Students will learn the fundamentals of spoken communication and debate in this two semester course. The focus will be threefold: study, theory and application.
The “Study” component will focus on the greatest speeches and debates in history, from the “Apology” of Socrates to “I Have a Dream” and beyond. These famous speeches and debates will be analyzed from the perspective of argumentation, structure and rhetorical devices, forming the theoretical basis for in-class application.
The “Application” of what we learn will consist of several speeches and debates that will be conducted live in class. Students will present individual speeches and will engage in two-person debates. Students will be coached in how to avoid common errors, such as saying “like” as a filler word, how to speak extemporaneously when called upon (particularly in an oral exam) and how to be effective and engaging when addressing an audience.
Techniques of research, especially how to assess information on the internet, will be a major component of the Debate section of this course.
Times and Dates TBA