Preconference Workshop: Normative Pragmatics in Practice
Afternoon, May 22, prior to OSSA 13 opening reception
The normative pragmatics perspective on argumentation, first announced by Scott Jacobs in 1999, has since been elaborated by scholars including Sally Jackson, Fred Kauffeld, Jean Goodwin, Beth Innocenti and Justin Eckstein. As its name indicates, this perspective aims to account for norms of argumentation that are practically achievable even in the challenging circumstances that arguers often face. Joining many contemporary argumentation theories in its emphasis on the interactions within which arguments get made, normative pragmatics is unique in insisting that these interactions are regulated by the arguers themselves and in recognizing that arguers do this by bringing to bear a broad range of normative materials using a broad range of techniques.
The goal of this half-day preconference workshop is to review 25 years of work in the NP program, to offer hands-on experience in NP analysis, and to invite discussion of how NP contributes to argumentation theory more generally. Before the workshop meets, participants will receive an overview of NP from the introduction to Studies in Normative Pragmatics (which we hope by then will be forthcoming from the Windsor Studies in Argumentation series) and the text of an argumentative interaction for analysis and discussion. The afternoon workshop will then include:
- brief analyses of the text by researchers adopting the NP perspective
- open discussion of the text, the analyses, and the NP program generally
- concluding synthesis of the discussion and possibilities for future work
For more information, contact: Justin Eckstein (ecksteja@plu.edu). To register for the workshop, submit your contact information on the registration form. Deadline: April 1, 2024.
Organizing Committee:
Justin Eckstein (Communication, Media & Design Arts, Pacific Lutheran University)
Jean Goodwin (Communication, NC State University)
Beth Innocenti (Communication, University of Kansas)