New Blog! And Final Presentation information

Hi Class,

   We will cover some of this in class today but I wanted to make sure that you had a copy of this for yourself.

For Debates:

Your initial argument should be one that you have researched and written out before class. It should be 4-5 minutes long.  It should do a few things: first, grab the audience's attention. So maybe use an example or quotation that immediately draws in the listeners rather than just saying, "today I will talk about ...." After that you should clearly state your topic and your stance on the topic and what points that you will be arguing. Think of this as a thesis statement. After that, clarify anything that you might need to for your audience. So if your topic is the Affordable Health Care Act, you should probably give some information on that because not all of your audience members will probably know exactly what it is. After you have grabbed your listeners' attention, clearly stated your stance and what you will argue and clarified any terms or concepts, then you should begin your argument. So this will probably be 2-5 main points that are giving clear reasons for the stance on your topic. Convince your audience that your stance on the issue is clearly the right stance to have. Probably some very specific examples and statistics will be necessary in your argument.  After you have clearly stated your argument, then you should wrap up your argument by restating your main points and leaving your audience with something to think about.

So think of this initial debate as a speech that you can spend time creating and crafting before hand. After both sides have presented their initial arguments. Then we will move on to the rebuttal rounds.It is absolutely neceassary for you to pay close attention to your opponent's initial argument. You should be taking notes the entire time. When it is time for you to present your rebuttal or refutation, you have three options: accept, ignore or reject the claims that your opponent has made. Obviously by either accepting or ignoring your opponent's claim, you are weakening your overall argument and are less likely to convince your listeners of your side of the debate. So you should always try to reject the claims that your opponent has made in their initial argument. Some things that you can do in this is show their logical fallacies. Perhaps they said that assault weapons should not be banned because then that would lead to all guns being banned, then all weapons being banned then we would have no way to protect ourselves. This is a logical fallacy called slippery slope because the argument is spiraling out of control without using any evidence to support it. You can point this out. Also, if at any time your opponent claims something without giving evidence, you should point that out. All claims should be backed up by evidence. Although, you won't know exactly what your opponent is going to say, you should some time researching and thinking about what the opposite argument for the issue is. You will still need to listen very carefully to what your opponent is arguing and how they are arguing but if you have thought about their argument beforehand, you maybe have some statistics or other evidience to refute what you anticipate their argument to be.

Then the other side will have time also make a rebuttal to the inititial argument. After that, another rounds of rebuttals will be given. This will give you a chance to address any of the points brought up in the first round of rebuttals. Both of these rounds will be around 2-3 minutes long. Ater all the rebuttals, you will then give a brief closing argument. This is when you will summarize the main points that you have made and make a final plea to convince your audience. Be as convincing as possible so think about using pathos or other ways to convince your audience. This will be very brief - around one minute.

Here are the debate topics again:

1.      The Affordable Care Act requires employers to provide insurance coverage for reproductive issues such as birth control. You support this.

2.      The Affordable Care Act requires employers to provide insurance coverage for reproductive issues such as birth control. You are against this.

3.      The United States is one of only three countries that does not have paid maternity leave.  You support this and do not support any laws that would require employers to give paid maternity leave.

4.      The United States is one of only three countries that does not have paid maternity leave.  You are against this and support laws that would require employers to give paid maternity leave.

5.      The death penalty is legal in the United States. You support its continued use.

6.      The death penalty is legal in the United States. You are against this and wish to see it abolished.

7.      Affirmative Action is a government policy that addresses the underrepresentation of minority groups (gender, race, religion) in employment and education. You support the continued use of this policy.

8.      Affirmative Action is a government policy that addresses the underrepresentation of minority groups (gender, race, religion) in employment and education. You do not support this policy and wish to see it abolished.

9.      Should religious symbols be banned from government property? You support them being banned.

10. Should religious symbols be banned from government property? You are arguing that they should not be banned.

11. Congress has been trying to pass new gun control legislation that would require background checks on all gun purchases and ban assault weapons. You support this.

12. Congress has been trying to pass new gun control legislation that would require background checks on all gun purchases and ban assault weapons. You are against this.

13. Airports often use racial or national origin profiling during security and screening.  You are in favor of this.

14. Airports often use racial or national origin profiling during security and screening.  You are against this.

15. Most states do not allow felons to vote while in prison. Some states even permanently suspend their right to vote. You support this.

16. Most states do not allow felons to vote while in prison. Some states even permanently suspend their right to vote. You are against this.

17. Many churches, hospitals, and universities are considered to be non-profit organizations and therefore do not have to pay taxes. However, because of this they are prohibited from supporting any political campaign in any election. You support this.

18. Many churches, hospitals, and universities are considered to be non-profit organizations and therefore do not have to pay taxes. However, because of this they are prohibited from supporting any political campaign in any election. You are against this.

19. The United States has no official language. Many people desire to have English be made the official language. You support this.

20. The United States has no official language. Many people desire to have English be made the official language. You are against this.

Creative Projects

The topics for these are up to. They should be related to the broader themes of the class: equality and independence. Don't pick something obessity in America or global warming because neither of those relate to the broader themes of the class.  So you might want to focus on a specific aspect of one of these themes like gay marriage in relation to sexuality equality. Some of the debate topics might help you to narrow your idea down. Just be sure to pick something that you are passionate about. The goal is to educate your audience but this can be done in an informative or comical or emotional way. Whatever you want to do. Here are some

 examples from the Internet (the topics don't all relate to the issues that we have covered in class but are good examples of creativity in tackling important social issues):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHQu3SeUwUI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T549VoLca_Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0

http://cmugraphicdesign.blogspot.com/2009/02/public-service-announcement-poster-mr-e.html

http://mossm.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/stewie_college-copyafter.gif

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-LFF6fsX7A&list=PLDA2F0FD6EDA5481A