstract
This paper focuses on the inferential configuration of arguments, generally referred to as argument scheme. After outlining our approach, denominated Argumentum Model of Topics (AMT, see Rigotti and Greco Morasso 2006, 2009; Rigotti 2006, 2008, 2009), we compare it to other modern and contemporary approaches, to eventually illustrate some advantages offered by it. In spite of the evident connection with the tradition of topics, emerging also from AMT’s denomination, its involvement in the contemporary dialogue on argument schemes should not be overlooked. The model builds in particular on the theoretical and methodological perspective of pragma-dialectics in its extended version, reconciling dialectic and rhetoric; nevertheless, it also takes into account numerous other contributions to the study of argument schemes. Aiming at a representation of argument schemes able to monitor the inferential cohesion and completeness of arguments, AMT focuses on two components of argument scheme that could be distinguished, readapting pragma-dialectical terms, as procedural and material respectively. The procedural component is based on the semantic-ontological structure, which generates the inferential connection from which the logical form of the argument is derived. The material component integrates into the argument scheme the implicit and explicit premises bound to the contextual common ground (Rigotti 2006). In this paper, the comparison of the AMT to other approaches focuses on the inferential configuration of arguments and not on the typologies of argument schemes and on the principles they are based on, which the authors intend to tackle in a further paper.

A new site (Tim van Gelder) on argument mapping

Following a workshop on argument mapping for university-level educators, Tim van Gelder has opened a new website (ARGUMENT MAPPING IN YOUR SUBJECT): http://sites.google.com/site/argumentmappinginyoursubject/

I quote from his description:
"Rather than creating a standard paper handout, I created a small website, Argument Mapping in Your Subject. [..] The website is a kind of portal to resources which might be helpful for educators seeking to better understand argument mapping and how to integrate into the subject they teach, whatever that may be. Mostly the website just links to resources already available elsewhere, but does provide some useful original content including, in particular, some case studies of how educators have incorporated argument mapping into their subjects, one in Economics, and another in Computer Science."

ARGUMENTATION AND EDUCATION

Argumentation and Education: Theoretical Foundations and Practices
Muller Mirza, Nathalie; Perret-Clermont, Anne-Nelly (Eds.)
New York: Springer, 2009, VI, 237 p. 25 illus., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-387-98124-6

Table of contents
Introduction, Nathalie Muller Mirza and Anne-Nelly Perret-Clermont

Part I. Theoretical Foundations
Argumentation as an Object of Interest and as a Social and Cultural Resource, Eddo Rigotti and Sara Greco Morasso
Psychosocial Processes in Argumentation, Nathalie Muller Mirza, Anne-Nelly Perret-Clermont, Valerie Tartas, and Antonio Iannaccone
Argumentation and Learning, Baruch B. Schwarz
Argumentative Interactions and the Social Construction of Knowledge, Michael Baker
Argumentative Design, Jerry E. B. Andriessen and Baruch B. Schwarz

Part II. Practices
Developing Argumentation: Lessons Learned in the Primary School, Neil Mercer
Argumentation in Higher Education: Examples of Actual Practices with Argumentation Tools, Jerry E. B. Andriessen
The Argumentum Experience, Sara Greco Morasso

Examining argumentation in context

The first volume of the series "Argumentation in context" published by John Benjamins has just appeared: http://www.benjamins.com/cgi-bin/t_seriesview.cgi?series=AIC

Examining Argumentation in Context: Fifteen studies on strategic maneuvering

By F. H. van Eemeren and B. Garssen (eds.).

contains a selection of papers on strategic maneuvering in argumentative discourse. Starting point of all of these contributions is that a satisfactory analysis and evaluation of strategic maneuvering is possible only if the argumentative discourse is first situated in the communicative and interactional context in which it occurs. While some of the contributions present general views with regard to strategic maneuvering, other contributions report on the results of empirical studies, examine strategic maneuvering in a particular legal or political context, or highlight the presentational design of strategic maneuvering. Examining Argumentation in Context therefore provides an insightful view of recent developments in the research on strategic maneuvering, which is currently prominent in the study of argumentation.

New publication - GLOBAL LINGUISTICS

A new volume on intercultural communication with some interesting insights on argumentation in the delicate context of intercultural relationships:

Danesi, Marcel / Rocci, Andrea
Global Linguistics
An Introduction
2009. 23 x 15.5 cm. X, 270 pages. 30 fig. 21 tables. Paperback. RRP Euro [D] 34.95 / for USA, Canada, Mexico US$ 39.95.
ISBN 978-3-11-021406-2 Series: Mouton Textbook
MOUTON DE GRUYTER
http://www.degruyter.de/cont/fb/sk/detailEn.cfm?isbn=978-3-11-021406-2

***About this Title (from Mouton De Gruyter's website):
The book provides an introduction to an interdisciplinary field of inquiry that can be called “global linguistics” (GL). GL emerges to tackle the ever-growing phenomenon of intercultural communication (IC) in today’s world of international contacts. The specific aim of GL is to look at the form and contents of dialogues among speakers of different cultural backgrounds who will use a “default language” or koiné (usually English) to interact, in order to detect communication breakdowns at various levels of “depth,” as well as the opportunities for developing sound intercultural communication practice. The book includes an accessible presentation of fundamental questions concerning languages and language use. Among the questions addressed are the universal design features of languages, the connection between language and conceptual systems, how people use language to coordinate their actions and interact in a variety of social contexts, and the place of language in a semiotic view of culture. The volume also addresses how language, context and culture shape the way in which we argue a point and try to persuade other people, and why intercultural argumentation is both necessary and risky.Global Linguistics: An Introduction describes fundamental notions in linguistics and cognate fields and is thus well-suited for use as a textbook in courses dealing with IC in general. At the same time, the book is of general interest to scholars in linguistics and communication studies, as it places particular emphasis on theoretical models such as argumentation theory and conceptual metaphor theory, which are generally not presented in textbooks on language and IC.

Call for papers - Argumentative processes and communication contexts

Call for Papers

Studies in Communication Sciences – An International Journal

Thematic Section on:

Argumentative processes and communication contexts

Guest Editors: Eddo Rigotti and Sara Greco Morasso, Università della Svizzera italiana, Faculty of Communication Sciences, Switzerland

The relevance of the role played by argumentation in shaping the communicative practices occurring in different contexts and activity types is increasingly acknowledged. Argumentation is rooted in the contexts in which it takes place and is significantly determined by them: from social and political institutions to media discourse and journalism, from social and ethical debate to the economic and financial sphere, from health communication to the various domains of interpersonal interactions.More specifically, argumentation, insofar as it fosters a reasonable management of disagreement and a critical attitude in the solution of conflicts of opinion and of interest, significantly conditions the quality of decision-making and of the building of consent in the communicative activities carried out in these contexts.A thorough study of argumentative processes in different communication contexts cannot originate but from an interdisciplinary effort connecting the awareness of the proper dynamics of specific communication contexts with theoretical knowledge of the argumentative processes. Consequently, the thematic section of this issue of Studies in Communication Sciences intends to bring together two categories of researchers. The first, dealing with the structure and dynamics of a specific communication context and perceiving the significance of argumentation within this context, aims at adequately defining the role of argumentative processes. The second category, mainly concerned with argumentative strategies, intends to verify how such strategies are molded on and influenced by the communication context to which they are applied.

Article Format and Topics:
Articles in the special issue can have a length of up to 10 pages (2300 characters, with spaces, per page), including abstract, footnotes and references. Contributions can be in English, Italian, French or German. Each author receives 25 free bound reprints of his or her article. The list of possible communication contexts in which argumentative processes can be analyzed includes (but is not limited to):
• Public communication and political discourse
• Communication practices in different mass-media and new-media platforms (newspapers, internet discussions tools, newsgroups, etc.)
• Controversies in scientific communication
• Social debate
• Economic and financial discourse
• Interpersonal communication in different institutional environments (family, school, and others)
• Other significant communication contexts

Key Dates:
• Submission of Articles: August 20th, 2009
• Feedback from Reviewers: October 10th, 2009
• Final Version due: October 31st, 2009
• Publication of the Journal: December 2009

Contact Information:
For questions about the contents, please contact: eddo.rigotti@lu.unisi.ch or sara.greco@lu.unisi.chTo submit your paper: info@scoms.ch
The Journal’s website (incl. notes for contributors) can be found at: www.scoms.ch

Argumentation, relationship, emotions

Suggested reading: Sara Cigada (2006), "Connectif et relation entre locuteurs", in: Syndesmoi, Connettivi nella realtà dei testi, ed. G. Gobber, M.C. Gatti and S. Cigada, Milano: Vita e Pensiero, 97-173.

Sara Cigada offers an intriguing account on how the most important "habit change" allowed by communication is on the relationship between the interlocutors.

After a very detailed review of those approaches dealing with the topic of relationship and communication, the author proposes some theoretical notions (subjectivité et relation, common ground, connectif, intérêt et thématisation, implication et changement) through which she analyses a corpus of texts related to the foundations of Europe after the Second World War.

I 'discovered' and appreciated this text while looking at the relation between conflict, communication, and relationship. A very interesting reading that I warmly suggest.

Perspectives on Strategic Maneuvering: special issue of Argumentation

The journal Argumentation has just published a special issue (volume 20, n. 4, December 2006) that collects contributions given at the 'van Rees Conference' held in Amsterdam in October 2006. Several contributions from Lugano are included.
See the Journal website on Springerlink: http://www.springerlink.com/content/102850/