Phil Keith, professor, administrator, scholar and collector, will give a talk titled “Thinking about Thinking,” a look at the uses of rhetoric in thinking and teaching, at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 22, in the North Dining Hall at the University of Maine at Farmington. The talk is free and open to the public.

In these days of mind hacks, memory drugs, and brain games, critical thinking has become more important than ever. Keith will draw on his teaching experience to show how the ideas of Charles Sanders Peirce, and the methods of traditional rhetoric, can be useful tools for analyzing argument and for teaching the skills and habits of critical thinking, and how these skills are helpful for readers, teachers and students.

Phil Keith

Keith is Professor Emeritus of St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, where he was both Professor of English and an administrator, working on cross-curriculum writing programs and multi-level integrated instruction. His work focused on rhetorical approaches to teaching and curriculum planning and research, and he was co-editor of Rhetoric Society Quarterly. He has also taught at Washington and Lee University, Swarthmore College, and Hebron Academy in Maine. He holds an AB from Amherst College and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.

The presentation is the third in series of lectures sponsored by the Shiretown Bookers, the community friends of Mantor Library. The Bookers are a group of collectors and bibliophiles who provide exhibitions, lectures, and roundtables on bookish subjects throughout the year. North Dining Hall is located in the Olsen Student Center, at 111 South St.

For more information, contact Reid Byers at reidbyers@gmail.com or 609-306-1002.