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NARRATIVE AC
Because the death of 500,000 Iraqi children is considered a perfect impact and global catastrophes are
little more than TOC-winning uniqueness stories, I affirm.
The affirmative requires a paradigm shift away from sexily tiny p-values and numbingly large impacts
to the narrative. The individual story of the human beings who live or have lived under the effects of
economic sanctions.
There are three justifications for this paradigm shift1. Argumentative agencyDebate lavishes over the suffering of human beings. Debate turns bloodshed into body counts, chaos
into scenarios and cost benefits, as more debate is done on whether sanctions are smart or dumb.
This problem is pervasive and turns us into mere spectators in what ought to be an engaging activity/Gordon Mitchell 1998 (Upitt prof of Comm and coach) "Pedagogical possibilities for argumentative agency in academic
debate" Argumentation & Advocacy; Fall98, Vol. 35 Issue 2, pg. Ebsco/
While an isolated academic space that affords students an opportunity to learn in a protected environment has
significant pedagogical value (see e.g. Coverstone 1995, p. 8-9), the notion of the academic debate tournament
as a sterile laboratory carries with it some disturbing implications, when the metaphor is extended to its limit. To
the extent that the academic space begins to take on characteristics of a laboratory, the barriers demarcating
such a space from other spheres of deliberation beyond the school grow taller and less permeable. When
such barriers reach insurmountable dimensions, argumentation in the academic setting unfolds on a purely
simulated plane, with students practicing critical thinking and advocacy skills in strictly hypothetical
thought-spaces. Although they may research and track public argument as it unfolds outside the confines of the
laboratory for research purposes, in this approach, students witness argumentation beyond the walls of the academy
as spectators, with little or no apparent recourse to directly participate or alter the course of events (see Mitchell
1995; 1998). The sense of detachment associated with the spectator posture is highlighted during episodes
of alienation in which debaters cheer news of human suffering or misfortune. Instead of focusing on the
visceral negative responses to news accounts of human death and misery, debaters overcome with the
competitive zeal of contest round competition show a tendency to concentrate on the meanings that such
evidence might hold for the strength of their academic debate arguments. For example, news reports of
mass starvation might tidy up the "uniqueness of a disadvantage" or bolster the "inherency of an affirmative
case" (in the technical parlance of debate-speak). Murchland categorizes cultivation of this "spectator" mentality
as one of the most politically debilitating failures of contemporary education: "Educational institutions have
failed even more grievously to provide the kind of civic forums we need. In fact, one could easily conclude that
the principle purposes of our schools is to deprive successor generations of their civic voice, to turn them
into mute and uncomprehending spectators in the drama of political life" (1991,p. 8).
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AND, trophies and bids are fantastic but at the end of the day we need something more, something real
and lively to point at and say “This is what debate taught me.” The answer should be the ability to live,
to deliberate, and to act/Gordon Mitchell 1998 (Upitt prof of Comm and coach) "Pedagogical possibilities for argumentative agency in academic
debate" Argumentation & Advocacy; Fall98, Vol. 35 Issue 2, pg. Ebsco/
Academics can no longer retreat into their careers, classrooms, or symposiums as if they were the only
public spheres available for engaging the power of ideas and the relations of power. Foucault's (1977) notion
of the specific intellectual taking up struggles connected to particular issues and contexts must be combined with
Gramsci's (1971) notion of the engaged intellectual who connects his or her work to broader social concerns that
deeply affect how people live, work, and survive (Giroux 1991, p. 57; see also Giroux 1988, p. 35). Within the
limited horizon of zero-sum competition in the contest round framework for academic debate, questions of
purpose, strategy, and practice tend to collapse into formulaic axioms for competitive success under the
crushing weight of tournament pressure. The purpose of debate becomes unrelenting pursuit of victory at a
zero-sum game. Strategies are developed to gain competitive edges that translate into contest round
success. Debate practice involves debaters "spewing" a highly technical, specialized discourse at expert
judges trained to understand enough of the speeches to render decisions. Even in "kritik rounds," where the
political status and meaning of the participants' own discourse is up for grabs, (see Shanahan 1993) the
contest round framework tends to freeze the discussion into bipolar, zero-sum terms that highlight
competitive payoffs at the expense of opportunities for co-operative "rethinking." When the cultivation of
argumentative agency is pursued as a central pedagogical goal in academic debate, questions of purpose, strategy,
and practice take on much broader meanings. The purpose of participating in debate gets extended beyond just
winning contest rounds (although that purpose does not need to be abandoned completely), as debaters
intervene in public affairs directly to affect social change, and in the process, bolster their own senses of
political agency. In this approach, debate strategy begins to bear a resemblance to social movement
strategizing, with questions of timing, coalition-building, and publicity taking on increasing importance.
Finally, debate practice itself becomes dynamic as debaters invent new forms of argumentative expression
tailored specifically to support particular projects of political intervention into fields of social action.
The solution is a reexamination of our actions to more closely align with the lessons debate teaches
us. The narrative allows us to emphasize and feel the other. To see the way they see, to live their life, to
put a face on the 500,000 children, and to move past hollow stats. Rowland 05
Rowland, Robert C. (2005). “The Narrative Perspective.” Chapter Eight. In J.A. Kuypers (Ed.), The Art of Rhetorical Criticism. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Page 134.
The important rhetorical point about setting in narrative is that stories can transport us out of our here and now and put us
in places very different from our own world. As i write this chapter, I am sitting in Lawrence, Kansas, a progressive (for
Kansas) college town in the American Midwest. But through Narrative, a skillful rhetor could transport me to Auschwitz, the
battle of Gettysburg, or any other place or time in our human history. As a consequence, narrative can be used to break
down barriers to human understanding. It is difficult for early twenty-first-century Americans to understand the
horrors of the Holocaust. But through narrative, Elie Wiesel and others have taken us to Auschwitz and made us see
the horrors of the death camps.
Finally, narratives create a sense of identity – empirically this was true for the civil rights movement.
Rowland 2
Rowland, Robert C. (2005). “The Narrative Perspective.” Chapter Eight. In J.A. Kuypers (Ed.), The Art of Rhetorical Criticism. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Page 138.
The second rhetorical function of narrative is to create a sense of identification between the audience and the narrator
or characters in the narrative. Great novels such as Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird played a role in the civil rights
movement because they helped create a sense of identification between white and black Americans. Lee's novel and
many other stories showed the audience that the black characters in the books were people just like them. Similarly, narrative
can allow us to see the world through the eyes of a Palestinian terrorist and understand what might drive him or her to
terrorist acts. One of the most powerful functions of narrative is to generate in the reader/viewer/listener the
understanding that "I'm like him or her."
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2. Policy change—Debate trains _____________ to be real world citizens, policymakers who enable
meaningful change for their constituents- Joyner explainsThe debate exercises carry[s] several specific educational objectives. First, students on each team must
work together to refine a[n] cogent argument that compellingly asserts their legal position on a foreign policy
issue confronting the [US] United States. In this way, they gain greater insight into the real-world legal
dilemmas faced by policy makers. Second, as they work with other members of their team, they realize the
complexities of applying and implementing international law, and the difficulty of bridging the gaps between
[US] United States policy and international legal principles, either by reworking the former or creatively
reinterpreting the latter. Finally, research for the debates forces students to become familiarized with
contemporary issues on the [US] United States foreign policy agenda and the role that international law plays in
formulating and executing these policies. 8 The debate thus becomes an excellent vehicle for pushing students
beyond stale arguments over principles into the real world of policy analysis, political critique, and legal defense.
While the status quo of debate assumes that real world policymaking requires cut and dry cost-benefits, rigid
comparison of empirical or statistical warrants, the real benefit occur as soon as you acknowledge that
policymakers must look at narratives as not just an equally valid form of warrant, but a comparatively more valid
and vital form of warrant.
The stories we tell are central components of politics and life – the best training for becoming policymakers and
legislators is embracing our human heritage of storytelling as a way to understand and debate about events.
Mdonough 06
John E. McDonough, 2006, “Narrative Matters: the Power of the Personal Essay in Health Policy.” Chapter title: Using and Misusing Anecdote in Policy
Making. Book edited by: Fitzhugh Mullan, Ellen Ficklen, Kyna Rubin. P. 10-11.
http://books.google.com/books?id=iwFydgQecnQC&dq=narrative+matters:+The+power&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Why is narrative so central to policy making? Because it is central to life. We live our lives crafting, telling, and
receiving stories. We tell our loved ones stories from our day. We catch up with old friends by sharing tales from our lives.
We receive, from all forms of the media, stories to help make sense of our world. In constructing our stories, we are
necessarily selecting in choosing and editing details to drive home a lesson; to engage our audience; or to meet time, space,
and other constraints. This is true for the hardest sciences. “So much of science proceeds by telling stories,” writes Harvard
naturalist Stephen Jay Gould in Bully for Brontosaurus: Reflections in Natural History. He sees us as “vulnerable to the
constraints of this medium” because we are unaware of our tale telling in observing the natural world. “We think that we are
reading nature by applying rules of logic and laws of matter to our observations,” he says, “but we are often telling stories.”
Policymakers, like scientists, are as human as the rest of us. Part of our uniquely human heritage involves telling
stories to find meaning from the events, data, and stimuli in our lives. Most policymakers, and especially legislators,
have not had training in research methods and thus share the layperson’s suspicion of statistical analysis. The adage
“Lies, damn lies, and statistics” makes more sense to most of them than does the value of the r-square.
And narratives lead to change, even congressional action- Rowland 3
Rowland, Robert C. (2005). “The Narrative Perspective.” Chapter Eight. In J.A. Kuypers (Ed.), The Art of Rhetorical Criticism. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Page 136.
Consequently, great literature often fails as rhetoric because the theme is too complex for the mass audience. On the other
hand, great rhetorical narratives often are inferior literature. Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel about the horrors of slavery,
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, is generally not considered to be great literature. The characters are based on simple stereotypes
and show little subtlety. But there is no question that Stowe's novel had an immense rhetorical impact on popular
attitudes about slavery in the North in the years leading up to the Civil War. Similarly, Upton Sinclair's attack on the
meat packing industry, The Jungle, may not be thought of as one of the greatest American novels, but the very lack of
subtlety that a literary critic might decry, helped it influence Congress to regulate the industry.
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3. Empathy— There is a substantive difference between an analysis based on narrative, and an
analysis based on argumentation. My advocacy does not just allow narratives to enter the debate, but
requires that they monopolize it. Both Joyner and Mitchell reveal why our advocacy must extend
beyond the debate round – well, to truly galvanize support for an argument we must use narratives
alone.
Using individual stories is the only way to galvanize support for a movement. Kristof and Wudunn 09
Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. September 10, 2009. New York.
Random House, Inc. “Nicholas Donabet Kristof (born April 27, 1959 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American journalist, author, op-ed columnist, and a winner
of two Pulitzer Prizes. He has written an op-ed column for The New York Times since November 2001 and is widely known for bringing to light human
rights abuses in Asia and Africa, such as human trafficking and the Darfur conflict.” “Sheryl WuDunn is a Chinese American author, lecturer and
businesswoman who was the first Asian-American to win a Pulitzer Prize.” – Wikipedia.
Frankly, we hesitate to pile on the data, since even when numbers are persuasive, they are not galvanizing. A
growing collection of psychological studies show that statistics have a dulling effect, while it is individual stories that
move people to act. In one experiment, research subjects were divided into several groups, and each person was
asked to donate $5 to alleviate hunger abroad. One group was told the money would go to Rokia, a seven-year-old
girl in Mali. Another group was told that the money would go to address malnutrition among 21 million Africans. The
third group was told that donations would go to Rokia, as in the first group, but this time her own hunger was
presented as part of a background tapestry of global hunger, with some statistics thrown in. People were much more
willing to donate to Rokia than to 21 million hungry people, and even a mention of the larger problem made people
less inclined to help her. In another experiment, people were asked to donate to a $300,000 fund to fight cancer. One
group was told that the money would be used to save the life of one child, while another group was told it would save
the lives of eight children. People contributed almost twice as much to save one child as to save eight. Social
psychologists argue that all this reflects the way our consciences and ethical systems are based on individual stories and are distinct from the parts of our brains
concerned with logic and rationality. Indeed, when subjects in experiments are first asked to solve math problems, thus putting in play the parts of the brain that
govern logic, afterward they are less generous to the needy.
Further, narratives are superior at promoting empathy than rationalistic arguments. Our affirmation
evokes a sense of empathy giving difference a face through a narrative tradition. Fasching and
deChant 01
Comparitive Religion Ethics: A Narrative Approach. Page 23. Darrell J. Fasching, Dell deChant. Wiley-Blackwell 2001. Darrell J. Fasching is Professor of
Religious Studies of the University of South Florida in Tampa. Dell De Chant - Instructor and Associate Chair
http://books.google.com/books?id=kYxCiUX6itEC&dq=fasching+and+dechant+comparitive+religion+ethics&source=gbs_navlinks_s
A narrative ethic differs from a rationalistic ethic of principles and reasons by insisting that it is not enough to know
the good in order to do it. We seldom feel ourselves compelled to act on the basis of logical conclusion. In ethics
reason must follow, not precede, emotion. Not just any emotion, of course, but emotions of empathy that lead one to
identify with the one who will be affected by our actions. In fact, what separates religious ethics from purely philosophical
ethics is the notion that our ordinary state of consciousness is distorted and disoriented by deeply (unconscious) selfish
emotions. Therefore, until the self has undergone a profound spiritual transformation of personality, it is not capable of seeing,
understanding, and reasoning correctly. Thus, unlike philosophical ethics, religious ethics usually entails engagement in rituals
and spiritual practices in combination with powerful orienting stories (cosmic stories, stories of saints and heroes) intended to
bring about such a reorienting transformation through which the individual, like David, comes to identify with the pain and
suffering of the other. Such transformations have typically been called experiences of "conversion" in Western religions and
experiences of "enlightenment" in Eastern religions. Stories play an important role in such reorientations precisely
because, unlike reasons alone, stories are often able to reach down and touch the deepest unconscious levels of
someone's personality, releasing emotions, insights, and actions that reason alone could never touch.
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Thus, I stand in support of one thesis— that economic sanctions ought not be used to achieve foreign
policy objectives…
Economic sanctions cause financial hardship and internalize patriarchal societies- KhanlarzadehIranian Women and Economic Sanctions. The threat of war and economic sanctions contribute to a patriarchal culture
By Mina Khanlarzadeh. The threat of war and economic sanctions contribute to a patriarchal culture. Mina Khanlarzadeh teaches math and physics at
Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston. Title photo by Mina Khanlarzadeh. http://beta.zcommunications.org/iranian-women-and-economicsanctions-by-mina-khanlarzadeh
Nadje Sadiq Al-Ali explains that, in the context of Iraq, sanctions changed gender relations and roles. The same effect occurs
in Iran due to the financial crisis to which the economic sanctions contribute. In the summer of 2007, I repeatedly heard
from women, including educated women, that they are looking for a man who can provide financial support to their
future family and who won't marry otherwise. The marriage values have changed from education, love, and social
class to financial stability entirely. This is to some extent true of men also who look for a wife with a rich father who can
offer financial support. Citizens of the U.S. and European countries are an exception: they are considered to be desirable
mates by both Iranian men and women. I asked a friend of my cousin, Hiva, why she is looking for a husband who
works in the bazaar and is therefore likely to be wealthy. She responded that she is a realistic person and knows that
ideas such as love, education, and physical appearance do not put bread on the table .
Khanlarzadeh 2 furthersIranian Women and Economic Sanctions. The threat of war and economic sanctions contribute to a patriarchal culture
By Mina Khanlarzadeh. The threat of war and economic sanctions contribute to a patriarchal culture. Mina Khanlarzadeh teaches math and physics at
Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston. Title photo by Mina Khanlarzadeh. http://beta.zcommunications.org/iranian-women-and-economicsanctions-by-mina-khanlarzadeh
In an optometrist's office in Karaj, I met Fatemeh who told me that she has been working there for a long time.
Fatemeh complained about the economic crisis, telling me that she had sold all her gold jewelry after her husband
was fired from Iran Khodro because of economic sanctions. After liquidating all her jewelry to support her family, she
felt insecure and unsafe. When a woman sells her gold to support her family during a crisis, her position becomes more
fragile and vulnerable. When women lose their financial independence, they become more susceptible to patriarchy.
Hafezi concludes-
Iranians say sanctions hurt them, not government by Parisa Hafezi (source: Reuters). Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Maryam Sharifa is one of many Iranians whose dollar account with a Western bank was closed in the past few
months. Like many Iranians who lived abroad, she had kept her account open since returning to Iran "I had this
account for 13 years in France. Do I look like a terrorist? Should I be punished just for being an Iranian?" said the 39year-old mother of two. "I had to bring all that money with me here and buy a small apartment in Tehran." Mehrdad
Salahshour, a computer technician at a Western firm in Tehran, has not received his salary for three months. "I
unsuccessfully tried to open a dollar account abroad. My company helped me to open a euro account in Turkey. But
then most of international banks stopped working with Iran," he said. Now like many others, he uses the informal money
transfer outlets known as hawala brokers, who for a fee accept funds in another country and pay a beneficiary in Iran. That
system generates little paper trail, and U.S. officials have said they fear it could be abused to launder and move terrorist funds.
Even foreigners in Iran have been told by international banks that their dollar accounts will be closed and credit cards
cancelled because they live in the Islamic state. Escalating rhetoric between the two old foes has sparked speculation of U.S.
military action even though Washington says it is committed to resolving the nuclear row diplomatically. Some well-educated
Iranians have already packed to leave. "I do not want my children to suffer like those innocent Iraqi children because of
America's mistakes," said artist Sepideh Shams. "When America's threats become more tangible, I will leave Iran for
good." CASH IN BAGS For others, it is not the uncertainty of tomorrow but the realities of today that hit hardest. "We are the
victims of the sanctions, not the government," said Mohammad Rezamanesh, 47, a teacher in the central city of
Isfahan, earning $250 per month to support a family of four. "Everyone uses the excuse of sanctions to increase
prices," he said, voicing a common complaint in Iran, where the official inflation rate exceeds 18 percent. Sociologist Hamid
Razeghi said the sanctions had created a vulnerable society: "People cannot make mid-term and long-term plans.
They believe there is no political, economic or security stability." Iranian analysts say currency flows into the country have
actually increased since sanctions were first imposed in December 2006, driven by wealthy Iranians repatriating financial
assets through back door methods. "Huge amounts of money have been transferred to Iran," said economist Mohsen
Jafarinejad. Touraj, a 54-year-old construction engineer, said he regularly travels abroad to bring back bags of cash to Iran,
where property prices have shot up. "A lack of alternative investment opportunities is pushing people to invest in real estate,"
he said, giving his first name only. Whatever the difficulties for those using official channels, expensive cars on the streets of
Tehran show there is still considerable wealth in the country. "Everything depends on God. If you are a real believer, then
you should not be afraid of sanctions or a military strike," businessman Ali Hashemi said, parking his new Toyota outside
his luxury home.
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