Seth Willden

Debate Philosophy and Paradigm

I have no desire to see your case. I have no desire to be a part of an email chain. I want you, the debater, to make your arguments clear and thoughtful and ingestible for your judge.

I have been a coach of Speech and Debate for 5 years. I have been a community judge for 8 years. I teach research, writing, and speaking at the high school level and have taught at the college level as well. My background is rhetorical theory and criticism. I have judged LD in local Colorado Tournaments, and the National Speech and Debate Tournament. I would consider the majority of the judging and coaching I do centers on a “traditional” paradigm. But that brings with it a lot of baggage. So read on, dear competitor.

With my background in mind, I am primarily interested in debate as a pedagogical tool and an art.

A good round of debate demonstrates that both debaters have done research, organized their ideas well, and thought about how to defend their position(s). Both debaters will make it clear to the adjudicator of their position(s), and do their utmost to be convincing with solid evidence, questioning, and extemporizing. Debate is audience centered, meaning that effective communication should be at the forefront of the activity. If the arguments are not clear to the judge (rate of speed, inflection, organization, display of research), then the debate is all for naught.

The number of arguments you present is not positively correlated with the quality of those arguments. A few developed arguments are far more sound than a handful of cards you are able to fit into a 7 minute case. I know most Americans like to go down to Costco and buy cheese in bulk, but often the best cheese is handcrafted, cared for, and savored. Savor the arguments. Debate is an art, after all.

I will flow the debate as best I can, but debaters should make considerations for virtual competition space. You might need to slow down to make your arguments. And that’s okay. That fourth contention might have to wait for a judge more willing to listen.

Judging Style - Debate is an art, and therefore art can take a variety of forms. Values and Value Criterions are often helpful in adjudicating a round, so I prefer to have them situate the affirmative case. Debaters should try to see how each other’s values interact with one another, in order for the debate to have the desired “clash.”

I try to keep up on philosophy and rhetorical theory. I may not be particularly well versed on your thread, but I am generally familiar with Foucault, DeCerteau, Baudrillard, Deleuze, and Barthes. Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, Jefferson, and Machiavelli. Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Isocrates, Quintillian, Cicero. Israel, Rawls, Kant. Queer theory, Cornel West, Judith Butler, Frantz Fanon. I will follow your position as best I can. If you misrepresent an idea, it may impact my decision making.

Oftentimes I see debaters travel far afield from the resolution in question. Try to maintain the resolution impact. Critiques of the resolution are welcome, but blanket K’s are not a helpful pedagogical tool in debate. There are many platforms for us to scrutinize debate praxis, but in the middle of the round it just gets a bit too metacognitive to be helpful.

We know that debate in practice has been harmful to some folks. LGBTQ+ folks, Black folks, and women in particular. Debaters who portray a persona of white hypermasculinity and use it as a tool to bully or demean other debaters will be marked down. 2020 has thrown us a lot of things. We want to make sure that debate is a safe place for us all. So be kind.