Public debate is crucial to the democratic process as it allows citizens and society as a whole to discuss issues and come up with informed opinions. It is also important in fostering trust in democracy and holding leaders accountable. However, the current landscape of public debate is rife with challenges and dangers, including populism, falsehood, disinformation, lack of trust in institutions, and polarization of views.
This issue of Debate Studies aims to explore how the materiality of spaces for debate influences the arguments that people put forward in them. Using socio-technical approaches to arguments, it asks how specific features of these debate spaces shape the ways that people argue in them.
A debate is a structured conversation, where the two teams of speakers present their case to judges and answer questions from the audience. Each debate is divided into four speeches: the first two, known as constructive speeches, are designed to construct (or build) arguments, while the final two, known as rebuttals, offer comparative conclusions and refute major points of the opposing team. Judges are told to disregard new arguments introduced in rebuttal speeches that have not been developed in the constructive speeches.
Using the Trace Effects Chapter 2 debate prompt, play the video in class with students and have them choose who they will vote for – Emma or Riley. Then have them outline their argument for why they think their candidate should be elected. Next, divide them into pairs and give each pair a debate prompt. Each candidate will need to write one argument on why they agree with the prompt and another argument on why they disagree with the prompt.