Legends, Lore, and Lies: A Skeptic's Stance (A Longman Topics Reader)

LONGMAN TOPICS are brief, thought-provoking readers on a single complex, compelling, topic. Featuring about 30 full-length reading selections, these volumes are generally half the size and half the cost of standard composition readers. Legends, Lore, and Lies: A Skeptic's Stancepresents intriguing readings in five sectionsurban legends, alternative medicine, the media's role in public gullibility, psychics and the paranormal, and pseudo scienceto demonstrate the importance of critical examination and the differences between an opinion or assertion and a supported claim. Legends, Lore, and Liesoffers a wealth of features, including Explorations of the powers and limits of skepticism in understanding topics like urban legends and pseudoscience that often are awarded uncritical acceptance in our culture. An excellent explanation of skepticism, along with a number of tools that every reader can use to become a critical consumer of information. A handful of "believers" point-of-view readings, which students are encouraged to examine with the tools they acquire throughout the text. A variety of pedagogical tools including brief author biographies and questions preceding and following the readings that function as writing and discussion prompts. End-of-chapter synthesis questions that provide writing suggestions for longer research and inquiry papers.Joseph Calabrese is the author of 'Legends, Lore, and Lies: A Skeptic's Stance (A Longman Topics Reader)', published 2006 under ISBN 9780321439246 and ISBN 0321439244.