Debaters as Storytellers: The Narrative Perspective in Academic Debate

Thomas A. Hollihan Mr. Hollihan is Associate Professor and Director of Forensics in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences, at the University of Southern California.; An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Joint Central States Speech Association and Southern States Speech Association Convention, St. Louis, MO, 1987. The authors wish to thank Walter Fisher for his helpful comments on this paper.

Kevin T. Baaske Mr. Baaske is Assistant Professor and Director of Forensics in the Department of Speech Communication at California State University-Los Angeles.; An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Joint Central States Speech Association and Southern States Speech Association Convention, St. Louis, MO, 1987. The authors wish to thank Walter Fisher for his helpful comments on this paper.

Patricia Riley Ms. Riley is Assistant Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California.; An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Joint Central States Speech Association and Southern States Speech Association Convention, St. Louis, MO, 1987. The authors wish to thank Walter Fisher for his helpful comments on this paper.

Abstract

This paper argues that academic debate has become elitist. Our students make arguments which can be understood by highly trained expert judges, but not by public audiences. The paper argues that we need to develop exemplars for debate which emphasize teaching students the skills required to communicate arguments in such a way that they can inspire citizen activism. A narrative perspective of debate is proposed, and suggestions regarding how this perspective might be applied and practiced are offered.

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Debaters as Storytellers: The Narrative Perspective in Academic Debate

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