by PFDebate LLC on July 21, 2008
During the summer, I make an effort to read books that are unrelated to debate. I am currently reading American Nerd: The Story of My People by Benjamin Nugent. The book attempts to define “nerd,” trace the origins of the word, and identify the common ground between the various subcultures that are viewed as nerdy.
I first heard about the book on The Sound of Young America. There was no mention of debate in Jesse Thorn’s interview with Nugent, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the author included debate as part of nerddom.
Everybody knows that boffers, like nerds who play fantasy role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and attach latex points to their ears to make themselves more elflike, are engaged in a game of pretend, a chance to inhabit another body. They’re voyeurs. But sports nerds play online rotisserie baseball games in which they’re managers of real teams. High-school debaters do the same thing, only they’re role-playing cabinet secretaries. Even music nerds, who sometimes pretend to be cool, seem to hope that a familiarity with defunct record labels and one-hit wonders creates kinship between musicians and themselves.
(p. 15)
One chapter, “Zack and Jack and High-School Debate” (pp. 99-109) is devoted to high school debate. The chapter primarily focuses on Zack Malitz & Jack Jenkins from Westlake High School in Austin, TX. Zack & Jack embrace postmodernism and the kritik and basically eschew their suburban trappings.
There are some factual errors in the chapter, but most of the back story about the evolution of high school debate is correct.
I suspect that many in this audience will be less than enthused with the author’s take that debate tournaments are filled with nerds learning to flirt. I met my wife through debate, so I can’t really say much.
The book is a quick read and I found the subject matter compelling. However, I do think the book drags in a few places, particularly when the author is tracing the racial origins of the stereotype.
by PFDebate LLC on July 17, 2008
by PFDebate LLC on July 16, 2008
Stephen Colbert recorded a special welcome for the people attending the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues’ (NAUDL) first Chase Urban Debate National Championship. His message includes “Stephen Colbert’s Debating Tips.”
[via Global Debate’s informative update on the growth and expansion of urban debate.]
by PFDebate LLC on July 15, 2008
The September 2008 Public Forum Debate topic comes out one month from today. T-minus 31 days and counting.
Summer’s Almost Gone.
by PFDebate LLC on July 14, 2008
An illustration of what not to do.
by PFDebate LLC on July 13, 2008
Why Conservatives Are Happier Than Liberals
“Individuals with conservative ideologies are happier than liberal-leaners, and new research pinpoints the reason: Conservatives rationalize social and economic inequalities.”
The Unintended Consequence of the Economic Stimulus Plan
Guess how people are spending their economic stimulus checks.
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
“As the media theorist Marshall McLuhan pointed out in the 1960s, media are not just passive channels of information. They supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.”
Our Little Emperors: Does Worrying Do More Harm Than Good?
“Our child-centred society means we fret over what our kids eat, what they wear, their friends, their exam grades and their safety. A US academic has coined the term kindergarchy – a new (affluent) world order in which children rule.”
by PFDebate LLC on July 4, 2008
The National Forensic League has selected the Public Forum Debate Topic Committee for 2008-09. Several of these names will be familiar to regular visitors of this website.
A big thanks to these people for serving in what can be a very thankless task.
Returning Members
Jason Kline, Myers Park High School, NC (chair)
Tim Averill, Waring School, MA
Vickie Fellers, Wichita East High School, KS
Betsy Ballard, Norman High School, OK
Teresa Sparkman, Kickapoo High School, MO
Eric DiMichelle, Regis High School, NY
New Members
Scott Ginger, Green Valley High School, NV
Greg Stevens, Okaboji/Spirit Lake High Schools, IA
Jenny Billman, NFL Office Rep
by PFDebate LLC on July 3, 2008
Robin Go & Jake Wheeler from Sidney Lanier defeated Gregory Ross & Joshua Coronado from Sidney Lanier to win the Public Forum Debate division at the National Junior Forensic League National Tournament held at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY.
Complete tournament results are available on the iDebate blog.
Quarterfinalists
AD103 – Capital Debate – Deep Singh & Niran Lakhanpal
AZ101 – Sidney Lanier – Reid Geissen & Noah Morrison
AZ106 – Sidney Lanier – Linda Oyolu & Lisa Oyolu
AZ108 – Sidney Lanier – Lavanya Sunder & Janice Maliakkal
Semifinalists
AH101 – Fort Scott – Reed Ramsey & Baker Weilert
AZ104 – Sidney Lanier – Conrad Fuller & Brian Whitehouse
2nd Place
AZ102 – Sidney Lanier – Gregory Ross & Joshua Coronado
1st Place
AZ109 – Sidney Lanier – Robin Go & Jake Wheeler
by PFDebate LLC on July 2, 2008
The application for The National Public Forum Challenge II sponsored by PFDebate.com is now available. Only the top 16 applicants will be accepted. Over $1200 in scholarship money will be awarded to the finalists.
Tournament Director Jason Kline points out that participants in Challenge I included the champions from Wake Forest, Harvard, the Tournament of Champions, and NFL Nationals.
by PFDebate LLC on June 30, 2008
The NFL Nationals 2008 (Risk of Terrorist Acts) edition of Crossfire Briefs is now available as a free download.
