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Syllabus

argue (verb):  1. give reasons (for or against a proposal, etc.)  2. to dispute (with a person or about a thing)  3. to present objections.

debate (verb):  1. to consider  2. to discuss opposing reasons  3) to argue a question formally.  (noun)  1.  a discussion of opposing reasons  2.  a formal contest of skill in reasoned argument with two teams taking opposite sides of s specified question.

Course Description

            The ability to communicate through symbols allows us to make sense of our world, build meaningful relationships with others and present our positions on issues important to us in ways that might encourage others to join with us.  This ability has made possible society, commerce, and virtually everything that is distinctly “human.” Communication is verbal, nonverbal, and involves both intention and perception.  It occurs in every dimension of human life.  This class focuses on a particular type of communication and context: argumentation and debate.  As noted in the definitions above, debate is both an act (verb) and a context (noun).  In order to be successful in a debate, one must understand the principles of argumentation.  These principles are critical in crafting arguments and understanding and evaluating the arguments of others.  There will be some lecture, but your active participation is essential for this class to work.  Please come in with questions from the reading!  What does it mean?  What does it look like?  How does it apply?  How do we do it?  These are all good questions and will help make the class meaningful for you.

Course Objectives

            This course is intended to:

1.      foster critical thinking in the crafting of effective and ethical arguments,

2.      foster critical thinking in the evaluation of arguments made by others

3.      improve student research skills

4.      improve student oral and written communication skills

Course Competencies

            After completing this course the successful student will:

1.      distinguish between sound and unsound arguments

2.      identify basic logical fallacies

3.      craft arguments that are clear, ethical and effective

4.      effectively express arguments orally and in writing

5.      be able to carry out principled debate on a significant topic

Course Policies

            Attendance:  You are expected to attend every class period.  However, since life happens, you are allowed a number of “personal days.”  Use them wisely if at all. 

If you must be absent, handle it responsibly: communicate with your teammates and me and be prepared for the next class session.

            Participation:  The class participation is a function of your active involvement in class discussion and activities as well as your attentiveness and feedback during debates by other teams. Plus/Minus grades can be affected by your participation.

            Assignments:  All work must be handed in on time unless prior arrangements have been made. No make-ups will be given unless there are extreme circumstances and you handles those circumstances responsibly.  Do not wait until you are out of school to begin behaving professionally.

Honor Code

            “It shall be the responsibility of every faculty member, student, administrator and staff member of the university community to uphold and maintain the academic standards and integrity of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington” (1997-1998 Student Handbook and Code of Student Life, p. 91).  All student work and conduct must be in accordance with the academic honor code and other codes informing the university community. Any plagiarism will result in failure for that assignment and additional work by the student on all future assignments to prove that the work is the student’s own:  Cite your sources folks!

Course Materials

Required Texts:  Moore, Kathleen, Dean (1998).  Patterns of inductive reasoning: Developing critical thinking skills (4^th ed.). Dubuque, IO.  Prentice Hall.  This text will provide our philosophical framework and much of the basic vocabulary necessary to carry out construct argumentation in real life settings. 

Ericson, J. M, Murphy, J. J. & Zeuschner, R. B. (1987). The debater’s guide (revised edition).  Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University.  This text will provide concrete advice for how best to succeed in the debates we will engage in during class.  At times the texts will agree with one another and at times they will disagree.  Whenever possible, we will discuss these points of disagreement and their implications for the class debates and beyond.

Required Materials: It is also expected that students will do significant photocopying and downloading of materials appropriate for constructing arguments necessary for the debates.  Therefore a copy card, 5 X 7 note cards and computer disc(s) are also required.  File folders may also prove useful. 

About Email:  Be sure you have an active account and check it regularly.  I will use Pipeline to send out information to your university account and you will need to be able to email your topic groups and your teams with attached documents, etc.  If you have an off campus account be sure that you set up your on campus account to forward your mail.

Assignments and Grading:

There are 400 points available for the course.  I will be using a standard ten percent breakdown: 90% =A, 80-89% =B, etc.  The assignments are as follows:

I reserve the right to modify the schedule and assignments as needed.  All work, unless otherwise noted, must be typed and adhere to the APA style guide.  Clear, error-free writing is a big part of your success in this class:  manage your time accordingly.

Assignment Descriptions

I offer this overview of assignments not to overload you but so that you can manage your time accordingly.  I realize that this is not the only course you are taking and want you to be able to take the lead in owning your education and managing your coursework.  If you have questions about any of these assignments be sure to ask them.  Really, go ahead and ask.

Quizzes:  Things go better when we read the textbooks.  Each quiz will offer a blend of objective questions that focus on recall of material and short answer questions that focus on application.  Course vocabulary will be an important focus of the quizzes.  Learn to love that glossary!

Debates:  You will participate in three graded debates during the semester.  Your debate grades will generally be divided among four areas: 1) an individual grade, 2) a shared grade given to your team, and 3) written materials that are required for each debate and 4) peer evaluations.

Analysis Paper: You will critique one of the debates in class and offer the following analysis:

            1) Identify the major issues in the debate and how each team handled the issue

2) Offer an overall assessment of who won that debate and a complete explanation for your decision that integrates course concepts.

3) Offer constructive suggestions for each team to do better in the next round.

This paper should be 2-4 pages in length double-spaced.  It requires no cover page.  It will be graded on both form and substance.  One way to help your grade will be to integrate course vocabulary throughout the analysis and suggestions.

Summary Paper: Reflect on what you learned this semester about argumentation, debate and even such issues as group process, persuasion, life, etc.  Don’t just fill it with stuff you think I want to hear!  Should be about 2 pages double-spaced.

Peer Evaluations: Rate your teammates and yourself on a 1-10 scale.  Then offer a sentence or two of rationale for your ratings.  Ex: Paul: He was a good researcher and gathered a lot of sources that were helpful.  I gave him a seven because he was unorganized and we ended having to “hold his hand” a lot in helping him present his section.  In cases where I feel a team or individual has not been responsible in their peer evaluations I will discount the evaluations and award no peer evaluation points.  Consider the following guidelines

10 = exceptional individual in both task and social dimensions of group work

9 = excellent individual in both task and social dimensions of group work

8 = above average in both areas and you would work with this person again

7 = solid contributor, some weaknesses in one or both areas but would work with person again

6 = consistent weaknesses in one or both areas and would not prefer to work with this person again

5-0 = obstacle to group success and definitely would not want to work with this person again

Class Participation:  Participation is a factor of two things:  Did you attend class?  Was the class better in some respects due to your membership?  In the answer to these two questions lies your participation grade.  I will use participation as a factor in determining +/- grades.  For instance if you have an 87 and your participation is strong, you keep your B+.  If it was poor, you would likely get a B.  Conversely an 85 with exceptional participation would likely receive a B+.

“If people fear to offer criticism lest it lead to a rupture of peace, that in itself proves that the peace is false.  Peace, if it is to last, must be based on truth and lack of fear.” 

Jewish Wisdom by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin.

Schedule of Sessions

There are two texts being used in this course the Inductive Reasoning chapters are designated IR.  The readings from the Debater’s Guide are designated DG.

Hyperlinks in Class Session column indicate PowerPoint is available for this session

Debate requires conviction and reasonable confrontation

but it need not be viewed as competitive or antagonistic:

“Love unaccompanied by criticism is not love. . . .

Peace unaccompanied by reproof is not peace.”

Genesis Rabbah 54:3

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