Steve Llano
Bio
Professor of Rhetoric in New York city, writing about rhetoric, politics, and culture.
Stories (15/0)
Why Arguing is Good for Us
Arguing is hard. Arguing is frustrating. And arguing is essential for our political health. If you haven’t been running, or to the gym in a while, during that first workout or first run you want to quit. You are frustrated, exhausted, and suffering. You start to discount what you are doing as valuable. Does this really matter? At the end, when you see how many calories you burned, you might even consider it a total waste of time.
By Steve Llano4 years ago in Humans
Are Protests Acts of Communication?
Originally published on New York City Sophist Debating over the value and limits of the recent protests against police violence toward black people in the United States usually centers around the question of what an appropriate protest looks like.
By Steve Llano4 years ago in The Swamp
Five Ways to Keep Your Sanity and Keep up with the 2020 Election
lection stress is a real thing. People freak out, even explode in fury when they encounter another citizen who has a different political perspective than they do. Many choose to avoid talking about politics completely during these times because it’s so anxiety-rising for them.
By Steve Llano4 years ago in The Swamp
The Lonely Classroom
It's August. I'm in that mode of excitement mixed with anxiety as I start to prepare to teach. This often involves gathering up a lot of scraps of paper, things I've saved into MS OneNote and Google Keep, and reviewing the notes I took at the end of last term.
By Steve Llano5 years ago in Education
Banning 8chan Won't Work
Matthew Prince's blogpost justifying the termination of internet protections for the 8chan website is a fascinating argument. Prince argues that "lawlessness" is the primary reason that he has decided to terminate protections for the site, although he concedes immediately that they have not broken any laws in their posts. So what does he mean by "lawlessness?"
By Steve Llano5 years ago in The Swamp
Video Blames
The horrific mass shootings of the past couple of days are about to enter the well-known cycle of public discourse meant to account for their existence. People have to talk about these events to make sense of them, to account for why they happened, and to make sense of them—that is, to make sure they do not disrupt the normal order of the country. As usual, video games and the internet are taking a lot of the blame. But something is different this time.
By Steve Llano5 years ago in The Swamp
The Real Ellis Island
A trip to New York city is incomplete without experiencing the rich amount of American history that is on offer. The museums, the monuments, parks, statues, and historical sites is overwhelming. But top of most tourists' lists is a trip to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The story of the United States is so deeply integrated with these two national parks that actually visiting them can really make all the difference in your view of the United States.
By Steve Llano5 years ago in Wander
- Top Story - July 2019
Missing The Debates? Don't Feel BadTop Story - July 2019
It feels pretty bad to be interested in politics but not want to sit through these three-hour candidate debates that keep cropping up. Featuring ten candidates—three or four you actually have heard of—these events purport to be an honest examination of the issues facing the United States in the 2020 Presidential election.
By Steve Llano5 years ago in The Swamp