The Politics of the Global or Public Argument

The Politics of the Global

Author: Himadeep Muppidi

Though presented often as an objective process, globalization is frequently analyzed from subjective perspectives that are closed to their own historical and geographical specificity. Refusing the false choice between objectivity and subjectivity, Himadeep Muppidi considers the production of the global as an intersubjective process involving the interplay of meanings, identities, and practices from historically different locations.Muppidi illustrates how the politics of globalization are played out in two multicultural democracies, India and the United States-particularly rich examples given the increasing interactions between them in the areas of global economy and security. Software experts and skilled professionals flow from India to the United States; the United States outsources service sector jobs to India. Although they differ in their approaches to worldwide regulation of weapons of mass destruction, India and the United States cooperate in opposing terrorism. Treating globalization as an intersubjective process reveals the different political possibilities (e.g., colonial coercion, postcolonial ambivalence, and postcolonial co-option) that are opened by global relays of meanings, identities, and power. Muppidi concludes by exploring a variety of spaces and strategies for resisting the colonization of the global. Himadeep Muppidi is assistant professor of political science at Vassar College.

Interesting book: The Formula or Dangerous Grains

Public Argument

Author: Robert O Weiss

Public Argument celebrates real argumentation for real people. Weiss guides the reader through the debate practice, providing instruction on how to participate in argumentation designed to facilitate reasoned deliberation by audiences in the public sphere. Contents: A Rationale for Public Argument; The "Public" in Public Argument; Formats for Public Debates; Audience Members as Participants; Topics in the Public Realm; Analysis of Propositions and Audiences; Premises in Public Debate; Testing the Premises; The Warranting Process; Continuity and Clash; Facilitating Communication; Evaluation and Decisions; Planning and Administration.

Table of Contents:

	Preface
Ch. 1	A Rationale for Public Argument	1
Ch. 2	The "Public" in Public Argument	17
Ch. 3	Formats for Public Debates	31
Ch. 4	Audience Members as Participants	47
Ch. 5	Topics in the Public Realm	59
Ch. 6	Analysis of Propositions and Audiences	73
Ch. 7	Premises in Public Debate	87
Ch. 8	Testing the Premises	103
Ch. 9	The Warranting Process	117
Ch. 10	Continuity and Clash	129
Ch. 11	Facilitating Communication	143
Ch. 12	Evaluation and Decisions	155
Ch. 13	Planning and Administration	167
	Appendix: Resources and References	181
	Index	185