Living in a world that has grown increasingly globalized and complex, the need for critical thinking and the language skills necessary to function therein is pressing. In this 3-hour seminar students will address a contemporary topic through the medium of debate. Time will be devoted to the nuances of academic debate, a brief yet balanced examination of the topic at hand, and finally to an actual debate. Time permitting, we will also look at current political discourse and the rather tragic decline in its quality. Students should complete this seminar with both increased knowledge about and an appreciation of the art of debate, a useful tool for critically examining the many issues in our modern world.
The Basics of Debate
The first segment of our workshop will deal with the fundamentals of debate. Snoopy, you ask? Well, Good People, debate consists of the art (and skill) of painting a persuasive picture, which our intrepid beagle is about to do. You'll find resources just below.
Some links and resources:
- ✓A primer on Lincoln-Douglas debate
- ✓ Some background on the Lincoln vs. Douglas debates
- ✓ Kelsey Virginia Shampoe on the homeschooling vs. public schooling issue
- ✓ An example on health care reform (main points and support)
- ✓ An extensive look by Todd Hering at classic debate
- ✓ Some debate cross-examination questions from the International Debate Education Association
- ✓ More cross-examination questions from Seth Brake
- ✓ A lengthy but informative blog post on the cross-examination element of debate
Topics
Now that we're more familiar with the details of debage, let's move on to selecting today's topic(s). As you see below, we've chosen a handful of issues that are worthy of consideration.
Possible Topics:
- ✓ Privacy vs. security
- ✓ Free trade vs. protectionism
- ✓ Clean energy
- ✓ Genetically-modified (GM) food
- ✓ Sustainability (more advanced!)
Debate(s)
We'll devote about an hour to a debate (or debates if we have a large number of participants). The format will be Lincoln-Douglas with slightly longer times as follows:
- 7 min—Pro construct
- 4 min—Con cross-examination
- 8 min—Con construct
- 4 min—Pro cross-examination
- 6 min—Pro rebuttal
- 8 min—Con rebuttal + closing
- 3 min—Pro closing
As you'll have cleverly noticed, the respective numbers of turns are unequal, yet the total time per team is equal.
Current Political Discourse and Its Demise
If we have time, we'll consider the nature of current political discourse in the US, which I'm sad to say has declined markedly in quality. Of course, I couldn't resist the opportunity to include a politicized, talking Teddy bear here; my personal opinion is that he would make a much better president than the placeholder at present.