Sunday, December 12, 2010

The Touro Communication Club Notes - #132– December 15, 2010
BREAKING NEWS! - Winners of the 10th Speech Contest!! The entire list of winners and finalists is listed below from last week’s highly successful contest. Find your friends!
Blog Contents:
1. Ten Quotes about “WikiLeaks and Secrecy”
2. 10th Speech Contest Results
3. UPCOMING CLUB PROGRAM: - “WikiLeaks and Secrecy” Wednesday, December 15, 2010 @ 2 pm in Room 223.
4. Logical Fallacy of the Week # 21 – “Post hoc ergo propter hoc”
5. Professor Geo’s Communication Thought of the Week
6. Note to Communicators: “Nobody’s interested in communicating during the Battle of the Sexes”
7. .NEXT WEEK’S TOPIC: The Club will be on hiatus until early February after the beginning of the Spring term. Enjoy finals and the holidays!
8. Upcoming Conversations - please add your topic to the list
9. What happened last week: “Talking to Guys/Talking to Girls:” (Lorinda’s poem, “Her Search.”)
1. Ten Quotations about WikiLeaks & Secrecy
“We open governments.”
Slogan on Wikileaks website, founded by Julian Assange
"The first serious infowar is now engaged. The field of battle is WikiLeaks. You are the troops."
John Perry Barlow, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation:
"Not since President Richard Nixon directed his minions to go after Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg and New York Times reporter Neil Sheehan -- "a vicious antiwar type," an enraged Nixon called him on the Watergate tapes -- has a working journalist and his source been subjected to the kind of official intimidation and threats that have been directed at Assange and Manning by high-ranking members of the Obama Administration.... It is dispiriting and upsetting for anyone who cares about the American tradition of a free press to see Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton and Robert Gibbs turn into H.R. Haldeman, John Erlichman and John Dean."
David Samuels, The Atlantic Magazine
We are all bracing for what may be coming and condemn WikiLeaks for the release of classified material. It will place lives and interests at risk. It is irresponsible."
PJ CROWLEY, U.S. State Department spokesman on the impending Wikileaks' release of cables
Secrecy is the first essential in affairs of state.
Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642), French clergyman, noble and statesman
“Secrecy is the freedom tyrants dream of.”
Bill Moyers, American journalist and commentator. Served as White House Press Secretary until President Johnson.
Secrecy, once accepted, becomes an addiction.”
Edward Teller (1908-2003), Austro-Hungarian/American theoretical physicist,
known as “the father of the hydrogen bomb.”
“The very word ‘secrecy’ is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths,
and to secret proceedings.”
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), 35th President of the United States
“What is told in the ear of a man is often heard 100 miles away.”
Chinese saying
“My life is an open book. I just hope some of the pages stick.”
Jack Benny (1894-1974), American comedian, vaudevillian and actor for radio, television and film
2. Results of the 10th Speech Contest – Fall,
December 7 2010,
Name
Title of Speech
Instructor
Course/Site
Rank
1. Malka Fusilov
“Hand Hygiene”
Prof. Bardwell
GCA101
Dov Revel SCAS
First Prize
2. Domanique Conyers
:”Feng Shui & Romance
Prof. Bardwell
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Second Prize
3. Anna Indelicato
“Effective Management”

Prof. Turney
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Third Prize
4. Malka Sulimanov
"Protecting Ourselves from Weapons of Mass Destruction"
Prof. Bardwell
GCA 101
Dov Revel
SCAS/
Honorable Mention
5.. Eric Hawkins
"YouTube And You"

Prof. Wicke
GCA 100
Midtown/ SGS
Special Recognition
6. Abayev, Elizabeth
"The Truth About Reality TV"
Prof. Bardwell
GCA 215
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
7. Noam
Basher
“Bullying”
Prof. Green
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
8. Husni Chana Yosupov
“Diamonds”
Prof. Backinoff
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
9. Netu Goberdhan
“Issues of Rape”`
Prof. Green
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
10. Edwin Izaguirre
“The U.S. Marine Corps”
Prof Bardwell
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
11. Jennifer Johnson
“Teenage Pregnancy”
Prof. Turney
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
12. Manuel Oquendo
”Motivation”
Prof. Green
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
13. Avichai Pleshtiyev
“Weight Management”

Prof. Bardwell
GCA 101
Dov Revell
SCAS
Finalist
14. Vanessa
Rodriguez
"Becoming a College Student"
Prof. Backinoff
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
15. Ester Rubinova
"Improving Your Conversation Skills"
Prof. Wicke
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist


2. The Touro Communication ClubWednesday, December 15, 2010 - 2 pm – Room 223
Midtown
“WikiLeaks and Secrecy”
In recent days, there has been a torrent of secret American diplomatic documents released by WikiLeaks, a self declared arbiter of secrecy founded in 2006 by Australian journalist Julian Assange. Some 250,000 documents that purport to describe the behind the scenes diplomatic exchanges by the United States and some 274 of its allies have been released. Unlike the 1971 leak of the Pentagon Papers by Daniel Ellsberg which was a single event, these Wikileaks actions stem from philosophical position of anarchy and are based on its slogan, “We open governments.” The banks are next. We will explore the latest in the WikiLeaks actions and compare the concept of secrets between governments, institutions, personal relationships and individual acts. We’ll ask, “Is secrecy necessary? Is transparency impossible or dangerous? What about self-disclosure?” Tune in for what should be a lively discussion.

This conversation will be the last one for 2010. We will resume in February, 2011 in the early part of the Spring semester.

3. Logical Fallacy of the Week #21:
“Argument from Authority”
I would argue that plagiarism stems from a person’s misunderstanding of authority. In a feverish attempt to complete an assignment, the person lifts a portion of a document and inserts it into his document without reference to the source.

The person who unknowingly plagiarizes is probably not conscious that authorship of a document gives a certain authority to the writing. To the naïve plagiarizer, the plagiarized portion is just a bunch of words and all words are interchangeable with another. He’s just buying another shirt at the store. The rise of the Internet has promoted an ethos that everything is free – so why not take something free and put it in your writing?

The plagiarist is not confident in his own writing and searches for something that sounds like it is authoritative that will bolster his perceived weak writing.

Authority is power. With authority comes presumed credibility. Authority comes from the letters after your name (BA, MA, PhD), the rank on your shoulder, the badge you’re wearing. All externals.

The plagiarist doesn’t feel confident in his own work. So, thinking that all writing is free, he takes what he needs.

When we feel in an inferior position, we appeal to authority to gain a balance in the relationship.

If we believe in the power of the external authority – uniforms, rank, titles, degrees, celebrity position - we gain (buy?) self-esteem. In the presence of the authority, we gain reflected glory. “I have John Lennon’s autograph.” “Here’s my picture with President Obama.” “Do you want to see my Picasso?”

In Shakespeare’s ‘Richard III,” the manipulative power hungry Duke of Gloucester surrounds himself with “two pillars of virtue” (Bishops of the Catholic Church) to give the citizens to impression that he is a pious man and worthy of the crown. Richard knows that to be credible to the groundlings he must appear to respect the church, a major political power of the day.

Ultimately, however, all authority is internal. Internal authority is hard won and often tested. The trappings of external power are just theatre, empty gestures appearing real. When we focus on the externals, we build an empty box to put under the Christmas tree.

This fallacy appears often in our discussion. Authoritative phrases begin with “The Bible says…”; The Pope says…”; The President says…”; “Father (or Mother) says…”; The Professor says…”. “Sarah Palin says…” (Oops! But then, who knows?)

For the student who is building her own knowledge base, appealing to authority is useful and does give credibility to the students’ work. Students need to be reminded that their own authority informs the frame of reference of their work, but does not demonstrate a wider knowledge beyond the narcissistic bubble.

The intellectual thinking is that the beginner needs external support for his thinking, but as she matures and demonstrates increasing command, he becomes his own credible authority.

In conclusion, the “Appeal to Authority” is a mixed bag, useful in some occasions, empty in others. The Communicator needs to recognize the difference.

4. Professor Geo's Thought of the Week #10:
A comment from Garrison Wynn, motivational speaker, “It does not matter how smart you are if nobody knows what you are talking about."

5. A Note to Communicators:
Secrecy and Transparency
These two concepts are opposite impulses in the world of personal and political discourse. The degree of disclosure has a variable yardstick, depending on the situation and the person. Some want total secrecy. Others, like Julian Assange, want total transparency.

In the personal realm, it is unlikely you will share your most private thoughts with anyone. But you may selectively share certain aspects of your history with people you trust. The word “trust” conjures simultaneous naiveté and wily behavior. To the trusting individual, secrets are shared to bond with another. To the Machiavellian, secrets are planted for conspiratorial purposes. A history of trust between two people is violated when one betrays the secrets of another.

On the job, personal information is privileged beyond the basics. Yet co-workers and bosses are eager to learn of any negative history - scrapes with the law, family indiscretions and physical conditions. These might have an impact on work performance or the inevitable jockeying for political position.

In the business, corporate and political worlds, secrecy is the predominant behavior. Such is a wise strategy since competition, not cooperation, is the way of the world. Win-lose strategies are prevalent; win-win strategies are for the most enlightened and wary. Trust is a commodity is low supply. Any agreement needs constant due diligence for Murphy’s Law.

What makes Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks’ effort such a threat is that, as an anarchist, he espouses the destruction of government, all government. His philosophy is beyond that of a Libertarian whose beliefs in the purist form argue for little government.

In all relationships, everyone has different definitions of secrecy and transparency. To assume that your partner’s definition is the same as yours at the beginning of a relationship is both naïve and ego and ethnocentric.

In international business, surface behavior is often not what it seems. A student in one of my Touro MBA Communication classes several years ago made a business deal with a Japanese company. He was very careful in gaining agreement on every detail. Three months later, when he returned to Japan, he discovered to his dismay, there was no deal. The Japanese were merely in the early phases of getting to know and trust him. He never got any deal.

Even though we may be conscious of what we are doing, often our emotions are governing our decisions. In romance, we are blinded by surging eroticism. Even after the honeymoon period passes, one can always discover discrepancies in another’s behavior that can throw doubt on the relationship.

The glass would always be half empty if we conclude that all relationships must be regarded with suspicion. Yet, with wearing the most optimistic mask, we would be foolish to believe every word and action as true and accurate to your definitions.
To the enlightened communicator, juggling a balance between secrecy and transparency is the norm.

6. Next week’s Conversation:
The Communication Club will be on hiatus until the early part of the Spring, 2011,
Keep your eyes and ears open!

7. UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:
What about one of these topics?
“Repetition”
“Meaning”
“Why Does History Repeat Itself?”
“Heroism”
“Concentration”
“Coping with Adversity”
Student Poetry showcase
“Empathy”
“Connecting the Dots”
Role play of Cynical people
“Cold Calling in Sales
“He’s Just Not That into You”

Sunday, December 5, 2010

The Touro Communication Club Notes - #131–December 8, 2010

NEWS:
10th Speech Contest is on Tuesday, December 7, 2010 at 2 pm in Room 314 – Midtown. Finalists from the Communication classes will compete for $100 First Prize, $75 Second Prize, $50 Third Prize. Judges are Adriana Jimenez, of the Career Placement Office; Simone Joseph of the Midtown Site Directors office; and Dr. Brent Cutler, Director of the Paralegal program. Join us!

Blog Contents:
1. Ten Quotes about the Battle of the Sexes
2. UPCOMING CLUB PROGRAM: - “Talking to Guys/Talking to Girls” Again! Wednesday, December 8, 2010 @ 2 pm in Room 223.
3. Logical Fallacy of the Week # 21 – “Post hoc ergo propter hoc”
4. Professor Geo’s Communication Thought of the Week
5. Note to Communicators: “Nobody’s interested in communicating during the Battle of the Sexes”
6. .NEXT WEEK’S TOPIC: “Wikileaks and Secrecy”
7. Upcoming Conversations - please add your topic to the list
8. What happened last week: Professor Carlisle Yearwood discusses T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land”

1. Ten Quotations about the Battle of the Sexes

“I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb...
and I also know that I'm not blonde.”
Dolly Parton, American country singer, songwriter and actor

“You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see
a smart woman with a dumb guy.”
Erica Jong, American author and teacher

Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes. There’s too much fraternizing with the enemy.”
Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State and political advisor

“I think -- therefore I'm single.”
Lizz Winstead, American comedian and blogger

"When women are depressed they either eat or go shopping.
Men invade another country."
Elayne Boosler, American comedian

"In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man;
If you want anything done, ask a woman."
Margaret Thatcher, former British prime minister,

“Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition.”
Timothy Leary (1920-1996), controversial American psychologist, advocated research into psychedelic drugs. President Nixon called him "the most dangerous man in America.” (cf. Wikipedia)

“A woman reading Playboy feels a little like a Jew reading a Nazi manual.”
Gloria Steinem, American feminist, journalist, founder of MS magazine

“To tell a woman everything she may not do is to tell her what she can do.”
Spanish Proverb

“Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
Eleanor Roosevelt, civil rights advocate and First Lady from 1933-1945

2. The Touro Communication Club
Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - 2 pm – Room 223
Midtown
Let’s Try Again!
Talking to Guys/Talking to Girls”

In the last four years, we’ve talked about this topic at least three times in one form or another. The academic term for conversation between the sexes is “Gender Communication.” John Gray’s 1992 bestseller “Men are from Mars; Women are from Venus” codified the communication difficulties between the sexes in the popular mind. For centuries, the conflict has been called ‘The Battle of the Sexes.” Going beyond sexual attraction to attempt building a relationship is an ongoing challenge for everyone. Some have answers. Others are searching. We’ll share our questions and conclusions.

3. Logical Fallacy of the Week #20:
“Post hoc ergo propter hoc”

President Obama is experiencing this Latin mouthful as we speak. Roughly translated the phrase means “After this, therefore because of it.” This fallacy makes the erroneous assumption that if “A” occurred after “B” then “B” must have caused “A.”

In this fallacy of “B” causing “A,” the current political atmosphere has painted the picture that President Obama’s policies are now responsible for the current economic situation. In fact, so says the propaganda strategy, Obama has made this situation worse. “B” has made “A” worse.

Knowing that voters have a very short memory and will always ask “what can you do for me now?” the Republicans have been exceedingly successful in shifting the blame for the economic crisis from President Bush to President Obama. Bush’s actions are forgotten as Obama’s efforts to correct the situation appear futile Obama’s attempts to demonstrate that his accomplishments, though not entirely successful, have begun to right the sinking economy. Combined with the parallel strategy of saying “No” to everything, this fallacy makes for powerfully effective politics.

Take another example: the American Indian “rain dance.” There is a drought; the crops are dying. The tom-toms beat; the men dance and the rains come. The clever medicine man has noticed that there are dark clouds occurring on the horizon and tells the chief to do the rain dance. The tribe does – and the rain comes. Everyone assumes that the dance caused the rain.

Imagine the frustration of doing a rain dance on a series of dry blue skies.
Here’s a literary variation of the fallacy: If you remember Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Author’s Court,” this fallacy is crucial to the success of the hero, Hank Morgan. After a blow to the head, he finds himself in King Arthur’s court. He is an outcast. Merlin, the court magician is suspicious of him and arranges for Hank to be burned at the stake. Now Twain stacks his deck in favor of his hero. Coincidentally, Hank was somewhat of an astronomer in his former life and remembers that his date of execution in 528 coincides with the date of a solar eclipse.

Twain manipulates the connection imaginatively as he writes that Hank announces that he has special powers. He claims that at the moment of his execution, he will blot out the sun permanently. The event comes to pass. As the sun begins to disappear, Hank announces he has the powers to bring back the sun. King Arthur is fearful. Merlin is discredited and Hank is freed and made the principal advisor to King Arthur. Now Hank is known as “The Boss.” Twain’s charming tale continues through many other fascinating twists.

In our every day life, other examples of post hoc ergo propter hoc occur.
· We fail an exam; we say the test is too hard when we haven’t studied.
· We are late to class; the cause of the lateness is that the subways were running late, not that we got up late.
· We are late for a date; we make up an excuse when the reality is that we forgot.
· The best one I’ve heard for lack of preparation for class was when the student said that his culture forced him to drink all night and therefore he could not study.
I have stopped taking out my violin when I hear these feeble statements to avoid responsibility for our actions.

The effectiveness of the fallacy in Obama’s world of politics requires a more immediate and forthright denunciation of the tactic.
.
4. Professor Geo’s “Communication Thought of the Week #9:
The smart remark or insult has a long history in communication. Sir Winston Churchill had many storied encounters with Lady Astor, Here is one pungent exchange.
Lady Astor: “If you were my husband I'd give you poison,"
Churchill: "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."

5. .A Note to Communicators:

Nobody’s interested in communicating during the Battle of the Sexes

After searching for credible quotations about the communication process between the sexes, I’ve come to the conclusion that neither sex is really interested in bridging the gender gap. Positions are staked out; barbs are thrown; funny linguistic twists are invented, but most everyone takes the “Battle of the Sexes’ as a given.

To try to bridge that gap is dull and boring and, most of all, takes the hilarity out of the endless possibilities of deriding the behavior of the other sex. Men feel wonderful when they can slice up a woman. Women take pleasure in puncturing the male ego.

So who wins? Nobody. The arguments start with light frivolity and end mean and hurtful. The back-and-forth quickly becomes circular – an enthymemic syllogism where no one agrees to the basic premises of the disagreement.

In the 1990s, John Gray made the male/female communication difficulties into catchy stereotypes of labeling the dichotomy as “Men are from Mars; Women are from Venus.” Simultaneously, linguist Deborah Tannen explored the difficulties in a more even-handed manner, beginning with her 1990 “You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation.”

Their discussions faded into the background. Even with wider knowledge of how the sexes are wired (Dr. Luann Brizendine’s “The Female Brain” (2006) and “The Male Brain” (2010), there remains a chasm in emotional and intellectual understanding between the sexes.

Why is disappointing? The clich̩ works in all aspects of life Рeverything takes time. With every birth, there is another mind to stimulate to awareness. With every culture, there are embedded codes of behavior that resist change.

But, perhaps, as the French would have it, “le plus le change, le plus le meme chose.” The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

6. Next week’s Conversation:
Wednesday, December 8. 2010 – Room 223 – Midtown
“Wikileaks and Secrecy”

In recent days, there has been a torrent of secret American diplomatic documents released by Wikileaks, a self declared arbiter of secrecy founded in 2006 by Australian journalist Julian Assange. Some 250,000 documents that purport to describe the behind the scenes diplomatic exchanges by the United States and some 274 of its allies have been released. Compared to the 1971 leak of the Pentagon Papers by Daniel Ellsberg which was a single event, these Wikileaks actions stem from philosophical position of anarchy and are based on its slogan, “We open governments.” The banks are next. We will explore the latest in the Wikileaks actions and compare the concept of secrets between governments, institutions, personal relationships and individual acts. We’ll ask, “Is secrecy necessary? Is transparency impossible or dangerous? What about self-disclosure?” Tune in for what should be a lively discussion.

7. UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:

What about one of these topics?

“Repetition”
“Meaning”
“Why Does History Repeat Itself?”
“Heroism”
“Concentration”
“Coping with Adversity”
Student Poetry showcase
“Empathy”
“Connecting the Dots”
Role play of Cynical people
“Cold Calling in Sales
“He’s Just Not That into You”
Critical Listening Institute III: “Abbott & Costello’s ‘Who’s On First?’”
“Criticism – Giving and Receiving”
“Logical Fallacies”
“Freedom II”
“Gender Communication II”
“SPAR Debate”
“Distraction II”
“Negotiation II”
“Imagination II”
“Rodney King: ‘Can’t We Just Get Along?’ II”
“Political Savvy”
“Emotions: Anger II”
“Identity Politics”
“Human Rights”
“Capitalism and Socialism”
“Illusions”
“Parenting”
And dozens of others!

Compare the notice of the session with what really happened!
8. What happened on
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
2 pm – Room 223 -Midtown
Faculty Colloquy I:
Professor Carlisle Yearwood discusses
T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Waste Land

This event is a milestone in the four year history of the Touro Communication Club. We introduce a traditional university event called a “Faculty Colloquy.” A universal collegiate tradition, a scholar shares his/her serious research with colleagues for discussion and feedback.

That is our goal today. Professor Carlisle Yearwood of Touro’s English Department will share his analysis of the first several stanzas of T.S. Eliot’s landmark poem, “The Wasteland.”

A native of Barbados and a published poet, Professor Yearwood has degrees from Pace University and City College of New York (CUNY). He has owned two bars and a nightclub which focused on talent development in Harlem and was involved with the Civil Rights movement with CORE and created an after school English and business skills program in Harlem. He is a member of the Blind Beggar Press.

Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888-1965) was an American-born English poet, playwright and literary critic, arguably the most important English language poet of the 10th century. “The Wasteland’ was written in 1922. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948.


There was a respectable audience of over 15 who came to hear Professor Yearwood share his thoughts on Eliot. New faculty members include Carol London, Jane Heil, Willie Evans and Walter Turney joined familiar faculty faces including Gary Sheinfeld, Charles Mason, Steve Gradman, Dean Timothy Taylor, Markus Vayndorf, Richard Green and Hal Wicke. New student faces included Marie Constant, Simone Joseph, Grace Gibson and Matthew Nwozuzu as well as old timers Pamela Sheppard and Myrtho Leon. Dean Leon Perkal stopped by for a moment. Several students observed the event without signing the club attendance sheet.

Richard Green videoed the event, about one hour and 15 minutes, It will eventually be posted on the club blog.

As the audience gathered, Hal passed out a copy of T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” along with a photo of the author. He introduced the event, briefly describing the background of Professor Yearwood and the object of the study.

I won’t detail here Professor Yearwood’s in comparable monumental feat, other than to say he combined information about Eliot’s with his literary techniques of fragments from other English literature as he deconstructed the entire five stanzas of the poem.

As he read sections of the poem, he pointed out line references for the audience to follow.

Aside from the academic and intellectual skills Professor Yearwood demonstrated, his extraordinary use of his mellifluous voiced added unusual impact to the power and passion of his presentation.

Post lecture questions focused on Eliot’s plays and the context in which the poem was written.

Comments included:
· “I am speechless.”
· “I was blown away.”
· “Brain stimulating.”
· “The first intellectual event in my 13 years at Touro.”

In short, Professor Yearwood raised the intellectual bar for club discussions and for public scholarship at Touro. With the palpable ease with which he handled the various elements in the poem, he gave us both a model and a standard for intellectual discourse.

We thank you, Professor Yearwood, for showing us what first-rate intellectual scholarship looks like and how to achieve it.
---
We always have a great time exploring these issues. So often our daily life never focuses on these Communication issues. If you have something you want us to discuss please let us know and we’ll add it to the list.

Next time bring a friend. The Communication Club is always an open discussion, limited only by time. Everyone gets a chance to speak. All opinions are welcome.

Here is an opportunity for students to challenge professors’ views outside the class without any homework or assignments. You just have to show up and listen and talk if you want.

Hal Wicke