I bring in "junk mail" from political advocacy groups. I have students evaluate how the organizations frame their issues, who they use as authorities or spokespeople, who and what they define as problematic. In the parlance of the sociology of social movements, diagnostic frames define the problem, prognostic frames define the solutions, and motivational frames encourage the audience to act (usually through instilling hope that the solutions can be realistically implemented with the time and money of the audience).
Good luck. Brett Johnson Luther College david asma wrote: > It's time to re-tool the ol' Social Problems course... and I'm looking > to make use of some course assignments or activities to promote > increased recognition of persuasion / propaganda / claimsmaking in the > production of "problems." Any tried and true ideas? > > cheers, > dave asma
