Teaching Philosophy
In my teaching, I use a liberal arts method that integrates writing, composition, and logic in the study of international affairs. Drawing on the tradition of classical rhetoric, I invite students to analyze academic and policy debates in the humanities and social sciences as exercises in persuasion. Students learn about the structure of argumentative discourse (introduction, thesis, presentation of evidence, refutation of opposing arguments, and conclusion), both as a method of analysis and as a skill in writing and composition. Students also learn how to detect fallacies, such as the fallacy of affirming the consequent and the post hoc fallacy, and rhetorical methods for the examination of arguments. For example, when introducing the debate on strategic ambiguity and strategic clarity in U.S.-Taiwan relations, I begin by teaching Aristotle’s concept of the “enthymeme,” the abbreviated syllogism that appears in informal argument. I then teach students how to write the full syllogism that reveals the complete structure of the author’s argument, and I invite students to consider the validity of the implied premises. As for the substance of my teaching, I integrate the analysis of history, philosophy, and language in the study of international affairs. When teaching on the Taiwan issue, for example, I provide the historical and intellectual context for understanding Chinese and Taiwanese nationalism, and I teach the subtleties and ambiguities of diplomatic language that have shaped the United States’ One-China policy. Through this liberal arts method, students develop an analytical faculty that they can use in both an academic and professional context.