Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Prompt
Resolved: Civil disobedience in a democracy is
morally justified.
Announcements/Reminders
 Fundraiser for Debate?
 News?
Review
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John Locke
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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Montesquieu
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Thomas Hobbes
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Self-Reliance
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Civil Disobedience
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Capitalism

Community

Knowledge

Beauty

Kant and democracy
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Sanctity of Life

Quality of Life

Privacy
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Self-Actualization
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Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism
 Jeremy Bentham
 Values the greatest good for the greatest number
 The Principles of Morals and Legislation by John Stuart Mill
 What will produce the greatest amount of happiness for the
greatest number of people?
 Whatever promotes pleasure and prevents pain.
 Situation Ethics by Joseph Fletcher
 Examine the situation before saying what action would be
right or wrong. Do the loving thing.
 Only one thing is intrinsically good – love.
 The ruling norm of Christian decision is love.
 Love and justice are the same.
 Love wills the neighbor’s good whether or not we like our
neighbor.
 The end justifies the means.
 Love’s decisions are made only specific situations – they can’t be
prescribed ahead of time.
Deontology
 The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of
Morals by Kant
 Greek for “obligation or duty”
 An action must be based on its intrinsic
worth, not based on the consequences
of the act.
 What is right needs to be decided prior
to the determination of what is good.
 Human beings must never be used as a
means to an end.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
 On the Measurement of the
Utility of Public Works by Jules
Deupuit
 Based on Economics
 A good decision maker
weighs the advantages and
disadvantages of any
action before deciding
what’s best.
 Consider the direct benefits,
indirect benefits and the
intangible benefits.
 Opportunity costs refer tot
the other benefits that are
given up by the choice to
take the action in questions.
 Externalities are the
negative byproducts of an
action that are difficult to
measure in monetary terms
Lincoln-Douglas
 One on one debate
 Based on philosophy
 “Value” driven
 One topic every three months
 Heavily researched
Public Forum
 Partner debate
 Rapid fire
 Usually about current events
 One topic
 Changes every few months
 Topics a lot like the ones we
debate at the beginning of
class.
Dramatic Interpretation
 Performs 10 minutes
 Excerpts from a play, short story, or
other published work. Can be from
more than one text.
 Spotlight on character
development and depth
 Focuses on a student’s ability to
convey emotion through the use of
a dramatic text.
 May portray one or multiple
characters.
 No props or costumes may be used.
 May also include an introduction
written by the student to
contextualize the performance and
state the title and author.
Humorous Interpretation
 10 minutes
 Can be from one text or multiple
texts
 Test a student’s comedic skills
through script analysis, delivery,
timing, and character
development.
 Can be one or more characters.
 No props or costumes may be
used.
 Can also include an introduction
written by the student to
contextualize the performance
and state the title and author.
Duo Interpretation
 Two people
 10 minutes
 Comedic or dramatic
 Focuses on the relationships and interactions between the characters.
 No props or costumes are used.
 Performances may also include an introduction written by the students to
contextualize the performance and state the title and author.
Policy
 Two on two.
 One topic for the whole year.
 Tests research, analytical, and
delivery skills.
 Involves the proposal of a plan by the
affirmative team to enact a policy,
while the negative team offers
reasons to reject that proposal.
 Cross-examine one another. A judge
or panel of judges determines the
winner based on the arguments
presented.
 Hour long.
 SUPER INTENSE.

International
Extemporaneous
Presented with a choice of three
questions related to international
current events
 30 minutes to prepare
 7 minutes speech to answer the
question
 Students may consult articles and
evidence they gather prior to the
contest, but may not use the
Internet during preparation.
 Topics range from countryspecific issues to regional
concerns to foreign policy.
 The speech is delivered from
memory.
U.S. Extemporaneous
 Same as International Extemp,
but focuses on U.S. current
events instead.
Impromptu
 Seven total minutes to select a
topic, brainstorm ideas, outline
speech, and deliver the
speech.
 Given without notes and uses
an introduction, body, and
conclusion.
 Light-hearted or serious.
 The speech can be based upon
prompts that range from nursery
rhymes, current events,
celebrities, organizations, and
more.
Declamation
 Select a speech that was
delivered in public and perform
an excerpt of that speech to
an audience.
 Up to 10 minutes in length.
 Typically shorten the text of the
speech to meet time
requirements.
 Not designed for students to
mimic the original author of the
speech.
 Develop an oration that
delivers the message of the
author in an original and
engaging manner.
Expository
 Five minute informative speech
that introduces to the audience
a topic of the student’s
choosing.
 Provide unique insights and
explore interesting implications.
 Informative speech.
 Cover topics ranging from an
organization to a product , a
process or concept.
 Effective speeches provide new
information or perspectives on a
topic, including those that are
widely known.
Original Oratory
 Self-written, ten-minute speech
on a topic of their choosing.
 Limited ability to quote directly.
 Craft an argument using
evidence, logic, and emotional
appeals.
 May be informative or
persuasive in nature.
 Delivered from memory.
Poetry
 Interpretation of Poetry
 5 min limit including intro.
 May choose traditional or nontraditional poetry
 May not use prose or drama in
this category.
 Must use a manuscript in Poetry,
which typically consists of a small
three-ring binder with page
protectors.
 Reading from a book or
magazine is prohibited
Prose
 Uses short story, parts of a novel,
or other published work of prose
 Time limit of 5 min including intro.
 Typically a single piece of
literature
 Can be fictional or non-fictional
 May not use poetry, nor drama
(plays), in this category.
 Must use a manuscript in Prose,
which typically consists of a small
three-ring binder with page
protectors.
 Reading from a book or
magazine is prohibited.
Storytelling
 Select a published story that
meets a specified theme
 5 min. long
 Storytelling themes range widely
and may include mysteries,
heroism, or fairy tales.
 Select a story that would be
appropriate for young children
and tell the story as if presenting
to that audience.
 May use a chair
 Manuscripts prohibited.
Congressional
 A simulation of the U.S. legislative
process in the Senate and the
House
 Generate a series of bills and
resolutions for debate in
Congressional Debate.
 Alternate delivering speeches for
and against the topic in a group
setting.
 An elected student serves as a
presiding officer to ensure debate
flows smoothly.
 Assessed on their research,
argumentation, and delivery skills,
as well as their knowledge and use
of parliamentary procedure.
Extemporaneous
 One-on-one format
 Limited prep time to prepare for the topic
 Students debate a number of topics, as opposed to a single topic for the
entire tournament.
 Each round students are presented a unique resolution.
 Minimum of 30 minutes to prepare for the round.
 The use of evidence is permitted, but not a focal point due to the limited
time available to prepare a case for the round.
World Schools
 Features a dynamic format
combining the concepts of
“prepared” topics with
“impromptu” topics
 Focus on specified issues rather
than debate theory or
procedural arguments.
 Highly interactive
 Can engage each other even
during speeches.
 Good team work and ability to
argue.