Synopses & Reviews
What is the best way to encourage critical thinking? Reading and writing on topics that do not have clear-cut answers. CONTROVERSY, Third Edition is an innovative reader that features opposing, accessible readings on seventeen current topics with a focus on developing and active, questioning, skeptical approach toward ideas in print.
About the Author
Judith J. Pula, professor of English at Maryland's Frostburg State University, has nearly 20 years of experience as a reading, composition, and learning disabilities specialist in a university setting. She has been recognized at campus and statewide levels for teaching excellence. A recipient of state and international organization scholarships, Pula has also served the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International as a member of its journal's editorial board and as state and chapter research chair.
Audrey T. Edwards taught reading and composition to college freshmen for 11 years; she has won several awards for her teaching, including individualized instruction of students with learning disabilities. Currently a professor in the Department of Secondary Education and Foundations at Eastern Illinois University, she administers a field-oriented program to prepare secondary-school teachers.
R. Allan Dermott, professor emeritus of English at the New Hampshire Community Technical College at Manchester/Stratham, taught English for 28 years, first in the public schools and then at four universities and colleges. He has several published articles and presentations to his credit. His main focus was in teaching developmental reading and composition courses and helping students with learning disabilities.
Table of Contents
Introduction.
Winter Survival, David W. Johnson and Frank P. Johnson.
1. Overview: The Process of Critical Reading and Writing.
The Process of Critical Reading. The Writing Process.
2. The Juvenile Justice System: Does It Work?
Mapping the Streets of Crime, from Newsweek. Enough Is Enough, Judy Sheindlin with Josh Getlin.
3. Should Witnesses Become Involved?
Triple Slaying Probed, from The Associated Press. 37 Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police, Martin Gansberg.
4. Keeping Secrets: Should Adoption Records Be Confidential?
I Have a Right to Know, Jessica Branch, featuring an interview of Shanna Wells. I Have a Right to My Privacy, Jessica Branch, featuring an interview of an anonymous birth mother.
5. Aggression in Sports.
Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll, George Plimpton. A Humanistic Approach to Sports, Irving Simon.
6. Affirmative Action in College Admissions: Essential or Unfair?
Diversity Is Essential, Lee C. Bollinger. But Not at This Cost, Armstrong Williams.
7. Obedience: A Good Quality?
When I Need Your Opinion I'll Give It to You, Sam Levenson. Would You Obey a Hitler?, Jeanne Reinert.
8. Controlling Our Own Fates.
God Helps Those Who Stop Hurting Themselves, Harold Kushner. Heart Attack!, Michael Crichton.
9. Rap as a Cultural Force.
If Hip-Hop Ruled the World, Aisha K. Finch. Organizing the Hip-Hop Generation, Angela Ards.
10.Welfare vs. Workfare.
Guess What? Welfare Reform Works, Gary S. Becker. A Step Back to the Workhouse?, Barbara Ehrenreich.
11. Human Cloning and Human Rights.
Should the United States Ban Human Cloning? Yes: Individual Dignity Demands Nothing Less, George J. Annas. Human Cloning? Don't Just Say No, Ruth Macklin.
12. The Right to Bear Arms.
American Revolutionary, Matthew Edwards. The Hydrogen Bomb Lobby, Art Buchwald.
13. Sex Education: What Is the Best Approach?
Ignorance Won't Curb STIs,, Jamie Fetty. Frequently-Asked Questions About Sex Education, the National Coalition for Abstinence Education.
14. Should High School Be Required?
The Value of Higher Education, from Degrees to Succeed. Obsessive Compulsion: The Folly of Mandatory High-School Attendance, Jackson Toby.
15. Pornography: Free Speech or Harm to Women?
Why We Must Put Up with Porn, Susan Isaacs. Pornography and Civil Liberties, Catharine A. Itzin.
16. Is Freedom Worth Dying For?
Quakers and the American Revolution, Jeremiah Benezet. Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, Patrick Henry.
17. The Effects of Technology on Society.
A New Declaration of Independence: How to Win Back Our Freedom from the Technocrats, Charles Siegel. On the Edge of the Digital