Part of a set of university teaching materials called "Encouraging Critical Thinking Online" by Meriel Patrick of Oxford University, made openly available for adaptation and re-use in the Intute Virtual Training Suite <http: />

1. Encouraging Critical
Thinking Online
Unit 2
Gauging and Examining
Popular Opinion
Guantanamo Bay

2. Guantanamo Bay - Overview
• A US detention camp in Cuba
• Established to hold suspected
terrorists captured in Afghanistan
• The Bush administration classed
detainees as ‘enemy combatants’,
and argued this legitimated holding
them without charge or trial

3. Guantanamo Bay
• Find and browse websites that
address this issue
• Note the range of views you
encounter, and the key site(s) for
each view
• Note how prevalent each view is

4. Guantanamo Bay - Key Views
• The camp should never have
existed, and must be closed at once
• Closing the camp is desirable, but
impractical at present
• The camp should be kept open: it
serves a useful purpose by
containing dangerous men

5. Guantanamo Bay - Key Sites
• International criticism of the camp
has been widespread, and
allegations of human rights abuses
and torture have abounded
• The Guardian’s Guantanamo Bay
section and a 2006 report from
BBC News give an overview

6. Guantanamo Bay - Key Sites
• In January 2009, President Obama
signed an order for the camp to be
closed within a year
• However, the question of what to do
with the detainees remains
– This Time article outlines some of the
difficulties that must be faced

7. Guantanamo Bay - Key Sites
• In May 2009, the US Senate voted to
block the transfer of detainees to the
US, and denied funding to close the
camp
• In a June 2009 Gallup poll, a majority
of Americans opposed closure and
transfer of detainees to the US

8. Guantanamo Bay - Key Sites
• Many older pieces remain online,
reflecting different stages in the
Guantanamo Bay debate:
– USCHO discussion board thread from
2005
– Comments on a US News article from
2008

9. Guantanamo Bay - Key Sites
• Blogs and opinion pieces give a
range of views:
– Daily Aztec article (anti-closure)
– Say Anything blog post (anti-closure?)
– Ethical Musings blog post (pro-
closure)
– Guardian editorial (pro-closure)

10. Guantanamo Bay –
Discussion Questions
• Which views are most widespread?
– How significant is this?
• Are there any discernable patterns
in who holds each view?
– Among experts and lay people?
– In the UK and elsewhere in the world?
– Among religious and secular groups?

11. Guantanamo Bay –
Discussion Questions
• How representative do you think the
views you encountered are of wider
society?
– What might make people more or less
likely to express their views publicly?
– What might make them more or less
likely to do so online?

12. Guantanamo Bay –
Examining the Sites
• Look at some of the websites again,
and consider:
– How various views are expressed
– What techniques sites use to promote
their views
– What you find persuasive – and why

13. Guantanamo Bay –
Discussion Questions
• What techniques are used to
promote each view?
– Are arguments given? Do they work?
– Is evidence presented? Is it
convincing?
– Are appeals to emotion or shock
tactics used? Are these effective?

14. Guantanamo Bay –
Discussion Questions
• Do any of the sites examined
feature:
– Evidence of bias or prejudice?
– Ad hominem arguments?
– Sweeping generalisations about
opponents or opposing views?
– Statements you know to be false?
• How does this affect your reaction?

15. Guantanamo Bay –
Discussion Questions
• What do you personally find
persuasive? Why is this?
• Was there anything you found off-
putting, or that had the opposite
effect from that intended by the
author?
• Did anything cause you to question
views you’d held previously?

16. This slideshow is part of
Encouraging Critical Thinking Online,
a set of free teaching resources
designed to develop
students’ analytic abilities,
using the Web as source material.
For the full set, please visit
Intute Training:
http://www.intute.ac.uk/training/