Countering - Harris

Joseph Harris’s idea of “countering” is exactly what it seems to be. You are countering the work of another author! In other words, you are disagreeing with the ideas/points that an author is making and writing the opposing side of that argument. He points out three steps to countering and they are: “argue the other side”, “uncovering values”, and “dissenting”. For “argue the other side”, you present the other authors idea or argument and then present your counter argument. For “uncovering values”, you bring up any concepts that the author failed to discuss or acknowledge. For “dissenting”, you begin to develop your counter argument and present it.

                Since reading Deadspin, I haven’t found too many instances where an author actually used “countering”. Most of the blogs that I have read includes sports news and sports interests. The only case that I have seen may be the incident of the word “chink” in an ESPN’s mobile article. A writer used the word “chink” in his title and now ESPN is regretting it. There has been multiple blogs about the damage this has to ESPN’s name and to the Asian community, but I feel this isn’t really an act of “countering”.

                When countering someone’s work, it is extremely important to only focus on the writer’s argument and text. Avoiding any personal vendetta and only focusing on the writing doesn’t allow the chance to ruin your own writing with questions of validity and overall purpose. This way, the reader can gain the knowledge of your counter argument without and suspicion of false information.