Class debates will be held between two groups of four-five students on a semi-weekly basis. Throughout the semester, each group will be responsible for three debates. There are 4 groups, and each group will be paired with every other group at some point, for a total of 10 debates throughout the semester. Each student must act as the primary reporter and as a respondent at least one time during the semester. It is often the case that students are assigned to defend a position that is contrary to their own beliefs (or prejudice). This is good. It is important for students to consider many sides of these complicated issues. It may serve to strengthen the student's original position, or it may cause the student to reassess her/his own personal values.
The format of the debates is as follows:
Your presentations should:
We will use peer evaluation to rate the quality of the debate presentations. The “jury” consists of the remaining three groups who are responsible for evaluating the overall quality of the debate presentations. They will be provided with PEER REVIEW forms that will award points for the content of the presentations (e.g. use of evidence, thoroughness, clarity, etc.) and for the effectiveness of the presentation (oral communication skills, use of graphics, convincing arguments, etc.).The grade that will be awarded to each group will be determined by the average points awarded by the jury. The TA/Professor will also write a narrative assessment, and other students will be asked to write constructive comments as well. These points will be awarded to the entire group, so each group member has a responsibility to help find and organize the information, work with the presenters to develop the arguments, practice the presentations, ! etc. Both content and presentation style are evaluated on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) based on these criteria:
The jury is also encouraged to write narrative comments, both positive and critical, to help the groups emphasize their strengths and work on their weaknesses. The jury must sign their reviews for credit (a means of taking attendance), and they do not get credit for the review unless they have made meaningful assessments and comments (i.e. giving a blanket scores of 5 without justification is not acceptable).
The one rule that is absolute: no ad hominem attacks on other students will be tolerated. Any idea that is presented in good faith will be held up to scrutiny by the class. But no student will be subjected to embarrassment or ridicule through comments by other students. Let's respect each other and the ideas we present to the class
| Week | Contention | Pro | Con |
| Feb 24-26 | 1993 Mississippi Floods | 1 (more flood control) | 2 (let the rivers flow) |
| Mar 2-4 | Lucas vs. South Carolina | 3 (personal property) | 4 (community interest) |
| Mar 9-11 | Sustainable Agriculture | 1 | 3 |
| Apr 6-8 | Nuclear Waste Disposal: Yucca Mountain? | 4 (yes to Yucca) | 2 (find another site) |
| Apr 13-15 | Reform of the 1987 Mine Act | 4 (pro-reform) | 3 (mining industry) |
| Apr 20-22 | Mono Lake: whose water is it anyway? (group B) | 2 (water rights to LA) | 3 (save Mono Lake) |
| Apr 27-29 | Mono Lake: whose water is it anyway? (group A) | 2 (water rights to LA) | 3 (save Mono Lake |
DO NOT EXCLUSIVELY USE THE LINKS PROVIDED, YOU WILL NEED MUCH MORE DIVERSE INFORMATION TO FORMULATE YOUR ARGUMENT!!!!
The 1993 Mississippi Floods
that lessons can we learn from this great event? To protect lives and property, should we build more dams and levees? Or is it better policy to let the river run its course and design our communities accordingly. Did the “flood control” efforts of the Army Corps of Engineers actually increase the impact of the floods? Should the U. S. Government provide flood insurance through FEMA? Or does this enable irresponsible behavior? Who ultimately pays the price?
Links:
Lucas v. South Carolina
Lucas bought property on a bay barrier island. Charleston South Carolina zoning did not permit development of this property. A classic case of personal property rights vs. the State's interest in zoning to protect the public. What was the finding of the U. S. Supreme Court? What does the “takings” clause of the 5 th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution mean? How do we reconcile the laws of society with natural processes that involve dynamic systems that operate with varying frequency and magnitudes over long periods of time?
Links:
Sustainable Agriculture: Can we/should we feed the world?
The “green revolution” has made remarkable advances in agriculture that have greatly increased crop yields in the past 20 years. But is this sustainable? What of soil loss, loading of nutrients in groundwater and surface waters, pollution from livestock, use of pesticides, etc.? What is the carrying capacity of the world? Can we afford to continue a) exponential growth of the world population and b) to continue to increase per capita consumption?
Links:
Nuclear Waste Disposal: Yucca Mountain ?
Whether we like it or not, we're stuck with a mountain of nuclear waste from our network of nuclear reactors. What arguments favor long-term disposal at Yucca Mountain ? What are the arguments against? If not at Yucca Mountain , where will we look for another repository site? How much time do we have left? How much has already been spent on this site in the design stage, how much more will be spent in the implementation stage?
Links:
Reform of the 1872 Mine Act
What does the 1872 Mine Act really say, and is it still an appropriate law given our modern technical advances? Does it provide opportunity for anyone to discover and develop minerals, or is it a federal giveaway to large corporations? How has the Mine Act been amended over the past 125 years? Are these additional Acts sufficient to protect the environment, workers, communities? Should companies pay royalties on minerals that are extracted? What are the taxes, fees, etc. already paid by the mining companies? Will reform of the Mine Act ultimately kill the mining industry in America ? Do we want mining to be part of our economy? What will it do to our demand for raw materials, balance of trade, reliance on other (unstable?) countries for strategic resources, exportation of environmental problems and worker exploitation to Third World countries, etc.?
Links:
Mono Lake: whose water is it, anyway?
What was the authority of the Los Angeles Water Board to lay claim to the water resources in the Mono Lake area (on the EAST side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains!)?Read excerpts from Marc Reisner's Cadillac Desert for some wonderful insights. What has draw-down of Mono Lake done to the local ecosystem? What are the costs, energy consumption, water loss due to evaporation, etc. associated with the water delivery system to Los Angeles ? What alternatives could be used to decrease reliance on this source of water?
Links:
January 16, 2002 W. W. Locke |
modified LB Cantwell 1/22/04 | Return to Class Home Page |