Argument Culture Moving From Debate to Dialogue - Softcover

Tannen, Deborah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0965609154 ISBN 13: 9780965609159

Publisher: Random House~trade, 1998

Synopsis

The bestselling author of "You Just Don't Understand" returns with a penetrating look at how we, as a culture, rarely discuss or debate anymore. Instead we argue, and the results, as Tannen spells out can be disastrous. Tannen explains how the media, educators, and politicians give credence to many harmful and false ideas just in the effort to present both sides of every story.

About this title

Review

Do Americans argue too much? Deborah Tannen, author of You Just Don't Understand and That's Not What I Meant!, is an expert on miscommunication. In The Argument Culture she posits that misunderstanding is endemic in our culture because we tend to believe that the best way to a common goal is by thrashing out all our differences as loudly as possible along the way. Thus we are treated to a whole array of confrontational public forums, from congressional partisan politics to media circuses à la Jerry Springer and Jenny Jones, all based on a metaphor of war. What gets lost in all the shouting, Tannen says, is thoughtful debate and real understanding. Perhaps it's time to consider other methods of communication, she suggests. In addition to outlining what she considers the worst excesses of our argument culture, Tannen revisits some of the territory covered in You Just Don't Understand as she discusses the different ways in which young boys and girls express disagreement or aggression. Finally, she offers a survey of other, mostly non-Western ways of dealing with conflict, including the use of intermediaries and rituals. After reading The Argument Culture you might never again look at the evening news in the same way.

From the Inside Flap

THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS LINGUIST OFFERS A COMPLETELY ORIGINAL ANALYSIS OF THE WAY WE COMMUNICATE--AND A REVOLUTIONARY LANGUAGE TO LIVE BY!
In her #1 bestseller You Just Don't Understand, Deborah Tannen showed why talking to someone of the opposite sex can be like talking to someone from another world. Now Tannen is back with another groundbreaking book, this time widening her lens to examine the way we communicate in public--in the media, in politics, in our courtrooms, and classrooms--once again letting us see in a new way forces that have powerfully shaped our lives.
The war on drugs, the battle of the sexes, political turf combat--in the argument culture, war metaphors pervade our talk and influence our thinking. We approach anything we need to accomplish as a fight between two opposing sides. In this fascinating book, Tannen shows how deeply entrenched this cultural tendency is, the forms it takes, and how it affects us every day--sometimes in useful ways, but often causing damage.
The Argument Culture is a remarkable book that will change forever the way you perceive--and communicate with--the world.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House~trade
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0965609154
• ISBN 13: 9780965609159
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 346