DACtivism: Debate Across the Curriculum for Teaching as Activism

- President John F Kennedy (quoted in Fisher, p.12)

Background On Academic Debate

The use of debate as a pedagogical tool is generally credited to the Greek sophist, Protagoras, the ‘father of debate’ (Payne). But in terms of format, the origins of academic debate as we now know it are more accurately attributed to Great Britain in the 19^th century. What began in a decentralized and less organized manner ultimately developed into the British Debating Societies of the 1880s (Haapala). The stated purpose of these societies was to bring awareness of political, moral, and religious issues in Britain in a way that was accessible to the average citizen by having participants rely on their speaking skills, a significant format development given that debate of issues at the time were largely conducted via the written word (Haapala). The founders of these debating societies believed that “oratorical practice would benefit” the participants, “enriching our judgment, brightening our wit, and enlarging our knowledge and of being serviceable to others in the same things” (Samuels, p. 204). It was common for hundreds to attend these meetings, with topics chosen beforehand and time allocations agreed upon for each speech (Fawcett).