Starting a Speech and Debate Club
June 2, 2010 11:13 PM Subscribe
I'm starting a collegiate Speech and Debate Club during the last two years of my education. Everything on the policy/school government side of things seems to be panning out quite nicely, but I'm in dire need for literature. Specifically, I'm looking for one or two more book recommendations that will help me in developing the structure and defining rules for a Forensics type club. (Literature outlining the basic parameters for a typical S&D Club constitution would help too). I've gone through Robert's Rules, Competitive Debate: The Official Guide, and Pros & Cons: A Debaters Handbook. If you know of any other supplementary reads, please help me out. Thanks for your time.
Do you have a specific league in mind? They are very different, so depending on which one you join, your club will have different needs.
posted by prefpara at 4:41 AM on June 3, 2010
posted by prefpara at 4:41 AM on June 3, 2010
Simon Quinn has a free book online at learndebating.com. I believe it's focused on the World Schools format (http://www.schoolsdebate.com) of debates though.
posted by nihraguk at 5:58 AM on June 3, 2010
posted by nihraguk at 5:58 AM on June 3, 2010
Are you doing competitive debate, or just a debating society within your college? If competitive, what kind? Do you have a league in mind (APDA, NPDA...)?
I can't provide you any books on the topic, but I can provide you with a ton of information on how my (awesome) parli team did things, as well as other teams in our league. I've debated Worlds style as well, so have some knowledge of BP and the US BP circuit. I know a bit about CUSID if you're Canadian. I can get copies of collegiate teams' constitutions (mostly East Coast schools, some with names you'd know), as well. The e-board while I was president rewrote the team's constitution, so I can also tell you what did and didn't work.
(I am not a policy person, so if you are starting a policy team, I can help you link up with some people who know more things than I do.)
I have some experience with Individual Events and their related club from high school, but have no idea what the college circuit looks like.
(The UChicago Book of Impacts, while only tangentially related to the topic at hand and not really directly impactful (ha) to non-policy people, is great browsing for your debaters.)
posted by quadrilaterals at 7:35 AM on June 3, 2010
I can't provide you any books on the topic, but I can provide you with a ton of information on how my (awesome) parli team did things, as well as other teams in our league. I've debated Worlds style as well, so have some knowledge of BP and the US BP circuit. I know a bit about CUSID if you're Canadian. I can get copies of collegiate teams' constitutions (mostly East Coast schools, some with names you'd know), as well. The e-board while I was president rewrote the team's constitution, so I can also tell you what did and didn't work.
(I am not a policy person, so if you are starting a policy team, I can help you link up with some people who know more things than I do.)
I have some experience with Individual Events and their related club from high school, but have no idea what the college circuit looks like.
(The UChicago Book of Impacts, while only tangentially related to the topic at hand and not really directly impactful (ha) to non-policy people, is great browsing for your debaters.)
posted by quadrilaterals at 7:35 AM on June 3, 2010
The Simon Quinn book is VERY good, but focused quite explicitly on the World Schools style, which is quite different from the kinds normally done in the US. Also, please note that World Universities' style is different from World Schools' style.
So, as someone above pointed out, what kind you're interested in will change things considerably.
posted by bardophile at 7:40 AM on June 3, 2010
So, as someone above pointed out, what kind you're interested in will change things considerably.
posted by bardophile at 7:40 AM on June 3, 2010
In high school debate, we'd look forward to getting Rostrum Magazine. It's published by the National Forensic League, which is the governing body.
I'm not sure how pertinent all of it would be to collegiate debate, but their archive can be found here.
posted by banwa at 8:49 AM on June 3, 2010
I'm not sure how pertinent all of it would be to collegiate debate, but their archive can be found here.
posted by banwa at 8:49 AM on June 3, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also, feel free to memail if you want any specific advice. Been involved with school and college debate for my whole adult life and before...
posted by bardophile at 11:39 PM on June 2, 2010