Aristotle! For Everybody!

Speaking of politics, I'm teaching a new freshman course this fall at IPFW, W129. This writing course will be built around a common theme--politics and the election.

One of the goals of the course is to teach students to read and analyze complex texts using the tools of rhetoric.

As I was choosing an ancillary text for this purpose, it occurred to me that Aristotle would be a great choice, since students fine his work difficult, and it is available free online. Then I remebered Mortimer Adler's Aristotle for Everybody, which does a nice job of making his thinking accessible.

Asking my students to use Aristotle's tools to analyze political rhetoric seems like a fun challenge! I hope the students agree.