bias+speech

Bias Speech 4-6 minutes

This speech should define and explore the concept of bias and analyze the role of bias in the public sphere. This speech should accomplish two tasks:


 * 1) Define bias in your own words and answer this question, “Can anyone ever argue passionately for a position without being biased?” A substantial portion of this speech should be a conceptual exploration about what separates a biased argument from a neutral, objective, or reasonable one or what distinguishes between a biased person and an unbiased person. Although you should offer a clear definition and vivid examples, you should also go further to analyze the concept fully. Categorize //types// of bias. Analyze how, if ever, bias is avoidable. (To help explore the concept, use Doulgas Walton’s article “Bias, Critical Doubt, and Fallacies” available on Oaks. Remember, however, this essay is //your// theory of bias, not a report about what Walton says.)


 * 1) Once you have established your theory of bias, then apply it. Find a social or political institution that, in your assessment, is consistently biased or encourages its members, either directly or indirectly, to make biased decisions. A biased institution could be something like college admissions, where kids go to school, how teams are selected for the NCAA basketball tournament, etc. (The only institution that is off-limits is the subject of the documentary on bias all 281 students have watched.) Specifically, introduce this institution to us. Assume we know very little about this institution. Most importantly, explain why, according to your theory of bias, the institution you chose is biased. Organize this section carefully. Be specific about the different ways in which the institution fails to promote an objective assessment of evidence. Make sure to explain how you think the system could be set up differently to avoid these problems.

As always, this speech should be thesis-driven, follow the structural/organizational advice from COMM 280, be thoroughly evidenced, properly cited, and fun to read.