Complete Story
04/14/2015
ECA 2015 - Argumentation & Forensics Programming in Philly
Dear Colleagues,
I’m so excited to see you next week in Philadelphia! As you prepare to present, listen, discuss, and deliberate, please see below for a convenient overview of our programming in Argumentation & Forensics. I hope you will support your fellow interest group members by attending these diverse and thought-provoking sessions. Don’t forget to download the newly launched mobile app, where you can bookmark your must-see panels for quick reference.
Please note that our interest group’s business meeting is scheduled for Thursday 4/23 from 3:30 to 4:45 PM in Frampton. I hope to see many of you there, and I’m looking forward to hearing your excellent ideas for Baltimore.
Finally, I have a challenge for you: I’m asking every Argumentation & Forensics member to bring a colleague who is not a member to one of our panels. Let’s ensure space for our programs at future conventions by garnering more members and showing folks how relevant, accessible, and engaging our work is!
It’s been a joy planning for our interest group this year. Looking forward to seeing next week!
All best,
Jade Olson
2015 Planner, Argumentation & Forensics
University of Maryland
jade.olson@gmail.com
2015 Argumentation & Forensics Programming by Day
Thursday, April 23
12:30-1:45 (Boardroom) – “Is It Better to Be Articulate or Intelligent in American Politics? A Public Debate”
Having viewed the 2014 midterm congressional campaigns and those from previous elections, the participants in this session will engage in a public debate centered on the following proposition: “Resolved: It is better to be articulate than intelligent in American politics.” Following a 40-minute debate and comments from the respondent, audience members will be invited to ask questions and engage panelists on the advantages and drawbacks of various approaches to political debates.
2:00-3:15 (Ballroom E2) – “Deliberating Places of Community: A Look at Ways Places and Communities Make Impacts”
Places have the ability to make powerful arguments. Most notably, these places are often memorials or monuments to people or events. But other kinds of places can do this, too. This panel covers four very different places, but each of them argues something very important about community and the roles that community plays in society.
3:30-4:45 (Frampton) – Argumentation & Forensics Business Meeting
Friday, April 24
8:00-9:15 (Flower) – “Argumentative Innovation in Policymaking, Forensics, and Policy Debate: Selected Papers in Argumentation & Forensics”
These three competitively selected papers explore innovative strategies across three distinct arenas of argumentation: national policymaking, practices in competitive speech and debate, and policy debate instruction. Reviewers found that these papers demonstrate exemplary critical engagement with a diverse body of deliberative texts and contexts. Each paper suggests directions for future innovation in the argumentative practices that affect us all.
12:30-1:45 (Ballroom E1) – “State and Local Politics: Deliberating Our Futures Closer to Home”
Too often national electoral politics dominate people’s attention. State and local politics tend to take a back seat. Yet, it’s what happens at state and local levels that has the greatest potential to directly affect our lives. This panel examines campaigns in a city, in two state gubernatorial races and a particularly interesting race in which two professors from the same college are seeking to replace a defeated Congressman.
Saturday, April 25
8:00-9:15 (Frampton) – “On Deliberation and Democracy: Honoring the Work of James F. Klumpp”
This special session brings together the ECA community to honor, and recognize the contributions of, distinguished scholar/educator James Klumpp. His research on democratic deliberation speaks directly to the theme and context of ECA 2015. Professional colleagues, including former students, highlight Dr. Klumpp’s contributions – especially to studies of rhetoric, argumentation, and Kenneth Burke. All will be invited to participate in the conversation as we mark Dr. Klumpp’s retirement and hear his insightful reflections on our discipline.
11:00-12:15 (Ballroom E2) – “Accidental, Situated Arguments: From the Statehouse to the Streets to Social Media”
Arguments are situated, sometimes planned but sometimes not. In the latter case, the arguments may be termed accidental. The presentations suggest that such arguments can be quite powerful and gain much of that power from their sites, be those sites a state house rotunda, the sides of highways, two West Philadelphia houses, or Internet websites.
12:30-1:45 (Ballroom E2) – “Do What Candidates’ Platforms Tell Us Really Matter? Political Platforms as Deliberative Argument”
There was a time when a candidate’s platform really mattered. Political parties worked hard on them and candidates ran hard on them. People would listen to long messages in which candidates described in detail where they stood. More recently, messages have become shorter and shorter until they seem confined to sound bites that make good headlines. This raises a question about whether platforms matter anymore. This panel explores that idea.
