David Zarefsky

Ph.D., Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Dr. David Zarefsky is the Owen L. Coon Professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University, where he has taught for over 30 years. He earned his B.S., master's degree, and Ph.D. from Northwestern University. From 1988 through 2000, he served as the Dean of the School of Speech.

A nationally recognized authority on rhetoric and forensics, he is a past president of the National Communication Association (NCA) and recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award in 1994 and the Distinguished Service Award in 2001. On no fewer than 13 occasions, his outstanding lecturing skills have been recognized by the inclusion of his name on Northwestern’s Associated Student Government Honor Roll for Teaching.

Dr. Zarefsky has authored five books, edited three more, and published over 50 scholarly articles and reviews. He received the 1986 National Communication Association’s Winans-Wichelns Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address for his book President Johnson’s War on Poverty: Rhetoric and History and the same award again in 1991 for Lincoln, Douglas, and Slavery: In the Crucible of Public Debate.

	Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition Professor David Zarefsky Reasoning, tested by doubt, is argumentation. We do it, hear it, and judge it every day. We do it in our own minds, and we do it with others. What is effective reasoning? And how can it be done persuasively? This is equally a course in argument and in reasoning. This course teaches how to reason. It teaches how to persuade others that what you think is right. And it teaches how to judge and answer the arguments of others—and how they will judge yours.

	Abraham Lincoln: In His Own Words Professor David Zarefsky Precisely because Lincoln is a national hero and legend, we have lost sight of some of his depth and complexity. His noble words—the Gettysburg Address especially—have become so familiar that we have almost lost the power truly to hear them. By tracing Lincoln’s path to oratorical greatness, these lectures restore a full sense of his true stature.

	Art of Teaching: Best Practices from a Master Educator & Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition (Set) Professor David Zarefsky Enhance and improve your strengths as a teacher and instructor with this two-course set on the craft of effective teaching and reasoning. First, learn how to reach astounding new levels of success as a teacher with The Art of Teaching: Best Practices from a Master Educator. Then, strengthen your ability to argue your views successfully and persuade others that what you think is right with Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition.

	Writing Creative Nonfiction & Argumentation (Set) Professor David Zarefsky Take your writing to the next level with this practical two-course set that pays dividends on the page and beyond. Explore the entire process of writing creative nonfiction, from brainstorming for the perfect idea to getting your final product noticed by literary agents and publishers, in Writing Creative Nonfiction. And in Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition, learn how to persuade people that what you think is right, and how to judge and answer the arguments of others.

	Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft & Argumentation, 2nd Edition (Set) Professor David Zarefsky Strengthen your ability to write stylistically and argue your views successfully with the guidance of two award-winning professors. In Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft, you gain unique insights into the nature of great writing and learn how to achieve some of that greatness yourself. In Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition, you learn how to reason, how to persuade others that what you think is right, and how to judge and respond to the arguments of others.

Save Up To $360	The Philosopher’s Toolkit: How to Be the Most Rational Person in Any Room & Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition (Set) Professor David Zarefsky What is effective reasoning? How can you do it calmly, without discounting your emotions? And how can it be done persuasively? In The Philosopher's Toolkit: How to Be the Most Rational Person in Any Room, you gain the tools to be more creative, logical, inventive, realistic, and rational in your thinking and in all aspects of your daily life. And in Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition, learn how to persuade people that what you think is right, and how to judge and answer the arguments of others.

	Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition & Tools of Thinking: Understanding the World Through Experience and Reason (Set) Professor David Zarefsky How can you most effectively argue your point? How can you best understand the world around you? Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition teaches you how to reason and how to persuade others that what you think is right. Tools of Thinking: Understanding the World through Experience and Reason helps you cut through deception and faulty reasoning to get to the essence of a matter.

	Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition & Games People Play: Game Theory in Life, Business, and Beyond (Set) Professor David Zarefsky Hone your skills of reason and rational decision making in this two-course set that has powerful implications for your personal and professional life. In Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition, you’ll learn key insights on how to persuade others that what you think is correct, how to judge and answer the arguments of others, and how others will judge arguments of yours. In Games People Play: Game Theory in Life, Business, and Beyond, you’ll explore the fundamentals of game theory, investigate the field's classic games, encounter its greatest minds, and discover its real-world applications in arenas including corporate negotiations, foreign policy, and your everyday life.

	Philosophy of Religion & Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition (Set) Professor David Zarefsky Philosophy of Religion invites you to explore the questions of divine existence with the tools of epistemology, the branch of philosophy that concerns itself with what we can know. Afterward, strengthen your ability to argue your own views successfully with Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition.

	Art of Critical Decision Making & Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition (Set) Professor David Zarefsky Discover the secrets and skills to becoming successful in two important everyday activities in this engaging and practical two-course set. The Art of Critical Decision Making explores how people and groups make effective choices, and provides you with techniques to enhance the effectiveness of your own decision making. Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition teaches you how to reason, how to persuade others that what you think is right, and how to judge and respond to the arguments of others.

	Effective Communication Skills & Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition (Set) Professor David Zarefsky Achieve lasting success in your life with these two engaging and rewarding courses. In Effective Communication Skills, learn more about how you communicate verbally, the common problems you can encounter in doing so, and how you can improve your own effectiveness. And in Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition, learn how to reason, how to persuade others that what you think is right, and how to judge and answer the arguments of others.

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David Zarefsky