Demystifying Debate: Moving from Polarization to Engagement

• In Event: TLC at APSA: Civic Engagement Track Panel 1: Civic Engagement As a Means to Enhance Citizenship, Leadership, and Engagement

Abstract

Unfortunately the rise of adversarial and dramatized discussions prominent on cable news networks have made "debate" seem like a dirty word. Students' reluctance to engage in heated and superficial rhetorical fist fights has stymied civic discussion. My goal is to demystify debate by bringing it back to its rhetorical foundations – a format promotes strong research, careful argument construction, thoughtful listening, and attention to audience. In this paper I build on the existing literature about the use of debate in political science classes and describe a variety of formats that can be used to achieve a range of educational goals.

Author

• Christi Leigh Siver, College of Saint Benedict