Debate Location!
Sorry I didn’t post this earlier!
The debate class exam will begin at 8:45pm in room 203 of the New Building (the one between Dasol Gwan and Nichols Gwan). Room 203 is the biggest room on the second floor, and it’s located at the end of the hall.
See you there!
Exam Schedule Problem
UPDATE (Saturday, Dec 8th 2007):
I just realized that the week after our scheduled exam date is the day of national elections, and we cannot have our exam that day by law and school rules. So if Tuesday night is not good for you, then we’ll have to reschedule for some other time during exam week. Anyway, I haven’t heard from anyone, so I suppose we’ll be discussing this in class on Monday, Dec. 10th.
Again, sorry for the complications!
Our midterm exam is currently scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. There’s a problem, though.
I’ve been scheduled for some medical tests on that day, and they say they cannot (or will not?) reschedule. When I asked how long the tests would take, I was told that I will be unable to come back to campus all day.
This means we really need to reschedule our exam. I would prefer to do it Tuesday night, since the other debate class will be meeting then and we can do it all together as a big group. You could also enjoy seeing people you don’t know, and how they debate.
The night class’s exam is at 8:45pm on Tuesday, December 11th. I strongly prefer us all doing the test at that time, if that’s possible.
However, if you have an exam at that time and cannot make it, then the alternative would be for your group to do the exam during exam week, meaning exactly one week later than we originally scheduled it. (UPDATE: See Above!) I think this is not the best alternative, however, because after you complete your debate you will have to hand in a self-evaluation, and the self-evaluation will be due very soon after — that evening, or the next day.
Therefore, I’m hoping you can make the exam on Tuesday night, December 11th. Please — PLEASE — talk to your group members and see whether Tuesday night will work for you, and let me know by email. I’d like to be able to come to class knowing on Monday what will be happening.
Sorry, by the way. I couldn’t control the scheduling and if it wasn’t important I’d put off the exam. If it makes you feel any better, I won’t be having any fun next Wednesday!
Proposition for Debate next Wednesday!
The proposition up for debate is:
“People should not be allowed to post content anonymously on the Internet.”
Happy preparations!
Midterm Debate Audio Files
Sorry for the delay — I had some trouble encoding the files with decent sound and small enough size to upload here. I think it’s solved now. Please download the file and use it in your self-evaluation.
Please download both files: you will have some homework involving listening to, and (sort of) analyzing, all of the debates in the coming week.
Debate Day Class Midterm Exam Part 1
Debate Day Class Midterm Exam Part 2
Rebuttal sheet Exercise
Here’s a two-page explanation and example of the rebuttal sheet I asked you to prepare. Two sheets (one pro, one con) will be due from each group. Work as a group when you prepare these things, okay?
See you next week!
Debates
Long time, no update.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been discussing:
How to build a position for a debate:
A position is a strong opinion on the subject of a debate. Because it is an opinion, it involves something subjective, such as an ethical opinion (is wrong, is right, is unacceptable) or an opinion on policy (we should, the government should not, everyone must). It’s good to be specific about your terms in your position.
Strong positions:
- Teachers should not give more than two hours of homework a week.
- Governments that tax over 20% of income are unacceptable because of their effect on the lower and middle classes.
Weak Positions:
- Teachers shouldn’t give too much homework.
- Big tax is unacceptable.
How to prepare arguments to support your debate
In debaters’ arguments, people look for the following:
- Logic — you want to be logical and reasonable. Avoid fallacies like the strawman, ad hominem attacks, appeals to tradition, or hasty generalizations. Consider the connections between your different arguments and present them logically.
- Evidence — you want it to be credible. Avoid using anecdotal evidence, as it is weak, and rely on examples and on statistical information. Be wary of skewed statistics, or incredible (unbelievable) interpretations of statistics (ie. lies, damned lies, and statistics).
- Emotion — you want to be sympathetic: appeal to your listeners on an emotional level, but don’t overdo it, or you’ll slip into melodrama and your opponent can use it against you.
How to respond to and make rebuttals to others’ arguments, and prepare for both sides of a debate
You can attack your opponents arguments by:
- pointing out logical flaws in his or her argument, such as a strawman, ad hominem attacks, appeals to tradition, or hasty generalizations.
- providing contrary evidence that contradicts the evidence your opponent offers: counterexamples, or different interpretations of statistics
- engaging in a counter-appeal for your audience’s sympathies, and/or criticizing the emotionality of your opponent’s argument and calling for reasoned discussion
We also discussed how to prepare for a major debate by exploring all of the possible arguments and rebuttals (and rebuttals to the rebuttals), and preparing a chart of those rebuttals for quick reference during a debate. Your homework was to prepare a page containing short summaries of all the arguments and rebuttals you could imagine for the debate topic that your group was assigned.
That brings us to this week.
Website working…
I’ve heard from some students that this website was not loading over the weekend. I didn’t notice, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t working. Maybe something happened in Hong Kong? The last time I had problems, it was because an underwater cable line was cut in Hong Kong. (That’s where the server for this site is located.)
Anyway, the site seems to be up again now, and working fine. Cross your fingers!
Week 2, Class 1&2
This post is only for DAY students! If you’re a night student, ignore it.
Today we broke up into groups and discussed the pros and cons of gender-segregated high school education.
Next time, two students who were selected in class will be standing up and arguing for their group’s position. Each pair of students will be given 5 minutes to make their argument.
Likewise, the two students who were the only ones interested in the FTA’s effect on Korean economic development will also be given 5 minutes each to make their arguments. We’ll follow up with a discussion of these “informal debates” and touch on debating etiquette, how to question your opponent’s arguments, and more.
For those of you who have not handed in a Student Information Sheet (you can download one below) or have not handed in a sheet with five interesting debate positions on it, hurry up! This is homework for credit, and our class looks like it will remain big enough that you’re facing some stiff competition for the best grades.
See you Wednesday!
Welcome to the Debate course!
Welcome to the Fall semester 2007. I am teaching two sections of the Debate course, one at night (pending sufficient enrollment) and one during the day. There are two separate pages for the two different classes, although sometimes posts will appear on both pages (like this one). Make sure you’re reading the right page so you don’t get the wrong information by mistake!
Right now there’s not much for me to say, except that you will be filling out this form and giving it to me. I’ll be giving you a copy in class, so don’t worry about printing it, but it’s always handy to have a spare.
Also, here’s a copy of the syllabus I wrote up for this class. It looks a lot nicer than the one the secretaries printed up, but I’m not going to waste paper giving you copies of this. You can print it yourself if you like, however.