Tags: UGA Debate


The Illogic of "Judge-Choice"

The terminology used here reveals the problem with the theory of “judge-choice.” The focus is on the “necessary” connection between the plan and a justification for the plan. We should not start with a model of policy-formation and advocacy that presumes we are likely to identify necessary connections between action and result. Though the constraints of time mean that components of an affirmative will not be challenged if we’ve learned…
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Debate Theory


Use Naming Conventions to Organize Paperless Debate Files

One of the most significant problems we considered when Georgia went paperless was how to organize the sheer number of files produced over the course of a season.  How would we integrate backfiles and updates to already existing files through the course of the year?  It was hard enough to make sure everyone had the most recent Politics or Economy files when we could physically hand them a copy, and we thought it would be even harder…
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Paperless Debate


Judge Choice: The Illogic of Representational Critique

In accepting certain premises about the function of the representational critique, the debate community has become something of a deliberative enclave. Terms like “severance” and ideas about the one-to-one impact ratio of “discourse” to “policy” are bandied about with little critical reflection about its meaning for policy-making. This post is an attempt to examine the theory and practice of the Reps K, demonstrate shortcomings in its logic…


Do It to Win More Debates: Competitive Advantages of Paperless

While considering the paperless transition during the spring of this year, many of our debaters expressed reservations about abandoning the traditional means of debate. As many of you have probably also considered, they worried that debating without paper would be more difficult, at least initially. The stated concerns were many: assembling speeches would be slower, it is more difficult to pick and choose cards to read from an individual block,…
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Paperless Debate


Public Debate at UGA: Dr. Ed Panetta Moderates Napolitano v. Waldman Abortion Debate

Michael Waldman (L) and Andrew Napolitano Debate Abortion Photo Credit: Video Still from The Red & Black On October 15, the University Student Union at UGA hosted a public debate between Michael Waldman and Andrew Napolitano on the issue of abortion.  Waldman, who was Director of Speechwriting for President Clinton from 1995-1999, advocated abortion rights and Napolitano, former judge and law professor turned FOX…
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Public Debate


Policy Debate: Training for the New Untouchables

Susan Herbst, chief academic officer for the University System of Georgia, recently wrote an Inside Higher Ed piece and made a strong argument for incorporating the principles of policy debate into a curriculum dedicated to improving the critical thinking skills of students.  While there are other approaches that have incorporated argumentation into the curriculum, those efforts can be further improved by teaching the principles…
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Debate Pedagogy


The Kritik and Judge Adaptation in College Debate

The criticism, or Kritik, has been much maligned by its detractors and furiously defended by its proponents. The scope of this essay is not to pick one side or another, but rather to provide an analysis of why the critique fails to persuade and identify some helpful tips for debaters that want to be able to go for the critique in front of a diverse array of judges. A common complaint of judges regarding debaters who go for the K poorly is that…


Should I Debate in College Even if I Don't Have a lot of High School Experience?

The short answer to this question is: absolutely! There are many, many things that people can get from debating, especially at the novice level. I focus on two benefits of debate that should convince anyone that if they haven’t tried debate, they should.  First of all, debating is lots of fun. Debate is a kind of intellectually stimulating competition that is unparalleled in any other type of activity and it’s also a great way to meet new…
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Novice Debate


Contemporary Critical Debate - the Consequences of Familiarity

Kritik debate faces a significantly changed set of circumstances from those when I first began debating in college in 1999.  At the great risk of writing an old-curmudgeonly account of the decline of kritik debate I want to outline some of where we’ve been, where we are, and where we might be able to go.  Likely this topic will occupy several separate posts.  First, we’ve experienced the move from marginality to ubiquity. …


Debating the Kritik and Policy Arguments in the Same Debate

Many teams seem too rigidly tied to a single argumentative strategy. I can comprehend the value of being able to gain expertise about a particular argument and pummel less informed opponents with superior knowledge. But does that require you to go for it in every single debate you have? The one-dimensional focus of these teams is often not even tied to individual arguments, but rather to an overarching strategic focus. I’ve seen teams that just…
Tags:
Debate Theory
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