Oral Communication Assignment:
Counterargument
as Debate
Winter
2013
Introduction:
Professor
Jarratt’s unit on “Declarations in Dialogue” has presented you with a number of
“Declarations”—political texts that were written collectively, revised numerous
times in response to conversations about the meaning of individual “liberty”
and the rights of “man.” “Revision” might be seen as the mode in which these
documents were produced—identifying the kinds of exchange necessary in order to
produce a declaration. Yet, it also characterizes their inter-relation, one
declaration serving as an adaptation or extension of another. The Declaration of Independence can be seen
as a kind of revision of the many local declarations written at the time, of Thomas
Paine’s Common Sense, or of John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government
while the Declaration of Sentiments and
the Haitian Declaration of Independence
revise the
In
this assignment, you will be engaging in such debate by adapting and
extending—in short, by revising—the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
You will imagine yourself as a participant in these historical conversations—as
an imagined contemporary of these declarations in dialogue—to consider whether
or not the Declaration of Independence
works to support the social and political aims of social liberation movements. In
considering the specific and complex audience of which you are a part, you will
ask: Does the
Debate
Prompt #1
Taking
on the perspective of a supporter of women’s suffrage, who may have participated
in the Seneca Falls Convention, or who may have read the letters of Abigail
Adams, answer the following question:
Should promoters of
women’s suffrage support the rhetoric used in the
“Team
A” will answer in the affirmative
“Team
B” will answer in the negative
Debate
Prompt #2
Taking
on the perspective of an abolitionist, who may have listened to Frederick Douglass's speech
“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,” or who may have read the Haitian Declaration of Independence, answer the following question:
Should abolitionists support
the rhetoric used in the
“Team
A” will answer in the affirmative
“Team
B” will answer in the negative
This
debate will count for 15% of your lecture grade
Steps in the Process:
1)
Arrange a time to convene with your group to distribute your responsibilities
and to determine additional meeting times. Keep in mind that each person in
your group will need to speak during the debate. Each student will be graded
both individually and collectively.
2)
Gather specific evidence to support your claims. In determining your claims,
keep in mind the complex audience to whom you are speaking. Professor Jarratt’s
lectures show that individuals with widely diverse backgrounds and motivations
adhered to the same social movements for different reasons. Then, ask yourself:
What benefits or losses might result from an inclusion or exclusion of the
rhetoric in the Declaration of
3)
Practice your oral performance with your peers, asking them to offer
counterarguments for your claims. Your instructor may grant you permission to
use note cards during the debate; but you should be prepared to make clear
claims, offer detailed and specific evidence, and articulate thoughtful warrants
without the use of supplementary materials.
For
assistance in developing your arguments, examine the “Counterargument” and
“Logical Fallacies” chapters in the Writer’s Handbook.
In-Class Debate:
When
you arrive to class, your instructor will determine which group will debate
first. The debates will be strictly timed. The format of each debate will be as
follows:
Opening
Statement—Team A (2 minutes)
Opening
Statement—Team B (2 minutes)
Response
to Opening Statements—Team A (3 minutes)
Response
to Opening Statements—Team B (3 minutes)
Response
to Preceding Arguments—Team A (3 minutes)
Response
to Preceding Arguments—Team B (3 minutes
Concluding
Statement—Team A (2 minutes)
Concluding
Statement—Team B (2 minutes)
After
the debate, your instructor will ask you to fill out a “Final Reflection,”
linked here.
A
successful individual performance will:
A
successful group debate performance will: