UMSL Resources - COMM 1040 - Public Speaking - LibGuides at University of Missouri

Introductory Resources

The following resources may help you select and explore topics that are appropriate for a pro/con assignment.

Points of View Reference
Designed to foster discussion & debate, the Points of View Reference Center is a full-text database that provides a series of essays covering current news & issues from multiple perspectives.

Access World News: Hot Topics
Easily browsable headlines referencing major current events and issues in politics, business, science & technology, arts & literature, and more.
Global Issues
Introductions to major issues affecting the world at large from the United Nations website.
Contemporary World Issues
A series of reference works exploring major issues (note: many are older titles).
Public Agenda
Reports and discussions on critical issues, including education, health care and community engagement

Conversation
The Conversation is a nonprofit, independent news organization dedicated to unlocking the knowledge of experts for the public good. We publish trustworthy and informative articles written by academic experts for the general public and edited by our team of journalists.

See the web site for a list of partners and funders, including many universities and foundations.

ABA Supreme Court Preview
Analysis of cases given plenary review by the Supreme Court before oral argument. Written for a general audience from the American Bar Association.
Daedalus Journal
Explore recent issues and featured articles for essays on important public issues. Examples of issue themes include Immigration, Nativism, & Race in the United States; Access to Justice; Why Jazz Still Matters; and Anticorruption.

ProCon.org
ProCon.org, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit nonpartisan public charity, provides professionally-researched pro, con, and related information on more than 50 controversial issues from gun control and death penalty to illegal immigration and alternative energy.

Pew Research Center: Research Topics
Explore research on various issues from a highly reputable, nonpartisan think tank (based in Washington, D.C.). Pew also conducts public opinion polling, media analysis, etc.