Thinking and Speaking a Better World

Hold the Dates - October 20-22 2012 - 4th Conference

2011-07-19T14:34:00.005-04:00

The Fourth Thinking and Speaking a Better World - International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and Critical Pedagogy is very close to a comprehensive set of announcements in September.

Keep these dates open. 20-22 October 2012.

In September we will be releasing the location, details, keynote speakers, sponsors, committees and other events attached to the conference. We think you will be pleased by the new and more international focus of the 2012 event.

Bojana Skrt, ZIP, Slovenia

Alfred Snider, World Debate Institute, University of Vermont
David Williams, Florida Atlantic University

http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html

Call for Manuscripts from Conference for Publication

2011-04-13T11:10:00.001-04:00

Dear Colleague,

Thank you for being a vibrant part of our past conferences, THINKING AND SPEAKING A BETTER WORLD. We hope to have an exciting announcement about the next conference soon.

As the school year winds down I have a bit more time, and during May I intend to spend a lot of time reviewing and editing manuscripts submitted for publication in the volume made possible by the generous support of QatarDebate and the Qatar Foundation. I am excited to be working with David Cratis Williams and Bojana Skrt on this effort.

I want to give a special thanks to those who have already sent me the manuscripts of their presentations.

Please send any and all manuscripts you would like to offer for publication in this volume to me at alfred.snider@uvm.edu . If I could have your document by the middle of May that would make things much easier.

Please use either APA style or MLA style. Please send it to me as a Word document (.doc or .docx) or if you use a different word processor save the document as a rich text format document (.rtf) and send it on to me. I do not want to specify either how long or how short it can be, because if I have issues I will negotiate with you individually.

Anything unpublished from the first three conferences are very welcome.

Thanks again to Bojana Skrt, David Williams and our hosts for a job well done, and of course to QatarDebate.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Best wishes,

Alfred Snider

Lawrence Professor of Forensics

University of Vermont

Videos from the 3rd Conference Now Available

2010-10-30T07:18:00.000-04:00

We simply could not video everything at the conference, so we got a rather random sample of the work presented. The program was an excellent one with over 50 presentations. The program guide booklet itself is available at http://debate.uvm.edu/dcpdf/third_better_world_2010_booklet.pdf.

The videos can be viewed now. They are housed at http://debatevideoblog.blogspot.com, and you can view them by using this search http://debatevideoblog.blogspot.com/search?q=3rd+Better.

If you wish you can download the ipod-ready video files at http://www.uvm.edu/~debate/watch/?C=M;O=D

3rd International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment, October 2010, Maribor, Slovenia.

Further details can be found at the conference websites:
Basic information at debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html
News blog at betterworldconference.blogspot.com/

The conference was organized by the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor in Slovenia uni-mb.si/ , ZIP, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/Pro et contra, institute for culture of dialogue zainproti.com/ , and the World Debate Institute of the University of Vermont debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/wdi/Welcome.html .

The organizers are grateful for the support of our sponsor QatarDebate qatardebate.org/ .

Thanks to organizers Boris Vezjak, Alfred Snider and Bojana Skrt. Special thanks to Peter Mesarec, Monica Sobocan and Aljoša Polšak.

Lecture - Debate Academy Training Model - Bojana Skrt & Alfred Snider - 3rd Better World Conference

2010-10-28T08:13:00.002-04:00

Lecture - Debate Academy Training Model - Bojana Skrt & Alfred Snider - 3rd Better World Conference from Alfred Snider on Vimeo.
Training model: Debate academy, Alfred C Snider, University of Vermont, USA and Bojana Skrt, ZIP, Slovenia
The authors have held many debate training sessions throughout the world, such as in Europe, Southwest Asia, Northeast Asia and North America. During these nine years of experience a model of debate training has been developed that has come to be called the »Debate Academy« model. In this presentation we will outline the design and implementation of this model. First, we will discuss the basic design principles behind this model. Second, we will discuss implementational elements in the model. Third, we will discuss the results in terms of student achievement and evaluation. This model has already been copied, both in name and substance, by other debate training programs around the world, and we hope that this paper will help those individuals and organizations to appreciate the substance as well as the name.
Further details can be found at the conference websites:
Basic information at debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html
News blog at betterworldconference.blogspot.com/
The conference was organized by the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor in Slovenia uni-mb.si/ , ZIP, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/Pro et contra, institute for culture of dialogue zainproti.com/ , and the World Debate Institute of the University of Vermont debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/wdi/Welcome.html .
The organizers are grateful for the support of our sponsor QatarDebate qatardebate.org/ .
Thanks to organizers Boris Vezjak, Alfred Snider and Bojana Skrt. Special thanks to Peter Mesarec, Monica Sobocan and Aljoša Polšak.

Keynote - The Noisy Classroom: Debate for Education - Debbie Newman - 3rd Better World Conference 2010

2010-10-28T08:06:00.000-04:00

Lecture - The Noisy Classroom: Debate for Education - Debbie Newman - 3rd Better World Conference 2010 from Alfred Snider on Vimeo.
Debbie Newman has experience of teaching debate around the world at all levels. She is now focused on using debating and other active techniques to improve classroom methods. She is a previous English national debating champion, president of the Cambridge Union Society and world champion schools debate coach. She has been on the faculty of the World Debate Institute, IDAS and the UK Debate Academy and is a former Head of the Centre for Speech and Debate at the English-Speaking Union in London. Although Debbie is an experienced university trainer, her focus is on schools debating: both working with children, from 8-18, and also working with teachers to help build their skills and confidence in training and judging debate. Debbie believes that training is always tailored to meet the needs of the learners and should aim to be both challenging and enjoyable. Whether beginners learning skills for the first time, or the more advanced looking to hone their talents, all students and teachers should develop their abilities in a supportive and positive environment.
Further details can be found at the conference websites:
Basic information at debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html
News blog at betterworldconference.blogspot.com/
The conference was organized by the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor in Slovenia uni-mb.si/ , ZIP, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/Pro et contra, institute for culture of dialogue zainproti.com/ , and the World Debate Institute of the University of Vermont debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/wdi/Welcome.html .
The organizers are grateful for the support of our sponsor QatarDebate qatardebate.org/ .
Thanks to organizers Boris Vezjak, Alfred Snider and Bojana Skrt. Special thanks to Peter Mesarec, Monica Sobocan and Aljoša Polšak.

Keynote - More Debates in More Classrooms - Sam Greenland - 3rd Better World Conference 2010

2010-10-28T08:04:00.000-04:00

Lecture - More Debates in More Classrooms - Sam Greenland - 3rd Better World Conference 2010 from Alfred Snider on Vimeo.
Sam Greenland is currently President of the World Universities Debating Council. Sam has debated for Oxford and has also been a successful schools coach, directing the Hong Kong team at numerous World Schools Debating Championships. Recently he has been representing the University of Sydney Union in competitions, and reaching the WUDC semifinals among other advanced elimination rounds. He has been very active in creating the standards for non-native speakers to participate in international tournaments such as the WUDC. Sam has also been working on how debate can be used as a tool for teaching English and how debating improves the overall academic performance of students.
Curriculum documents and broader educational statements place increasing emphasis on critical thinking and rich assessment tasks. Classroom debates have been used in a number of secondary and tertiary contexts to assess student performance against curriculum learning outcomes. However, a number of authors have questioned the worth of debating as a classroom activity, in part due to the low level of research on how it can be accurately assessed and on the extent to which debating does or does not favour certain pre-determined groups of students.
This keynote presents a new assessment tool for classroom debates aimed at teachers who are not themselves debating experts, and analyses the performance of that assessment tool when used in a number of classroom contexts in Hong Kong secondary schools. It further explores whether the data presented from those interventions supports claims made in the literature that debating is an activity biased in favour of students who are male, high academic achievers and with high levels of English literacy.
The presentation finds that the new assessment instrument allows debating performance to be measured successfully by instructors in a classroom context. It also implies that debating does not possess the biases that some authors attribute to it, and therefore should gain wider acceptance as a useful classroom activity for developing and assessing critical thinking. It concludes with an exploration of the possible impacts of these results on classroom pedagogy and programme design for both curricular and extra-curricular activities.
Further details can be found at the conference websites:
Basic information at debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html
News blog at betterworldconference.blogspot.com/
The conference was organized by the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor in Slovenia uni-mb.si/ , ZIP, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/Pro et contra, institute for culture of dialogue zainproti.com/ , and the World Debate Institute of the University of Vermont debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/wdi/Welcome.html .
The organizers are grateful for the support of our sponsor QatarDebate qatardebate.org/ .
Thanks to organizers Boris Vezjak, Alfred Snider and Bojana Skrt. Special thanks to Peter Mesarec, Monica Sobocan and Aljoša Polšak.

Lecture - Discourse Towards Minorities - Masako Suzuki Takahashi - 3rd Better World Conference

2010-10-27T09:49:00.000-04:00

Lecture - Discourse Towards Minorities - Masako Suzuki Takahashi - 3rd Better World Conference from Alfred Snider on Vimeo.

An approach to analysis on discourse toward minority, Masako Suzuki Takahashi, Research Center for Foreign Language Education, Keio University, Japan

This research aimed to analyze problems in language expressions towards minority groups of the society frequently appearing in communication among pulurilingual/pluricultural parties.

In our increasingly pluricultural world, it is essential to respect each other regardless of cultural, religious, ethnical, gender, (dis)abilities and economic background. New task for language education is to provide students opportunities to grow their ability to understand pains of others with different identity. In order to raise students who can advocate their views without hurting others, we first need to understand what expressions should be avoided.

There has been many insightful research works in the past namely Said’s “Orientalism” and Foucault’s “Maladie Mentale Et Psychologie”. However, background of minority is more diverse in the current society and so as shapes of oppression. An individual who belongs to minority in terms of one aspect of his/her identity can belong to majority in terms of another. Studies on bilateral relationship of groups are therefore not enough relevant in the current society. What we need now is more decent definition of insensitivity in general. Quantitative analysis on appeared insensitivity in the community must be very helpful in understanding the problem as well.

This research first analyzes Code of Conducts/Ethics of diverse international assemblies to discuss on general direction of pluricultural communities. Second, we discuss on possible definition of insensitive speech toward minority comparing with fallacy analysis by Pragma-Dialectical approach. Last, we discuss on further possibility to classify the insensitive speech using example statements collected at international and domestic debating events.

Further details can be found at the conference websites:
Basic information at debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html
News blog at betterworldconference.blogspot.com/

The conference was organized by the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor in Slovenia uni-mb.si/ , ZIP, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/Pro et contra, institute for culture of dialogue zainproti.com/ , and the World Debate Institute of the University of Vermont debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/wdi/Welcome.html .

The organizers are grateful for the support of our sponsor QatarDebate qatardebate.org/ .

Thanks to organizers Boris Vezjak, Alfred Snider and Bojana Skrt. Special thanks to Peter Mesarec, Monica Sobocan and Aljoša Polšak.

Panel - Cultural Variation, Debate and Argument - 3rd Better World Conference 2010

2010-10-26T18:18:00.000-04:00

Panel - Cultural Variation, Debate and Argument - 3rd Better World Conference 2010 from Alfred Snider on Vimeo.
Panelists: Abdul Gabbar Al-Sharafi, Yemen, Abdel Latif Sellami, Morocco, Maja Nenadovic, Hungary-Netherlands, Debbie Newman, UK, David Cratis Williams, USA and Masako Suzuki Takahasji, Japan. The event was moderated by Alfred Snider of the University of Vermont.

The Third International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment, Thinking and Speaking a Better World, concluded in Maribor, Slovenia on Sunday 24 October 2010. The conference featured scholars, experts and enthusiasts from nineteen countries.
During the sessions there were over 50 papers presented on a variety of topics. There were two keynote speeches, one by Debbie Newman (former president of the Cambridge Union, England and Wales debate champion, former head of the English Speaking Union's Centre for Speech and Debate, and world champion schools coach for England) from the UK on "The Noisy Classroom" and one from Sam Greenland (Sydney University, WUDC semifinalist, current World Debating Council President) on "Measuring Debate's Impact on Classroom Performance."

Eighty attendees spent three days sharing ideas, scholarship and fellowship while networking on future projects. A major panel discussion on "Cultural Variation - Debate and Argument" had participants from Yemen, Morocco, Hungary, Venezuela, Japan, UK and USA. There was a lavish banquet on Saturday night and productive discussions during the twenty panel sessions that were held.

Papers from this conference as well as the 2006 and 2008 events will be published in a volume entitled Thinking and Speaking a Better World edited by Alfred Snider of the University of Vermont and David Cratis Williams of Florida Atlantic University due out at the end of 2011.

Videos of many of the presentations, both keynotes, and the panel discussion on culture will be available in coming weeks at the conference websites.

There will be an announcement soon about the fourth and next conference.

Further details can be found at the conference websites:
Basic information at debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html
News blog at betterworldconference.blogspot.com/

The conference was organized by the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor in Slovenia uni-mb.si/ , ZIP, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/Pro et contra, institute for culture of dialogue zainproti.com/ , and the World Debate Institute of the University of Vermont debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/wdi/Welcome.html .

The organizers are grateful for the support of our sponsor QatarDebate qatardebate.org/ .
Thanks to organizers Boris Vezjak, Alfred Snider and Bojana Skrt. Special thanks to Peter Mesarec, Monica Sobocan and Aljoša Polšak.

Third Conference Concludes in Maribor

2010-10-24T16:03:00.001-04:00

The Third International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment, Thinking and Speaking a Better World, concluded in Maribor, Slovenia on Sunday 24 October 2010. The conference featured scholars, experts and enthusiasts from nineteen countries.

During the sessions there were over 50 papers presented on a variety of topics. There were two keynote speeches, one by Debbie Newman (former president of the Cambridge Union, England and Wales debate champion, former head of the English Speaking Union's Centre for Speech and Debate, and world champion schools coach for England) from the UK on "The Noisy Classroom" and one from Sam Greenland (Sydney University, WUDC semifinalist, current World Debating Council President) on "Measuring Debate's Impact on Classroom Performance."

Eighty attendees spent three days sharing ideas, scholarship and fellowship while networking on future projects. A major panel discussion on "Cultural Variation - Debate and Argument" had participants from Yemen, Morocco, Hungary, Venezuela, Japan, UK and USA. There was a lavish banquet on Saturday night and productive discussions during the twenty panel sessions that were held.

Papers from this conference as well as the 2006 and 2008 events will be published in a volume entitled Thinking and Speaking a Better World edited by Alfred Snider of the University of Vermont and David Cratis Williams of Florida Atlantic University due out at the end of 2011.

Videos of many of the presentations, both keynotes, and the panel discussion on culture will be available in coming weeks at the conference websites.

There will be an announcement soon about the fourth and next conference.

Further details can be found at the conference websites:

Basic information at http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html

News blog at http://betterworldconference.blogspot.com/

The conference was organized by the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor in Slovenia http://www.uni-mb.si/ , ZIP, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/Pro et contra, institute for culture of dialogue http://www.zainproti.com/ , and the World Debate Institute of the University of Vermont http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/wdi/Welcome.html .

The organizers are grateful for the support of our sponsor QatarDebate http://www.qatardebate.org/ .

Thanks to organizers Boris Vezjak, Alfred Snider and Bojana Skrt. Special thanks to Peter Mesarec, Monica Sobocan and Aljoša Polšak.

Thanks to Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor for Hosting!

2010-10-20T10:21:00.000-04:00

Image via WikipediaThe Faculty of Arts at the University of Maribor addresses three basic areas of study: the humanities, social studies, and teacher education or pedagogical studies. Students enroll in programmes which prepare them for pedagogical and nonpedagogical professions in disciplines developed by eleven departments offering both undergraduate and postgraduate study programmes. The faculty is firmly integrated into the system of European universities, and it cooperates with several well known universities and institutions of higher education in Europe. This assures compatibility of its study programmes, student and staff exchange and cooperation of professors and students in international study and research projects. Successful cooperation depends above all on a partnership relation founded on an equal basis which means that we receive benefits from our partners, but at the same time we need to offer them something in return. Yet we can only give if we are sufficiently interesting and especially if we have knowledge to offer. We need to bear in mind that only the creation of new knowledge brings results that will allow us to assert ourselves at home and abroad. The presence of the faculty on the international university stage enables collaboration and cooperation and demonstrates a commitment to the development of modern study programmes, which will be successful only if we know how to cooperate and together develop efficient study and research activities. International cooperation by the Faculty of Arts offers important educational, research and intellectual relationships within the common European university region - it connects the traditions of European university education with new demands framed by the Bologna process and shows how European tradition and the young Maribor University can successfully supplement each other. The Faculty of Arts is a recognized centre of development of the humanities and social sciences at the University of Maribor, a promoter of positive regionalism in the country, and open for cooperation with the best European faculties and universities. It develops and organizes study programmes and research activities in cooperation with home and European universities and academic institutions. It offers its students an excellent education and professors good conditions for research and pedagogical work. A primary goal of the Faculty of Arts is to expand the research activities of its professors and to encourage their participation in international projects. International cooperation is a significant part of the University of Maribor's agenda on entering the European interuniversity market.

ZIP Slovenia is Proud to Help Organize the Third Conference

2010-10-19T20:37:00.000-04:00

ZA IN PROTI, ZAVOD ZA KULTURO DIALOGA

PRO ET CONTRA, INSTITUTE FOR CULTURE OF DIALOGUE
Adress: Svetosavska 24, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Mobile: : + 386 (0) 41 42 3377
E-mail:debata@siol.net
Web page: www.zainproti.com,

ZIP, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/Pro et contra, institute for culture of dialogue was established in 1998 as a non-governmental and non for profit organization. It co-ordinates, informs, educates, researches and promotes debate activities in order to improve the quality of the culture in dialogue in Slovenia. ZIP considers itself a creator of a peaceful coexistence and communication, it contributes to development of democracy and raises civil awareness of people. ZIP activities among young and other and dissemination of the above mentioned ideas create a better new world.
ZIP main activities are:

- coordination of a network of 60 debate clubs at middle school, high school and university level, annually 1000 young people and 120 teachers involved;

- organising regional, national and international debate tournaments for middle school, high school and university debaters;

- organising and running different debate and advocacy trainings for youth, youth workers, teachers, elderly, different NGOs ...

- organising international debate academies;

- creating different curricula, teachers and students manuals, on-line training materials for formal and un formal education;

- organising and promoting round table discussions, public, Radio, TV debates, e-debates on different topics all over Slovenia.

ZIP has a long history of successfully implemented projects which involve big number of participants and a lot of activities. In the last five years ZIP together with its network of 60 debate clubs at middle school, highschool and university level annually organized more than 150 events for almost 5000 participants, including workshops, forums, conferences for youth and teachers, debate tournaments, public debates, round table discussions, TV and radio debates … in Slovenia and in other countries. From 2010 – 2009 we had a weekly 50 –minutes debate programme named Tekma at national TV, created by youth programme of national TV and our organisation. There were almost 100 emissions prepared on variety of different topics. We published numerous teachers and students manuals e.g Let’s debate about equal opportunities 2008, Let’s debate about European Parliament, 2007 ... which bring some theory about debate and other active methodologies about different content, lessons plans, tips how to develop a multidisciplinary approach towards problems of contemporary world.

The quality of Slovenian debate programme reflects also in the achievements we have at the big international events:

- at the high school level 3 times Worlds English Foreign Language Champions; 2010 Worlds English Second Language Champions; two times Worlds Best EFL speaker;

- at the university level European ESL Champion 2010, Worlds University Best EFL speaker, Worlds University 2^nd and 3^rd best ESL speaker.

The World Debate Institute is Proud to Help Organize the Third Conference

2010-10-19T20:29:00.002-04:00

The World Debate Institute [WDI] has been training people in the arts and skills of debating since 1982. It has trained many thousands of people in more than thirty-four countries and from more than fifty countries. It is a program sponsored by the University of Vermont.

The purpose of WDI is to support a global network of debate activities, especially trainers who know what they are doing, have an established reputation and record, and are willing to go where there is not yet an active debating community and help establish or nurture one.

The other purpose is to provide technical expertise and assistance to any new or developing debate program in the world. Use our 28 years of experience! Contact us at alfred.snider@uvm.edu .

Our trainers are skilled and dedicated. They are authorized to carry out the training of students, teachers, trainers and organizers and grant them certificates bearing the authority and the imprint of the World Debate Institute, a globally recognized brand. They are devoted to this work not to earn money or fame, but to forward the belief that a global community that has vibrant debating and is populated and eventually run by those with a debating background will be more peaceful, more just and more conducive to the achievement of the human potential.

"A boot camp for the brain, and for free speech as well." -New York Times

http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/wdi/

http://worlddebateinstitute.blogspot.com/

QatarDebate is Sponsor for Third Conference

2010-10-19T20:23:00.001-04:00

About QatarDebate

QatarDebate is the National Debating Organization for Qatar and a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development in the aim of developing, supporting and raising the standard of open discussion and debate among School and University students in Qatar and across the Middle East, which contributes in shaping the Global Citizens of today and the intellectual leaders of tomorrow.

History of QatarDebate QatarDebate is the National Debating Organization for Qatar and a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development. QatarDebate was established in September 2007 with the aim of developing, supporting and raising the standard of open discussion and debate among students in Qatar and across the Middle East, shaping the Global Citizens of today and the intellectual leaders of tomorrow.

At an international level, QatarDebate selects and trains the Qatar National Debating team. The inaugural team attended the 2008 World Schools Debating Championships in Washington DC in September 2008, winning 4 of their 8 debates and setting a new world record as a first-time entrant to the competition in the process. The national team has subsequently attended the 2009 WSDC in Athens in February 2009, again winning 4 out of their 8 debates.

In February 2010, QatarDebate hosted the 22nd World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC) in Doha from February 8, 2010 to February 18, 2010 with the participation of 57 countries.

To date QatarDebate has trained over 7000 students in Qatar, regionally and internationally.

www.qatardebate.org

www.wsdc2010doha.com

Contact: qatardebate@qf.org.qa

2010 Conference Tentative Program Released

2010-10-14T21:42:00.004-04:00

From http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html, all details available here

Third international conference on argumentation, rhetoric, debate and the pedagogy of empowerment - thinking and speaking a better world

§ Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, Slovenia (Oddelek za filozofijo, Filozofska fakulteta, Univerza v Mariboru, Slovenija),

§ World Debate Institute (University of Vermont USA)

§ ZIP (Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/Pro et contra Institute for culture of dialogue Slovenia)

Friday, 22nd October 2010

13.00 – 14.30 Registration, Lobby

14.30 Welcome Remarks from hosts and organizers, Main Auditorium
Dr. Lučka Lorber, Vice - dean of Faculty of arts, University of Maribor - host 
Boris Vezjak, University of Maribor - host 
Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA - organizer

15.00 - 17.00

Argumentation, room 1, chair Boris Vezjak, University of Maribor, Slovenia

Public Argument and Debate

§ “Climategate”: Good Science, Bad Arguments, and Problems for Public Discourse, Steven Woods, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA and Misa Haring, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA

§ Argumentation in the Online Media Debate on the Blogs, Ivanka Mavrodieva, Sofia University, Bulgaria

§ Rhetoric of B. Obama, Natalija Kocijan

§ Latino National Identity and the 2006 English as the National Language Debate, Donathan L. Brown, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, USA

Debate, room 2, chair, Korry Harvey, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA

Debate and Social Progress

§ Debate as agency: Preparing students for civic engagement, Allan Louden, Wake Forest University, USA

§ Debate as a tool for social progress, Arlan A. Narvaez R., Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela

§ The role of trust in political culture when teaching debate: The Kosovo case study, by Leela Koening, Netherlands and Maja Nenadović, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

§ Challenges of on-line deliberation: the case of Citizen's forum, Simon Delakorda, & Matej Delakorda , Institute for Electronic Participation (InePA), Slovenia

Pedagogy, room 3, Sam Greenland, University of Sydney, Australia

Argument and Debate in Different Social and Cultural Contexts

§ Critical Thinking in Indian High schools – the TIC experiment, Ameya Kilara and Aditya Verma

§ Debating and argumentation skills in the speaking strand of Qatari National English and Arabic Curriculum Standards: A critical review, Abdul Gabbar Al – Sharif, Qatar Debate

§ The critical social and political thinking and the methods of educating students in secondary level education, Georgios D Bikos, University of Athens, Greece

§ Attending the process in philosophical discussion, Rudi Kotnik, University of Maribor, Slovenia

17.00 – 17.30 Coffee break

17.30 – 19.30

Panel discussion: Cultural Variation and Debate, Main Auditorium, chair Alfred Snider, University of Vermont

Invited: Abdul Gabbar Al – Sharif, Abdel Latiff Selami, Debbie Newman, Arlan A. Narvaez R., Masako Suzuki Takahashi, David WIlliams

Saturday, 23rd October 2010

9.30 – 11.00 Presentations

Argumentation, room 1, chair Steven Woods, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA

Processes of Rhetoric and Argumentation

§ Pain as rhetoric: Photographic depictions of suffering as an argumentative strategy, Taylor Hahn, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

§ Aesthetic Public Deliberation, Michael Bruner, Georgia State Univ., USA

§ Motivational Consubstantiation as Starting Points for Arguments of Rhetorical Identification: A Burkean Approach, David Cratis Williams, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA

Debate, room 2, chair Debbie Newman, UK

Explorations in Competitive Debating

§ Judging paradigms, Andrej Schulcz, Slovak Debate Association

§ Power pairing for Worlds Schools Debate Chamiponship, Alfred C Snider, University of Vermont

§ Assessing the role and use of international relations theory in competitive debate, Samo Novak, University of Leiden, Netherlands

Pedagogy, room 3, chair Sam Greenland, University of Sidney, Austalia

Active Methods in Different Learning Environments

§ Introducing a model for blending together traditional and modern teaching methodologies, George Yeoman, Slovenia/UK

§ Argumentative learning style of Arab learners of English as a second language, Abdel Latiff Selami, Qatar Debate, Qatar

§ Hosting competitive debates at the Faculty of arts in Ljubljana, Mirjana Želježič, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

11.00 – 11.30 Coffee break

11.30 – 13.00 Keynote, Main Auditorium
Debbie Newman, The Noisy Classroom: Thinking aloud

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch

14.00 – 15.30 Presentations

Argumentation, room 1, chair: Michael Lane Bruner, Georgia State Univ., USA

Fallacies

§ Logical Fallacies = Rhetorical Fallacies?, Monika Kavalir, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

§ Aristotle and »ad hominem« arguments, Boris Vezjak, University of Maribor, Slovenia

§ »Begging the question« in a philosophical argument - epistemic or pragmatic?, Danilo Šuster, University of Maribor, Slovenia

Debate, room 2, Allan Louden, Wake Forest University, USA

States of Debating in the USA

§ When classes collide – suburban and inner city debater, Chris Wheatly, Aspen Colorado Schools, USA

§ Failure in the public eye: The need for renewed engagement of the public sphere in academic debate communities within the United States, Taylor Hahn, Clarion University of Pennsylvannia, USA

§ Outcome based life choices: An outcome assessment comfirmation study measuring positive social outcomes beyond undergraduate experiences for participants and society in competitive intercollegiate debate, Jack E. Rogers, Department of communication, University of Central Missouri and Arthur Rennels, Interim Director of Forensics, University of Central Missouri, USA

Pedagogy, room 3, chair David Williams

New Approaches to Active Education

§ Critical understanding as an issue of problem solving in mathematics and physics education, Patronis Tasos, University of Patras and Rousiakis George, Greece

§ Numerical thinking, Simon Belak, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

§ Theory of knowledge versus debate – parallel universes or two sides of the same coin, Matus Kurian, Gymnazium Jura Hronca/Slovak Debate Association, Slovakia

15.30 – 16.00 Coffee break

16.00 – 17.30. Sam Greenland, Keynote, Main Auditorium

18.00 – 19.30 Presentations

Debate, room 1, chair Samo Novak, University of Leiden, Netherlands

Active Learning About Communities and Minorities

§ Debate as a praxis for global citizenship, Anja Šerc, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and Alfred C Snider, University of Vermont, USA

§ An approach to analysis on discourse toward minority, Masako Suzuki Takahashi, Research Center for Foreign Language Education, Keio University, Japan

Debate, room 2, chair George Yeoman, UK/Slovenia

Encounter Society Through Debate

§ Youth understanding politics – how youth initiatives can create an impact in society with debate, Monika Sobočan, University of Maribor

§ Why do people start debating? Helena Felc, Slovenia

§ Debate as a tool response for Venezuelan situation, Alejandro Duque, Universidad Central de Venezuela

Pedagogy, room 3, chair Anja Šerc, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia/Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga, Slovenia

Designing and Implementing Debating in Schools

§ Secondary schools debates with visiting experts or how to implement debate in the interdisciplinary approach of curriculum and empower youth for active citizenship, Romana Čemažar, Gimnazija ESIC Kranj, Slovenia

§ Culture of debate in High school Domžale, Sofija Baskarad, Srednja šola Domžale, Slovenija

§ Tayloring debate formats for your specific educational goals, Manuele de Conti, University of Padua, Italy

20.00 BANQUET
Sunday, 24th October

10.00 – 11.30 Presentations

Argumentation, room 1, chair David Cratis Williams, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA

Critical Thinking and Debate

§ Reason in the Balance: Teaching Critical Thinking as Inquiry, Sharon Bailin, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada and Mark Battersby, Capilano University, Vancouver, Canada

§ Rhetoric, oratory and philosophy in the debate, Cattani Adelino, Padua, Italy

Debate, room 2, chair Bojana Skrt, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga Slovenia

Debating Scenarios on Three Continents: Europe, East Africa and Japan

§ The transfer from debater to coach – how experienced debaters can contribute to the quality of high school debate education, Monika Sobočan, University of Maribor, Slovenia

§ Debate for Youth Empowerment in East Africa, Takako Mino, Claremont McKenna College, USA

§ Debate in Japan, Andrew Nishizaki, Japan

Pedagogy, room 3, chair Masako Suzuki Takahashi, Research Center for Foreign Language Education, Keio University, Japan

Using Debate in the Classroom

§ Teaching rhetoric at continuining education courses, Boštjan Debelak, Ljudska univerza Koper, Slovenia

§ Instructional Communication as a rhetorical process: political speech as a model of persuasion to be taught and studied, Irina Antonova, Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow, Russia

§ Active methods and debate in a classroom, Karlina Koželj, High school for tourism Celje, Slovenia

§ Debate in the classroom, successful experience in Venezuela, Arlan A. Narvaez R., Universidad Central de Venezuela, Venezuela

11.30 – 12.00 Coffee break

12.00 – 13.30 Presentations

Argumentation, room 1, chair David Cratis Williams, Florida Atlantic University, USA

§ Philosophizing Without Argument, Nenad Miščević, Central University Budapest, Hungary

§ Level of Generality as a Rhetoric Device, Katarzyna Kobos, University of Lodz

Debate, room 2, chair Steven Woods, Western Washington University,Bellingham, WA, USA

Different Paths to Debate in the USA

§ National policy debate circuit in U.S.A, Chris Wheatly, Aspen, Colorado Schools, USA

§ Debate as transformative experience, Amanda Feller and Kelly Ryan, Pacific Luthern University,

§ Negotiating expertise: Translating debate techne into community practice, Jeff Kurr and John Ried, University of Pittsburgh

Pedagogy, room 3, Allan Louden, Wake Forest University, USA

Training Citizens and Training Debaters

§ An argumentation and debate text book for not debaters: Understanding Argument: the journey from consumer to critic, critic to advocate, Korry Harvey and Paul Bingham, Western Washington University, USA

§ Training model: Debate academy, Alfred C Snider, University of Vermont, USA and Bojana Skrt, Slovenia

13.30 Closing, Main Auditorium

Conference Start Time Announced, Official Program Coming

2010-10-03T18:03:00.000-04:00

ANNOUNCEMENT:

THE CONFERENCE BEGINS AT 1400 HOURS ON FRIDAY 22 OCTOBER
THE CONFERENCE ENDS AT 1400 HOURS ON SUNDAY 24 OCTOBER

WE ARE BUILDING THE PROGRAM NOW!
THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR SUBMISSIONS!

Big Turnout, Deadline Extension

2010-09-15T10:16:00.000-04:00

Now with over 60 papers from 21 countries the conference is looking quite good and promises to be an exciting time in Maribor!

Watch for our list of papers and presenters soon. Plus, we will be staging a number of other events at the conference using many of our experienced attendees.

We are extending the deadline for considering abstracts. If you want to attend without a paper please file an application with Bojana Skrt.

All needed and updated information is at http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html

2010 Conference Shaping Up Nicely

2010-09-06T16:22:00.000-04:00

The Third International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment -- THINKING AND SPEAKING A BETTER WORLD will take place in Maribor, Slovenia on October 22-23-24 2010. Full information can be found at http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html

We have some exciting news to share with you:

Boris Vezjak, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, Slovenia has been working hard to host us, with Peter Mesarec assisting him.
We have over 55 papers from 19 countries accepted with more coming in and under revision.
The conference has a major sponsor, and we will announce the new sponsor as soon as the agreement is finalized.
The conference has a site for the next year, and it will be an exotic one. Again, as soon as the agreement is finalized it will be announced officially.
The sponsor will be publishing a book of accepted papers from the first three conferences (Koper, Ljubljana and now Maribor). If you would like to be a part of this publication, now is the time to act and submit an abstract.
Our three keynote speakers Rastko Mocnik, Debbie Newman and Sam Greenland have accepted and confirmed. Read about them at http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Keynotes.html
Beautiful city, good hosting, stimulating colleagues all go together to make this an event not to be missed.

There is still time to submit an abstract and to be included in the conference. The program will be finalized on October 1 2010. See instructions on how to make a submission at http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Submissions.html

If you have questions, please contact me, alfred.snider@uvm.edu .

See you there!

Links for Travel and Hotel Needs for 2010 Conference

2010-05-25T15:53:00.000-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

Information about Slovenia, Maribor and your accommodation

Slovenia – official travel guide

http://www.slovenia.info/?lng=2

How to reach Maribor

http://www.maribor-pohorje.si/default.aspx?str=22&jezik=2&stran=3

Traffic connections to Maribor

http://www.maribor-pohorje.si/default.aspx?str=320&jezik=2&stran=3

Slovenia Railways – timetables

http://www.slo-zeleznice.si/en/passengers

About Maribor

http://www.maribor-pohorje.si/default.aspx?str=2&jezik=2&stran=3

Tourist Information Centres in Maribor

http://www.maribor-pohorje.si/default.aspx?str=18&jezik=2&stran=4

Other important contacts

http://www.maribor-pohorje.si/default.aspx?str=21&jezik=2&stran=3

Restaurants:

http://www.hotelsmaribor.com/restaurants

Faculty of Arts in Maribor

The main page in English

http://www.ff.uni-mb.si/?language_id=1

The location of the Faculty

http://www.ff.uni-mb.si/o-fakulteti/kje-smo.dot

The Location on Google Maps

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=sl&rls=com.microsoft:sl:IE-SearchBox&q=filozofska%20fakulteta%20maribor&lr=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

Accomodation in Maribor

We recommend the following affordable hotels:

Hotel Uni

http://www.termemb.si/EN/default.asp?id=2648

(top location in the centre, low price)

Hotel Orel

http://www.termemb.si/EN/default.asp?id=2635

(top location in the centre, price from 80 E for single room)

Hotel Garni Tabor

http://www.hoteltabor.podhostnik.si/en/home

(not in the centre, but not far away – 1.5 km, from 50 E for single room)

Hotel Bau

http://www.hotel-bau.net/en-index.php?slika=03

(not in the centre, but not far away – 1.4 km, from 48 E for single room)

Youth Hostel Uni

http://www.termemb.si/EN/default.asp?id=2649

(top location in the centre, low price, for students)

List of some other hotels in Maribor:

http://www.hotel.si/Search.aspx?city=148&language=ENG

http://www.bookingpoint.net/en/slovenia/hotels/maribor-9300SI1.html

http://www.maribor-pohorje.si/default.aspx?str=355&jezik=2&stran=3

Keynote Speakers Announced for 2010

2010-05-16T15:31:00.000-04:00

For more information, see:
http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/

Blog for news and updates see:
http://betterworldconference.blogspot.com/

Third International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment -- THINKING AND SPEAKING A BETTER WORLD.

Two previous conferences have been held, one in Koper and the other in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The third conference is planned for October 22-23-24, 2010. The conference will be hosted at the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, http://www.ff.uni-mb.si

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

ARGUMENTATION:
RASTKO MOCNIK - Teaches Theory of Discourse and Epistemology of the Humanities at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Ljubljana. Graduated from the University of Ljubljana in Sociology and Comparative Literature in 1968. Studied semiotics from 1969 – 1975 at l’Ecole pratique des hautes etudes, later École des hautes études en sciences sociales (Paris), with Algirdas J. Greimas. Obtained doctorat du troisième cycle in linguistics - literary semiotics at the Université de Paris X (Nanterre). In 1983, doctorate in sociology from the University of Ljubljana. Post-doctoral Fulbright fellow at the Department of Philosophy, University of California at Berkeley,1985. 1987-89 vice-rector of the University of Ljubljana - as the result of a campaign which led to the first fair and open election of the University leadership under the regime of the time. Recent publications: Altercations - essays on "totalitarianism”, the "alternative”, nationalism; Belgrade, 1998 - in Serbian; How Much Fascism? - essays on post-communist politics; Zagreb, 1998 - in Croatian; Theory for Our Times. Levi-Strauss, Mauss, Durkheim - a study in three retroactive movements; Skopje, 1999 - in Macedonian; Three Theories - Ideology, Nation, Institution - a rationalised presentation of respective theories and their mutual articulation, *cf., Ljubljana, 1999 - in Slovene; Encounters: histories, transitions, beliefs – essays on the theory of institution, nation, media, contemporary speech-practices, artistic practices and film; Sofia, 2001 – in Bulgarian.

DEBATE:
SAM GREENLAND - Currently President of the World Universities Debating Council. Sam has debated for Oxford and has also been a successful schools coach, directing the Hong Kong team at numerous World Schools Debating Championships. Recently he has been representing the University of Sydney Union in competitions, and reaching the WUDC semifinals among other advanced elimination rounds. He has been very active in creating the standards for non-native speakers to participate in international tournaments such as the WUDC. Sam has also been working on now debate can be used as a tool for teaching English and how debating improves the overall academic performance of students.

PEDAGOGY:
DEBBIE NEWMAN - Has experience of teaching debate around the world at all levels. She is now focused on using debating and other active techniques to improve classroom methods. She is a previous English national debating champion, president of the Cambridge Union Society and world champion schools debate coach. She has been on the faculty of the World Debate Institute, IDAS and the UK Debate Academy and is a former Head of the Centre for Speech and Debate at the English-Speaking Union in London. Although Debbie is an experienced university trainer, her focus is on schools debating: both working with children, from 8-18, and also working with teachers to help build their skills and confidence in training and judging debate. Training is always tailored to meet the needs of the hosts and will aim to be both challenging and enjoyable. Whether beginners learning the skills of debating for the first time, or the more experienced looking to hone their talents, all students and teachers will develop their abilities in a supportive and positive environment.

Submission Guidelines for 2010 Thinking & Speaking a Better World Conference

2010-05-14T13:48:00.002-04:00

The program for the conference will have three themes. Submissions are encouraged to center their work on one of the three themes and to submit proposals to the appropriate conference division. Interdisciplinary work that might fit into more than one category is very welcome.

•Argumentation and rhetoric. The use of logic and reason to criticize and analyze ideas through communication. Those interested in research on argumentation theory, criticisms of communication acts and scholarship on argumentation practice are encouraged to submit to this division.

•Debate. The use of formal argumentation forums to educate and empower citizens. Those interested in work on the practice and theory of debate competition, public debates, research on the impact of debate for participants, and theorizing about debate paradigms are encouraged to submit to this division.

•Critical thinking/pedagogy. Teaching and the methodology of teaching in the active classroom. Those interested in using debate, discussion and argumentation in classrooms, discussion of experiences and teaching lessons relating to communication and critical thinking are encouraged to submit to this division.

A committee of conference organizers and scholars will examine submissions to each division.

Abstracts should be less than 250 words, papers can use MLA (footnotes) or APA (references) style.

Argumentation: David Williams USA, Frans van Eemeren Netherlands, Danilo Šuster Slovenia, email dcwill@fau.edu
Debate: Stephen Boyle Ireland, Maja Nenadović Hungary-Croatia, Peejay Garcia Korea-Philippines, email stephenboyle87@GMAIL.COM
Pedagogy: Alfred Snider USA, Debbie Newman UK, Loke Wing Fatt Singapore, email Alfred.snider@uvm.edu

Deadlines:
Rolling admission as proposals come in.
Assemble program 1 September 2010
Late additions 1 October 2010
Electronic version of paper due 15 October 2010

Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, Slovenia (Oddelek za filozofijo, Filozofska fakulteta, Univerza v Mariboru, Slovenija), World Debate Institute (University of Vermont USA) and ZIP (Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/Pro et contra Institute for culture of dialogue Slovenia) invite all scholars and practitioners of argumentation, rhetoric, debate, and educators using deliberative education methodologies to the ...

Third International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment -- THINKING AND SPEAKING A BETTER WORLD.

Two previous conferences have been held, one in Koper and the other in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The next conference is planned for October 22-23-24, 2010. The conference will be hosted at the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, http://www.ff.uni-mb.si   The conference will welcome scholars and educators from diverse fields for vigorous dialogue and exchange. This conference will unite scholars of argumentation and rhetoric, teachers, and organizers of local, national and international debating networks to discuss critical thinking and advocacy discourse through pedagogy. We intend for the conference to welcome all who are involved in public discussions and debates about different issues.
This conference is extremely timely. A global information society which seeks reasoned solutions to problems through broad citizen involvement needs to develop and refine techniques for criticizing and validating ideas through discourse and then impart these to new generations of citizens if we are to create a better future and avoid looming crises. This conference represents a unique opportunity to share ideas, network and cross-fertilize with global critical thinkers.

Website http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html
Blogsite for latest news http://betterworldconference.blogspot.com/

--
Alfred C. Snider aka Tuna
Edwin Lawrence Professor of Forensics
University of Vermont
Huber House, 475 Main Street, UVM, Burlington, VT 05405 USA
Lawrence Debate Union http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/LDU/
Global Debate Blog http://globaldebateblog.blogspot.com
Debate Central http://debate.uvm.edu
802-656-0097 office telephone
802-656-4275 office fax

October Conference Details Announced

2010-05-02T18:27:00.000-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, Slovenia (Oddelek za filozofijo, Filozofska fakulteta, Univerza v Mariboru, Slovenija), World Debate Institute (University of Vermont USA) and ZIP (Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/Pro et contra Institute for culture of dialogue Slovenia) invite all scholars and practitioners of argumentation, rhetoric, debate, and educators using deliberative education methodologies to the ...

Third International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment -- THINKING AND SPEAKING A BETTER WORLD.

Two previous conferences have been held, one in Koper and the other in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The next conference is planned for October 22-23-24, 2010. The conference will be hosted at the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, http://www.ff.uni-mb.si

The conference will welcome scholars and educators from diverse fields for vigorous dialogue and exchange. This conference will unite scholars of argumentation and rhetoric, teachers, and organizers of local, national and international debating networks to discuss critical thinking and advocacy discourse through pedagogy. We intend for the conference to welcome all who are involved in public discussions and debates about different issues.

This conference is extremely timely. A global information society which seeks reasoned solutions to problems through broad citizen involvement needs to develop and refine techniques for criticizing and validating ideas through discourse and then impart these to new generations of citizens if we are to create a better future and avoid looming crises. This conference represents a unique opportunity to share ideas, network and cross-fertilize with global critical thinkers.

Website http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html

Blogsite for latest news http://betterworldconference.blogspot.com/

•Argumentation and rhetoric. The use of logic and reason to criticize and analyze ideas through communication. Those interested in research on argumentation theory, criticisms of communication acts and scholarship on argumentation practice are encouraged to submit to this division.

•Debate. The use of formal argumentation forums to educate and empower citizens. Those interested in work on the practice and theory of debate competition, public debates, research on the impact of debate for participants, and theorizing about debate paradigms are encouraged to submit to this division.

•Critical thinking/pedagogy. Teaching and the methodology of teaching in the active classroom. Those interested in using debate, discussion and argumentation in classrooms, discussion of experiences and teaching lessons relating to communication and critical thinking are encouraged to submit to this division.

A committee of conference organizers and scholars will examine submissions to each division. Abstracts should be less than 250 words, papers can use MLA (footnotes) or APA (references) style.

♣Argumentation: David Williams USA, Frans van Eemeren Netherlands, Danilo Šuster Slovenia, email dcwill@fau.edu

♣Debate: Stephen Boyle Ireland, Maja Nenadović Hungary-Croatia, Peejay Garcia Korea-Philippines, email stephenboyle87@GMAIL.COM

♣Pedagogy: Alfred Snider USA, Debbie Newman UK, Loke Wing Fatt Singapore, email Alfred.snider@uvm.edu

Deadlines:

Rolling admission as proposals come in.

Assemble program 1 September 2010

Late additions 1 October 2010

Electronic version of paper due 15 October 2010

Keynote Speakers: To Be Announced

Argumentation

Debate

Pedagogy

Registration:

Fill out the application form http://debate.uvm.edu/betterworld2010application.doc and send it to - debata@siol.net

Fee for attendees 120 Euros, student price 80 Euros

Includes lunch, banquet dinner, reception, grab bag, conference booklet, and coffee breaks.

Please register and pay by 15 September 2010 or pay in cash on arrival.

Those wishing to attend the conference without submitting a paper are very welcome but must register.

Organizing committee:
Bojana Skrt, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga, Slovenia
Alfred C. Snider, World Debate Institute, University of Vermont, USA,

Boris Vezjak, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, Slovenia

More about Maribor www.maribor.si

More about University of Maribor, www.uni-mb.si

More about Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga Slovenija www.zainproti.com

2010 - October 22-24 in Maribor, Slovenia

2009-10-16T10:55:00.005-04:00

The World Debate Institute at the University of Vermont USA and ZIP, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/ Pro et contra Institute for culture of dialogue Slovenia invite all scholars and practitioners of argumentation, rhetoric, debate, and educators using deliberative education methodologies to the International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment -- THINKING AND SPEAKING A BETTER WORLD.

Two conferences have been held, one in Koper and the other in Ljubljana Slovenia. The next conference is planned for October 22-23-24 2010. The conference will be hosted by The University of Maribor, Faculty of Pedagogy, Department of Philosophy. http://www.uni-mb.si/

The conference will welcome scholars and educators from diverse fields for vigorous dialogue and exchange. This conference will unite scholars of argumentation and rhetoric, teachers, and organizers of local, national and international debating networks to discuss critical thinking and advocacy discourse through pedagogy. We intend for the conference to welcome all who are involved in public discussions and debates about different issues.

This conference is extremely timely. A global information society which seeks reasoned solutions to problems through broad citizen involvement needs to develop and refine techniques for criticizing and validating ideas through discourse and then impart these to new generations of citizens if we are to create a better future and avoid looming crises. This conference represents a unique opportunity to share ideas, network and cross-fertilize with global critical thinkers.

The program for the conference will have three themes. Submissions are encouraged to center their work on one of the three themes and to submit proposals to the appropriate conference division. Interdisciplinary work that might fit into more than one category is welcome.
• Argumentation and rhetoric. The use of logic and reason to criticize and analyze ideas through communication. Those interested in research on argumentation theory, criticisms of communication acts and scholarship on argumentation practice are encouraged to submit to this division.
• Debate. The use of formal argumentation forums to educate and empower citizens. Those interested in work on the practice and theory of debate competition, public debates, research on the impact of debate for participants, and theorizing about debate paradigms are encouraged to submit to this division.
• Critical thinking/pedagogy. Teaching and the methodology of teaching in the active classroom. Those interested in using debate, discussion and argumentation in classrooms, discussion of experiences and teaching lessons relating to communication and critical thinking are encouraged to submit to this division.  

A committee of conference organizers and scholars will examine submissions to each division. Deadlines and committees will be announced soon.  Those wishing to attend the conference without submitting a paper are very welcome but must register.

Organizing committee: 
Bojana Skrt, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga, Slovenia 
Alfred C. Snider, World Debate Institute, University of Vermont, USA

Exhibition Debate - Testing is the Enemy of Learning

2009-01-01T12:49:00.000-05:00

Public debate held at the 2008 Intl Conference in Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and Critical Pedogogy, held in April in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Debaters included; Sam Nelson (Cornell), Alex Just (Oxford), Alfred Snider (Vermont), Rhydian Morgan (unaffiliated), Candace Williams (Claremont), Manolis Polychronides (Athens), Sam Greenland (Sydney), Anna Kerr (Ljubljana).

Lecture: Kate Shuster Pedagogy Keynote 2008 International Conference

2008-04-20T12:12:00.000-04:00

Kate Shuster with Zoran Jankovic, Mayor of Ljubljana, Slovenia

A speech about what we know and don't know about the links between debate and educational outcomes delivered by Kate Shuster of the Claremont Graduate School in California. For more about Kate see http://betterworldconference.blogspot.com/2007/09/kate-shuster-to-keynote-at-2008.html

Click to view or right click to download:
http://www.uvm.edu/~debate/watch/better08shuster.m4v

From the 2nd International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment, April 2008, held at the Faculty of Administration, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Sponsored by Institute of Education Republic of Slovenia, World Debate Institute University of Vermont, and Za in Proti (ZIP) Slovenia. The next conference will be held in 2010.

Website: http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/better/Welcome.html
Blogsite: http://betterworldconference.blogspot.com/

You will need QuickTime from Apple installed on your computer to watch the video:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/

2nd Conference Held in Ljubljana

2008-04-14T20:21:00.001-04:00

Omar Salahuddin (Malaysia), Anna Swersky (Israel) and Sam Nelson (USA)

Hello from Ljubljana, Slovenia.

As I write this the Second International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment, Thinking and Speaking a Better World, has just concluded at the Faculty of Administration at the University of Ljubljana.

With 22 countries represented and a full program of academic papers presented it would be hard not to call it a success. Exchange of ideas, learning and networking all abounded at the event. Including:

Excellent keynote speeches by Frans van Eemeren of Netherlands, Kate Shuster of the USA and Omar Salahuddin on Malaysia.
Wonderful reception at City Hall provided by the mayor, Zoran Jankovic, including a private tour of the city castle battlements.
Sharp and focused interchange between panelists and audience at the many sessions.
Wonderful breaks where plans were made for future cooperation and refinement of ideas.
An excellent banquet featuring mountains of delicious Slovenian food.
Videos, exhibition debates and panel discussions.

Many of these events were videotaped and will be on the web soon as well as announcements about the publication of a proceedings volume. We are proud to announce a new cooperative arrangement with the journal Controversia to seek submission to some of our papers.

Thanks to all hosts and organizers, and especially to all who attended. World Debate Institute University of Vermont and Za in Proti Slovenia were proud to be the organizers.

More to come about the next conference, now planned or 2010.

Program Booklet Available Online

2008-04-08T08:44:00.003-04:00

From Alfred Snider:

The program booklet is now available online. Bojana Skrt will check for and change some of the characters that did not come through and add a few other things, but this is it.

You can find it at http://debate.uvm.edu/betterworldbook2008.doc

Thanks to everyone who helped with this project, and especially all of the authors of our many fine papers.

I am very excited about the conference.

See you in Ljubljana!

Final Program Update

2008-04-07T10:10:00.003-04:00

Here it is. The booklet has now gone to the printer, but please let us know if there are problems.

2nd International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment
11-12-13 April 2008, Ljubljana, Slovenia

THE HONORABLE PATRON OF THE CONFERENCE, THE PRESIDENT OF SLOVENIA, DANILO TURK

SCHEDULE (getting close to being final)

FRIDAY, 11th April 2008

12.00 – 14.00 Registration

14.00 – 14. 30 Main Hall: Opening and welcoming remarks

14.30 – 16.00 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

Chair: Lillian Bermejo Luque

Bilal Amjarso (Netherlands): What is persuasive about dealing with anticipated counterarguments? A pragma-dialectical study of a form of strategic manoeuvring

C. Andone (Netherlands): Manouevring strategically by retracting a standpoint in what can be reconstructed as the confrontation stage of a critical discussion

Paul van den Hoven (Netherlands): Playing with the Protagonist: Strategic manipulations with discourse voices

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Steve Woods

Anna Mojca England Kerr, Debate club of Faculty of social science, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia: A comparison between World Schools Debate Format and British Parliamentary Debate Format

Alex Just, Wadham College, Oxford University, UK: William Gladstone: A Model British Parliamentary Debater?

Kyle Rouse, undergraduate, Cornell University, USA: The international debating workshop as the ideal vehicle for the learning of World's Format Debating: Personal reflections on the 2007 International Debate Academy - Slovenia

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA
GLOBAL DEBATE: THE STORY OF A DEBATE BLOG

Room 3 Debate

Chair: Rozalia Bako

Manolis Polychronides, PhD Candidate, University of Athens, Greece: Does debating, as an extracurricular activity, promote democratic values and skills? An empirical study in 14 Greek High schools.

Kate Shuster, Claremont College, USA: Not Making the Case: A Critical Examination of Research Supporting Urban Debate Leagues.

Bojan Marjanovi_, Chairman of the Executive board, Croatian debating society.Final year student of Sociology, department of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb Croatia and Dea Ajdukovi_, HDD – Hrvatsko debatno dru_tvo (Croatian Debate Association), Croatia: Evaluation of Croatian debating society debate program

Teodora Dubrovi_, Primary school »Milan Brozovi_«Kastav Croatia and Dr Svjetlana Koli_ Vehovec, University of Rijeka, Croatia: Debate as a strategy of teaching and discussion.

Room 4 – Pedagogy

Chair: Chris Langone

Lara Godec Sozak, Slovenia: How to Improve Students' Oral Presentations

Vida Von_ina, Slovenia: Critical literacy and motivation for responsible engagement in a community

Candace Williams, USA: Debate and Plagiarism: Do Current Debate Practices Violate School Honor Codes?

Main Hall
14.30 »Svetovci« showing the TV documentary about Slovenian highschool debate team participating at the Worlds School Debate Championship in Seoul 2007, followed by the discussion with the authors of the film and debaters.

16.00 – 16.30 Break

16.30 – 18.00 Main Hall
KEYNOTE Frans van Eemeren

18.15 Buses leave for the reception given by mayor of Ljubljana Zoran Jankovi_

19.00 Reception in the Ljubljana city hall

Saturday, 12th of April 2008

9.30 – 11. 30 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

Chair: Satoru Aonuma

Michael Hoppmann (Germany): On Three Kinds of Argumentative Responses

Constanza Ihnen (Netherlands): Exploiting topical potential with practical argumentation: what do arguers choose when they choose between arguments from consequences and arguments from principles or norms?

Lyudmila Kourchak (Belarus): Pragma-Dialectical Theory of Argumentation as a Background for Analyzing and Criticizing of a Cross-Cultural Business Communication.

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Manolis Polychronides

Alex Just, Program Director, QatarDebate, Qatar: QatarDebate and the future of debate education in the Arab World

Dr Ann Kirson Swersky, Founder and Chairperson, Sia’h vaSig – The Israel Debating Society, Israel: Establishing Parliamentary Debate in Modern Israel

Teodora Dubrovi_, prof. president of Croatian debate society and
Nada Kegalj, prof., member of the governing board of CDS, Croatia: Debate program in Croatia

Room 3 Debate

Chair: Steve Woods

Sam Nelson, Director of Debate, Cornell University: Teaching debate in non-traditional places to non-traditional audiences.

John Adams, Director of Colgate University Speaking Union, USA: Stasis, Debate, and Accountability

Donald Reape and Sam Nelson Cornell University, USA: The case against American style policy debate: A personal narrative

Room 4 Pedagogy

Chair: Bojan Marjanovi_

Panagiota Kotarinou, Anastasia Chrisanthaki-Apostolopoulou, Despina Koutli, Greece« Using “debate” in the teaching of Science

Ivana Mijatovi_ Serbia: Empowering active participation in teaching quality management courses

George Yeoman, UK: Creating or re-kindling a 'thirst for knowledge’ about global issues in the classroom

Daniela Kozlovi_, Slovenia: Debate and skill development in the philosophy class

Main Hall

9.30 Round table discussion: Is debate the best method for teaching rhetoric in the middle school?
Chair: Bojana Skrt, speakers Kristina Stopar, Irena Lapanje and others

Room 7 Special Event

10.30 Workshop: Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA: Tabulating a debate tournament using TRPC program of Dr. Rich Edwards

11.30 – 12.00 Break

12.00 – 13.30 Main Hall
Keynote Kate Shuster

13.30 – 14.30 Lunch in the Faculty of Social Science cafeteria

14.30 – 16.30 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

Chair: Henrik Bohlin

Marcin Lewi_ski (Netherlands): The straw man fallacy in the Internet discussion forums

Peter Mesarec (Slovenia): Argumentation and logical fallacies in the Slovenian presidential election debate

Bart Garssen (Netherlands): Ad hominem attacks as derailments of critical testing

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Michael Hoppmann

Conor Tucker, Student, Colgate University, USA: Rhetoric, Debate, and Deliberation: The Colgate Policy Institute

Ameila Kermis, undergraduate, Cornell University, USA: Ethos, Pathos, Logos in competitive debate: Can they be balanced?

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA: NPPF: Combining writing with oral debate

Room 3 Debate

Chair: David Williams

Ivanka Mavrodieva, PhD, Rhetoric Department, Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia
Debates during the Presidential election campaigns in Bulgaria (from 1991 till 2005)

Boris Vezjak, Faculty of Arts, Maribor, Arguments, fallacies and media

Steven Woods, Ph.D., Department of Communication, Western Washington University: Arguments of Mass Destruction: The Nexus between Intercollegiate Debaters Catastrophic Impact Claims and Bush Administration Invasion Appeals

Rozália Klára Bakó, Sapientia University of Transylvania, Miercurea Ciuc, Romania and Gizela Horváth, Partium Christian University, Oradea, Romania: The Religious Icons‘ Scandal: Radiography of a Public Debate in Romania

Room 4 Pedagogy

Chair: Maria Wolrath Sodeberg

Andreas Felten, Germany: New Debate Formats and “Pre-Debate-Forms“ for classroom use

Sam Greenland, Australia: Teaching English through debate in Hong Kong

Mateja Glu_i_ Lenar_i_, Slovenia: Together in diversity – promoting intercultural dialogue in language classes through debate

Room 5 Pedagogy

Chair: Alex Just

Nives Videc, Slovenia
Debate with six and seven year-olds in the first grade of nine years' primary school in Slovenia

Maja Bregar, Slovenia: Examples of debates with six and seven year-olds in the first grade of nine years' primary school in Slovenia

Hedvika Dermol Hvala, Slovenia
Development of rhetorical skills in primary school pupils

Veronika Hovnik, Slovenia
Philosophy for children through debate

Main Hall
Live debate on the motion »Media are responsible for anorexia and bulemia among youth.« debaters from Debate club Middle school Rodica Dom_ale, coach Irena Lapanje.

Round table discussion: MIDDLE SCHOOL DEBATE PROGRAMME, speakers Kate Shuster, USA Teodora Dubrovi_, Croatia, chair: Bojana Skrt, Slovenia

16.30 – 17.00 Break

17:00 – 19.00 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

CHAIR: Michael Hoppmann

Lillian Bermejo Luque (Spain): Rhetorical argumentation vs. the rhetorical dimension of argumentation

Cristián Santibáñez Yáñez (Chile): Metaphorical design from an argumentative point of view

Roosmaryn Pilgram (Netherlands): Characterising character: Analysing appeals to ethos in a dialectical framework

Satoru Aonuma and Naoto Usui (Japan): In Defense of Argument Culture: A Rhetorical Criticism of Asiacentric Bias in Intercultural Communication

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Anja _erc

Miha Gartner, Gimnazija Celje – Center, Celje, Slovenia: Mentorship of debate club.

Helena Felc, Faculty of administration, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, under – graduate student: Promotion of a debate club - story of success or failure?

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA: Middle Age Debate Transition - How One Coach Changed Horses in Mid Career

Bojana Skrt, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga, Slovenia: Debate as a subject.

Room 3 Debate

Chair: Steve Woods

Javier Rodríguez Alcázar, University of Granada, Spain: Risk Assessment: the Limits of Expertise and the Role of Public Debate

Korry Harvey, Lecturer and Assistant Director of Forensic, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA USA: Beyond Competitive Decision Making: A Primer on Civil Discourse and Deliberative Dialogue Methodology

Sam Nelson, Director of Debate, Cornell University, USA: Debate - What its past and present can tell us about its future

Room 4 – Pedagogy

Chair: Maja Nenadovic

Natasa Makove_ki, Slovenia
Debate (techniques) through the lens of the curriculum reform of upper-secondary vocational and technical education in Slovenia

Nena Mijoc and Du_ana Findeisen, Slovenia
Reciprocal and mutual learning within study circles at the Slovenian Third Age University

Uve Poom, Estonia: Factors influencing student reflection in the experiential education context: case study of debate education

Irena Lapanje, Slovenia
Teaching Young Not to Believe Everything

Main Hall

17.00 Live debate: Worlds School Debate Format on the motion – this House should boycot the openning of the Beijing Olimpic games«

19.15 Buses leave for the banquet

19.45 – 22.00 Banquet in Grad Kodeljevo

Sunday, 13th of April 2008

9.30 – 11.30 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

Chair: Bart Garssen

Henrik Bohlin (Sweden): Perspectives in critical thinking

Danilo _uster (Slovenia): Some dilemmas of informal logic

David Cratis Williams (USA): Rhetorical Approach to Problems of Education

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Sam Greenland

Bo_ena Perko, Kri_e Primary School, Slovenia: Solving conflicts in school by means of coeval mediation

Maja Nenadovi_, Fellow of the George Bell Institute, University of Amsterdam, PhD Candidate: Giving Back the Voice

Dea Ajdukovi_, HDD – Hrvatsko debatno dru_tvo (Croatian Debate Association), Croatia: Attitude change and need for cognition in debaters and non-debaters

Karlina Ko_elj, Master of Politology American Studies, Professor of English and Slovene at Secondary School for Catering and Tourism Celje, Slovenia: I am proud to say: these are my students.

Room 3 Debate

Chair: Anja _erc

Jerneja Domajnko. Post – gradute student at ISH, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Debating and equal opportunities for everyone.

Christopher Langone, graduate student Department of Communication, Tyler Solloway, student, Cornell University, USA: Debate and the media

Veronika Hovnik, Gimnazija Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia: Tekma

Albert Mrgole, Slovenia: Multi-systemic perspectives of school discourse

Room 4 Pedagogy

Chair: John Adams

Maria Wolrath Soderberg, Sweden: Pedagogical consequences of viewing topoi as habits

Istvan Pusztai, Sweden
Unwanted heritage: the reminiscences of the authoritarian political system in Hungary built obstacles for practicing democratic teaching methods in schools

Darinka Vrabi_ and Alenka Gortan, Slovenia: Does matura exam restrict critical thinking and how debate can contribute to the quality of lessons

Alfred Snider & Bojana Skrt, USA & Slovenia: Teaching teachers to use debate in the classroom

Main Hall
9.30 Round table discussion: Challenges of running the university debate club,
Chair: Simon Grabrovec, Slovenia
Speakers: Sam Nelson, USA, Alex Just UK/Qatar, Omar Salahuddin bin Abdullah, Malaysia, Steve Woods, USA

11.30 – 12.00 Break

12.00 – 13.30
Keynote: Omar Salahuddin bin Abdullah, Malaysia

13.30 Main Hall
Closing ceremony

14.00 – 15.00 Main Hall
Demonstration debate: Worlds University Debate Format
Debaters: Candace Williams, USA, Sam Greenland, Honk Kong/Australia, Manolis Polychronides, Greece, Omar Salahuddin bin Abdullah, Malaysia, Alfred C. Snider, USA, Alex Just, UK/Qatar, Anna Mojca England Kerr, Slovenia, Sam Nelson, USA.

Map for Getting Around Ljubljana

2008-04-03T15:01:00.003-04:00

Peter Mesarec has prepared some directions for us.

I have prepared a map of Ljubljana with the most important points in the city marked on it. The map is interactive, that means, you can zoom in or zoom out using the "+ or +) button and move around the map with your mouse.

The map can be located at www.ljudmila.org/debata/map.html 

The buses that the participants can use are the buses 6, 8, 20 and 21, and the entry and exit bus stops are marked on the map. The buses 8, 20 and 21 operate from 6 am till 10 pm and the bus 6 operates from 4 am till 12 pm.

Taxis can be reached at +386801190, this is a cheaper METRO TAXI, but they can be busy during nights. If this is the case, call +386801117 Laguna TAXI.

Walking from the city center to the Faculty of administration is not complicated, just follow the big Dunajska street and turn right at Dimičeva ulica and then left onto Gosarjeva ulica (they are all marked on the map).

Updated Schedule

2008-03-26T14:35:00.002-04:00

Here are some minor changes to panel and chairs. Thanks to everyone who looked at the previous schedule so closely.

SCHEDULE (tentative)

FRIDAY, 11th April 2008

12.00 – 14.00 Registration

14.00 – 14. 30 Main Hall: Opening and welcome speeches

14.30 – 16.00 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

Chair: Lillian Bermejo Luque

Bilal Amjarso (Netherlands): What is persuasive about dealing with anticipated counterarguments? A pragma-dialectical study of a form of strategic manoeuvring

C. Andone (Netherlands): Manouevring strategically by retracting a standpoint in what can be reconstructed as the confrontation stage of a critical discussion

Paul van den Hoven (Netherlands): Playing with the Protagonist: Strategic manipulations with discourse voices

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Maja Nenadovi_

Anna Mojca England Kerr, Debate club of Faculty of social science, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia: A comparison between World Schools Debate Format and British Parliamentary Debate Format

Alex Just, Wadham College, Oxford University, UK: William Gladstone: A Model British Parliamentary Debater?

Kyle Rouse, undergraduate, Cornell University, USA: The international debating workshop as the ideal vehicle for the learning of World's Format Debating: Personal reflections on the 2007 International Debate Academy - Slovenia

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA
GLOBAL DEBATE: THE STORY OF A DEBATE BLOG

Room 3 Debate

Chair: Rozalia Bako

Manolis Polychronides, PhD Candidate, University of Athens, Greece: Does debating, as an extracurricular activity, promote democratic values and skills? An empirical study in 14 Greek High schools.

Kate Shuster, Claremont College, USA: Not Making the Case: A Critical Examination of Research Supporting Urban Debate Leagues.

Bojan Marjanovi_, Chairman of the Executive board, Croatian debating society.Final year student of Sociology, department of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb Croatia and Dea Ajdukovi_, HDD – Hrvatsko debatno dru_tvo (Croatian Debate Association), Croatia: Evaluation of Croatian debating society debate program

Room 4 – Pedagogy

Chair: Sam Greenland

Lara Godec Sozak, Slovenia: Analysis of students' oral presentations in the second year of primary education at the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana

Vida Von_ina, Slovenia: Critical literacy and motivation for responsible engagement in a community

G. Rhydian Morgan, UK: Critical Thinking Skills in the Classroom

Candace Williams, USA: Debate and Plagiarism: Do Current Debate Practices Violate School Honor Codes?

Main Hall
14.30 »Svetovci« showing the TV documentary about Slovenian highschool debate team participating at the Worlds School Debate Championship in Seoul 2007, followed by the discussion with the authors of the film and debaters.

16.00 – 16.30 Break

16.30 – 18.00 Main Hall
KEYNOTE Frans van Eemeren

18.15 Buses leave for the reception given by mayor of Ljubljana Zoran Jankovi_

19.00 Reception in the Ljubljana city hall

Saturday, 12th of April 2008

9.30 – 11. 30 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

Chair: Satoru Aonuma

Michael Hoppmann (Germany): On Three Kinds of Argumentative Responses

Ivan Mikirtumov (Russia): The Arguments driving to the Responsible Knowledge: Logical Representation

Lyudmila Kourchak (Belarus): Pragma-Dialectical Theory of Argumentation as a Background for Analyzing and Criticizing of a Cross-Cultural Business Communication.

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Manolis Polychronides

Alex Just, Program Director, QatarDebate, Qatar: QatarDebate and the future of debate education in the Arab World

Dr Ann Kirson Swersky, Founder and Chairperson, Sia’h vaSig – The Israel Debating Society, Israel: Establishing Parliamentary Debate in Modern Israel

Teodora Dubrovi_, prof. president of Croatian debate society and
Nada Kegalj, prof., member of the governing board of CDS, Croatia: Debate program in Croatia

Room 3 Debate

Chair: Steve Woods

Sam Nelson, Director of Debate, Cornell University: Teaching debate in non-traditional places to non-traditional audiences.

John Adams, Director of Colgate University Speaking Union, USA: Statis

Rhydian Morgan, UK: Zen & the Art of Debating

Donald Reape, undergraduate, Cornell University, USA: The case against American style policy debate: A personal narrative

Room 4 Pedagogy

Chair: Bojan Marjanovic

Panagiota Kotarinou, Anastasia Chrisanthaki-Apostolopoulou, Despina Koutli, Greece« Using “debate” in the teaching of Science

Ivana Mijatovi_ Serbia: Empowering active participation in teaching quality management courses

George Yeoman, UK: Creating or re-kindling a 'thirst for knowledge’ about global issues in the classroom

Daniela Kozlovi_, Slovenia: Debate and skill development in the philosophy class

Main Hall

9.30 Round table discussion: Is debate the best method for teaching rhetoric in the middle school?
Chair: Bojana Skrt, speakers Kristina Stopar, Irena Lapanje and others

Room 7 Special Event

10.30 Workshop: Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA: Tabulating a debate tournament using TRPC

11.30 – 12.00 Break

12.00 – 13.30 Main Hall
Keynote Kate Shuster

13.30 – 14.30 Lunch in the Faculty of Social Science cafeteria

14.30 – 16.30 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

Chair: Henrik Bohlin

Marcin Lewi_ski (Netherlands): The straw man fallacy in the Internet discussion forums

Peter Mesarec (Slovenia): Argumentation and logical fallacies in the Slovenian presidential election debate

Bart Garssen (Netherlands): Ad hominem attacks as derailments of critical testing

Constanza Ihnen (Netherlands): Exploiting topical potential with practical argumentation: what do arguers choose when they choose between arguments from consequences and arguments from principles or norms?

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Michael Hoppmann

Rhydian Morgan, UK: The changing nature of rhetoric - looking at the way rhetorical styles develop and alter over time

Conor Tucker, Student, Colgate University, USA: Rhetoric, Debate, and Deliberation: The Colgate Policy Institute

Ameila Kermis, undergraduate, Cornell University, USA: Ethos, Pathos, Logos in competitive debate: Can they be balanced?

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA: NPPF: Combining writing with oral debate

Room 3 Debate

Chair: David Williams

Ivanka Mavrodieva, PhD, Rhetoric Department, Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia
Debates during the Presidential election campaigns in Bulgaria (from 1991 till 2005)

Boris Vezjak, Faculty of Arts, Maribor, Arguments, fallacies and media

Steven Woods, Ph.D., Department of Communication, Western Washington University: Arguments of Mass Destruction: The Nexus between Intercollegiate Debaters Catastrophic Impact Claims and Bush Administration Invasion Appeals

Rozália Klára Bakó, Sapientia University of Transylvania, Miercurea Ciuc, Romania and Gizela Horváth, Partium Christian University, Oradea, Romania: The Religious Icons‘ Scandal: Radiography of a Public Debate in Romania

Room 4 Pedagogy

Chair: Maria Wolrath Sodeberg

Andreas Felten, Germany: New Debate Formats and “Pre-Debate-Forms“ for classroom use

Sam Greenland, Australia: Teaching English through debate in Hong Kong

Albert Mrgole, Slovenia: Multi-systemic perspectives of school discourse

Mateja Glu_i_ Lenar_i_, Slovenia: Together in diversity – promoting intercultural dialogue in language classes through debate

Room 5 Pedagogy

Chair: Alex Just

Maja Bregar, Slovenia: Examples of debates with six and seven year-olds in the first grade of nine years' primary school in Slovenia

Nives Videc, Slovenia
Debate with six and seven year-olds in the first grade of nine years' primary school in Slovenia

Hedvika Dermol Hvala, Slovenia
Development of rhetorical skills in primary school pupils

Veronika Hovnik, Slovenia
Philosophy for children through debate

Main Hall
Live debate on the motion »Media are responsible for anorexia and bulemia among youth.« debaters from Debate club Middle school Rodica Dom_ale, coach Irena Lapanje.

Round table discussion: MIDDLE SCHOOL DEBATE PROGRAMME, speakers Kate Shuster, USA Teodora Dubrovi_, Croatia, chair: Bojana Skrt, Slovenia

16.30 – 17.00 Break

17:00 – 19.00 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

CHAIR: Michael Hoppmann

Lillian Bermejo Luque (Spain): Rhetorical argumentation vs. the rhetorical dimension of argumentation

Cristián Santibáñez Yáñez (Chile): Metaphorical design from an argumentative point of view

Roosmaryn Pilgram (Netherlands): Characterising character: Analysing appeals to ethos in a dialectical framework

Satoru Aonuma and Naoto Usui (Japan): In Defense of Argument Culture: A Rhetorical Criticism of Asiacentric Bias in Intercultural Communication

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Anja _erc

Miha Gartner, Gimnazija Celje – Center, Celje, Slovenia: Mentorship of debate club.

Helena Felc, Faculty of administration, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, under – graduate student: Promotion of a debate club - story of success or failure?

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA: Middle Age Debate Transition - How One Coach Changed Horses in Mid Career

Bojana Skrt, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga, Slovenia: Debate as a subject.

Room 3 Debate

Chair: Rhydian Morgan

Javier Rodríguez Alcázar, University of Granada, Spain: Risk Assessment: the Limits of Expertise and the Role of Public Debate

Korry Harvey, Lecturer and Assistant Director of Forensic, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA USA: Beyond Competitive Decision Making: A Primer on Civil Discourse and Deliberative Dialogue Methodology

Donal Carbaugh, professor at Department of communication, University of Massachusetts, USA: Debate, Dialogue and Rhetoric as Cultural Discourse: Di-ciphering Codes for Communication Conduct

Sam Nelson, Director of Debate, Cornell University, USA: Debate - What its past and present can tell us about its future

Room 4 – Pedagogy

Chair: Zora Rutar

Natasa Makovecki, Slovenia
Debate (techniques) through the lens of the curriculum reform of upper-secondary vocational and technical education in Slovenia

Nena Mijoc, Slovenia
Reciprocal and mutual learning within study circles at the Slovenian Third Age University

Uve Poom, Estonia: Factors influencing student reflection in the experiential education context: case study of debate education

Irena Lapanje, Slovenia
Teaching Young Not to Believe Everything

Main Hall

17.00 Live debate: Worlds School Debate Format on the topic: »We should apologise for colonialism.«

19.15 Buses leave for the banquet

19.45 – 22.00 Banquet in Grad Kodeljevo

Sunday, 13th of April 2008

9.30 – 11.30 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

Chair: Bart Garssen

Henrik Bohlin (Sweden): Perspectives in critical thinking

Danilo _uster (Slovenia): Some dilemmas of informal logic

David Cratis Williams (USA): Rhetorical Approach to Problems of Education

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Rozalia Bako

Bo_ena Perko, Kri_e Primary School, Slovenia: Solving conflicts in school by means of coeval mediation

Maja Nenadovi_, Fellow of the George Bell Institute, University of Amsterdam, PhD Candidate: Giving Back the Voice

Dea Ajdukovi_, HDD – Hrvatsko debatno dru_tvo (Croatian Debate Association), Croatia: Attitude change and need for cognition in debaters and non-debaters

Karlina Ko_elj, Master of Politology American Studies, Professor of English and Slovene at Secondary School for Catering and Tourism Celje, Slovenia: I am proud to say: these are my students.

Room 3 Debate

Chair: Anja _erc

Jerneja Domajnko. Post – gradute student at ISH, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Debating and equal opportunities for everyone.

Christopher Langone, graduate student Department of Communication, Cornell University, USA: Debate and the media

Veronika Hovnik, Gimnazija Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia: Tekma

Room 4 Pedagogy

Chair: Zora Rutar

Maria Wolrath Soderberg, Sweden: Pedagogical consequences of viewing topoi as habits

Istvan Pusztai Hungary
Unwanted heritage: the reminiscences of the authoritarian political system in Hungary built obstacles for practicing democratic teaching methods in schools

Darinka Vrabi_ and Alenka Gortan, Slovenia: Does matura exam restrict critical thinking and how debate can contribute to the quality of lessons

Alfred Snider & Bojana Skrt, USA & Slovenia: Teaching teachers to use debate in the classroom

Main Hall
9.30 Live debate: Worlds University Debate Format, the motion and the speakers TBA

10. 30 Round table discussion: challenges of running the university debate club

11.30 – 12.00 Break

12.00 – 13.30
Keynote Omar Salahuddin bin Abdullah, Malaysia

13.30 Main Hall
Closing ceremony

Tentative Schedule Released for Conference

2008-03-24T10:48:00.002-04:00

2nd International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment

YOU CAN STILL ATTEND! A FEW SLOTS FOR PRESENTATIONS ARE STILL AVAILABLE. CONTACT BOJANA SKRT AT bojana.skrt@siol.net.

11-12-13 April 2008, Ljubljana, Slovenia

THE HONORABLE PATRON OF THE CONFERENCE, THE PRESIDENT OF SLOVENIA, DANILO TURK

SCHEDULE (tentative)

(Please excuse the lack of national alphabet translations, we are working on that. It will be correct in the booklet distributed at the conference.)

Chairs are tentative.

FRIDAY, 11th April 2008

12.00 – 14.00 Registration

14.00 – 14. 30 Main Hall: Opening and welcome speeches

14.30 – 16.00 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

Chair: Lillian Bermejo Luque

Bilal Amjarso (Netherlands): What is persuasive about dealing with anticipated counterarguments? A pragma-dialectical study of a form of strategic manoeuvring

C. Andone (Netherlands): Manouevring strategically by retracting a standpoint in what can be reconstructed as the confrontation stage of a critical discussion

Paul van den Hoven (Netherlands): Playing with the Protagonist: Strategic manipulations with discourse voices

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Maja Nenadovi_

Anna Mojca England Kerr, Debate club of Faculty of social science, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia: A comparison between World Schools Debate Format and British Parliamentary Debate Format

Alex Just, Wadham College, Oxford University, UK: William Gladstone: A Model British Parliamentary Debater?

Kyle Rouse, undergraduate, Cornell University, USA: The international debating workshop as the ideal vehicle for the learning of World's Format Debating: Personal reflections on the 2007 International Debate Academy - Slovenia

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA
GLOBAL DEBATE: THE STORY OF A DEBATE BLOG

Room 3 Debate

Chair: Rozalia Bako

Manolis Polychronides, PhD Candidate, University of Athens, Greece: Does debating, as an extracurricular activity, promote democratic values and skills? An empirical study in 14 Greek High schools.

Kate Shuster, Claremont College, USA: Not Making the Case: A Critical Examination of Research Supporting Urban Debate Leagues.

Bojan Marjanovi_, Chairman of the Executive board, Croatian debating society.Final year student of Sociology, department of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb Croatia and Dea Ajdukovi_, HDD – Hrvatsko debatno dru_tvo (Croatian Debate Association), Croatia: Evaluation of Croatian debating society debate program

Room 4 – Pedagogy

Chair: Sam Greenland

Lara Godec Sozak, Slovenia: Analysis of students' oral presentations in the second year of primary education at the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana

Vida Von_ina, Slovenia: Critical literacy and motivation for responsible engagement in a community

G. Rhydian Morgan, UK: Critical Thinking Skills in the Classroom

Candace Williams, USA: Debate and Plagiarism: Do Current Debate Practices Violate School Honor Codes?

Main Hall
14.30 »Svetovci« showing the TV documentary about Slovenian highschool debate team participating at the Worlds School Debate Championship in Seoul 2007, followed by the discussion with the authors of the film and debaters.

16.00 – 16.30 Break

16.30 – 18.00 Main Hall
KEYNOTE Frans van Eemeren

18.15 Buses leave for the reception given by mayor of Ljubljana Zoran Jankovi_

19.00 Reception in the Ljubljana city hall

Saturday, 12th of April 2008

9.30 – 11. 30 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

Chair: Satoru Aonuma

Michael Hoppmann (Germany): On Three Kinds of Argumentative Responses

Ivan Mikirtumov (Russia): The Arguments driving to the Responsible Knowledge: Logical Representation

Lyudmila Kourchak (Belarus): Pragma-Dialectical Theory of Argumentation as a Background for Analyzing and Criticizing of a Cross-Cultural Business Communication.

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Sam Greenland

Alex Just, Program Director, QatarDebate, Qatar: QatarDebate and the future of debate education in the Arab World

Dr Ann Kirson Swersky, Founder and Chairperson, Sia’h vaSig – The Israel Debating Society, Israel: Establishing Parliamentary Debate in Modern Israel

Teodora Dubrovi_, prof. president of Croatian debate society and
Nada Kegalj, prof., member of the governing board of CDS, Croatia: Debate program in Croatia

Room 3 Debate

Chair: Steve Woods

Sam Nelson, Director of Debate, Cornell University: Teaching debate in non-traditional places to non-traditional audiences.

John Adams, Director of Colgate University Speaking Union, USA: Statis

Rhydian Morgan, UK: Zen & the Art of Debating

Donald Reape, undergraduate, Cornell University, USA: The case against American style policy debate: A personal narrative

Room 4 Pedagogy

Chair: Maja Nenadovi_

Panagiota Kotarinou, Anastasia Chrisanthaki-Apostolopoulou, Despina Koutli, Greece« Using “debate” in the teaching of Science

Ivana Mijatovi_ Serbia: Empowering active participation in teaching quality management courses

George Yeoman, UK: Creating or re-kindling a 'thirst for knowledge’ about global issues in the classroom

Daniela Kozlovi_, Slovenia: Debate and skill development in the philosophy class

Main Hall

9.30 Round table discussion: Is debate the best method for teaching rhetoric in the middle school?
Chair: Bojana Skrt, speakers Kristina Stopar, Irena Lapanje and others

Room 7 Special Event

10.30 Workshop: Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA: Tabulating a debate tournament using TRPC

11.30 – 12.00 Break

12.00 – 13.30 Main Hall
Keynote Kate Shuster

13.30 – 14.30 Lunch in the Faculty of Social Science cafeteria

14.30 – 16.30 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

Chair: Henrik Bohlin

Marcin Lewi_ski (Netherlands): The straw man fallacy in the Internet discussion forums

Peter Mesarec (Slovenia): Argumentation and logical fallacies in the Slovenian presidential election debate

Bart Garssen (Netherlands): Ad hominem attacks as derailments of critical testing

Constanza Ihnen (Netherlands): Exploiting topical potential with practical argumentation: what do arguers choose when they choose between arguments from consequences and arguments from principles or norms?

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Michael Hoppmann

Rhydian Morgan, UK: The changing nature of rhetoric - looking at the way rhetorical styles develop and alter over time

Conor Tucker, Student, Colgate University, USA: Rhetoric, Debate, and Deliberation: The Colgate Policy Institute

Ameila Kermis, undergraduate, Cornell University, USA: Ethos, Pathos, Logos in competitive debate: Can they be balanced?

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA: NPPF: Combining writing with oral debate

Room 3 Debate

Chair: David Williams

Ivanka Mavrodieva, PhD, Rhetoric Department, Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia
Debates during the Presidential election campaigns in Bulgaria (from 1991 till 2005)

Boris Vezjak, Faculty of Arts, Maribor, Arguments, fallacies and media

Steven Woods, Ph.D., Department of Communication, Western Washington University: Arguments of Mass Destruction: The Nexus between Intercollegiate Debaters Catastrophic Impact Claims and Bush Administration Invasion Appeals

Rozália Klára Bakó, Sapientia University of Transylvania, Miercurea Ciuc, Romania and Gizela Horváth, Partium Christian University, Oradea, Romania: The Religious Icons‘ Scandal: Radiography of a Public Debate in Romania

Room 4 Pedagogy

Chair: Maria Wolrath Sodeberg

Andreas Felten, Germany: New Debate Formats and “Pre-Debate-Forms“ for classroom use

Sam Greenland, Australia: Teaching English through debate in Hong Kong

Albert Mrgole, Slovenia: Multi-systemic perspectives of school discourse

Mateja Glu_i_ Lenar_i_, Slovenia: Together in diversity – promoting intercultural dialogue in language classes through debate

Room 5 Pedagogy

Chair: Alex Just

Maja Bregar, Slovenia: Examples of debates with six and seven year-olds in the first grade of nine years' primary school in Slovenia

Nives Videc, Slovenia
Debate with six and seven year-olds in the first grade of nine years' primary school in Slovenia

Hedvika Dermol Hvala, Slovenia
Development of rhetorical skills in primary school pupils

Veronika Hovnik, Slovenia
Philosophy for children through debate

Main Hall
Live debate on the motion »Media are responsible for anorexia and bulemia among youth.« debaters from Debate club Middle school Rodica Dom_ale, coach Irena Lapanje.

Round table discussion: MIDDLE SCHOOL DEBATE PROGRAMME, speakers Kate Shuster, USA Teodora Dubrovi_, Croatia, chair: Bojana Skrt, Slovenia

16.30 – 17.00 Break

17:00 – 19.00 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

CHAIR: Michael Hoppmann

Lillian Bermejo Luque (Spain): Rhetorical argumentation vs. the rhetorical dimension of argumentation

Cristián Santibáñez Yáñez (Chile): Metaphorical design from an argumentative point of view

Roosmaryn Pilgram (Netherlands): Characterising character: Analysing appeals to ethos in a dialectical framework

Satoru Aonuma and Naoto Usui (Japan): In Defense of Argument Culture: A Rhetorical Criticism of Asiacentric Bias in Intercultural Communication

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Anja _erc

Miha Gartner, Gimnazija Celje – Center, Celje, Slovenia: Mentorship of debate club.

Helena Felc, Faculty of administration, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, under – graduate student: Promotion of a debate club - story of success or failure?

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA: Middle Age Debate Transition - How One Coach Changed Horses in Mid Career

Bojana Skrt, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga, Slovenia: Debate as a subject.

Room 3 Debate

Chair: Rhydian Morgan

Javier Rodríguez Alcázar, University of Granada, Spain: Risk Assessment: the Limits of Expertise and the Role of Public Debate

Korry Harvey, Lecturer and Assistant Director of Forensic, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA USA: Beyond Competitive Decision Making: A Primer on Civil Discourse and Deliberative Dialogue Methodology

Donal Carbaugh, professor at Department of communication, University of Massachusetts, USA: Debate, Dialogue and Rhetoric as Cultural Discourse: Di-ciphering Codes for Communication Conduct

Sam Nelson, Director of Debate, Cornell University, USA: Debate - What its past and present can tell us about its future

Main Hall

17.00 Live debate: Worlds School Debate Format on the topic: »We should apologise for colonialism.«

19.15 Buses leave for the banquet

19.45 – 22.00 Banquet in Grad Kodeljevo

Sunday, 13th of April 2008

9.30 – 11.30 Presentations

Room 1 Argumentation

Chair: Bart Garssen

Henrik Bohlin (Sweden): Perspectives in critical thinking

Danilo _uster (Slovenia): Some dilemmas of informal logic

David Cratis Williams (USA): Rhetorical Approach to Problems of Education

Room 2 Debate

Chair: Rozalia Bako

Bo_ena Perko, Kri_e Primary School, Slovenia: Solving conflicts in school by means of coeval mediation

Maja Nenadovi_, Fellow of the George Bell Institute, University of Amsterdam, PhD Candidate: Giving Back the Voice

Dea Ajdukovi_, HDD – Hrvatsko debatno dru_tvo (Croatian Debate Association), Croatia: Attitude change and need for cognition in debaters and non-debaters

Karlina Ko_elj, Master of Politology American Studies, Professor of English and Slovene at Secondary School for Catering and Tourism Celje, Slovenia: I am proud to say: these are my students.

Room 3 Debate

Chair: Anja _erc

Jerneja Domajnko. Post – gradute student at ISH, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Debating and equal opportunities for everyone.

Christopher Langone, graduate student Department of Communication, Cornell University, USA: Debate and the media

Veronika Hovnik, Gimnazija Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia: Tekma

Room 4 Pedagogy

Chair: Zora Rutar

Maria Wolrath Soderberg, Sweden: Pedagogical consequences of viewing topoi as habits

Uve Poom, Estonia: Factors influencing student reflection in the experiential education context: case study of debate education

Darinka Vrabi_ and Alenka Gortan, Slovenia: Does matura exam restrict critical thinking and how debate can contribute to the quality of lessons

Alfred Snider & Bojana Skrt, USA & Slovenia: Teaching teachers to use debate in the classroom

Main Hall
9.30 Live debate: Worlds University Debate Format, the motion and the speakers TBA

10. 30 Round table discussion: challenges of running the university debate club

11.30 – 12.00 Break

12.00 – 13.30
Keynote Omar Salahuddin bin Abdullah, Malaysia

13.30 Main Hall
Closing ceremony

Slovenia President, Ljubljana Mayor Support Conference

2008-03-24T10:34:00.005-04:00

Danilo Turk, President of Slovenia

We are pleased to announce that the President of Slovenia, Dr. Danilo Turk, has agreed to be the patron of the conference. This is another indication of his support for open discussion and debate and especially his support for debating activities in Slovenia. To see a report about his recent meeting with the Slovenian World Schools debaters, see http://globaldebateblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/slovenian-worlds-debaters-meet-their.html

<== Zoran Jankovic

We are also pleased to announce that Zoran Jankovic, the mayor of Ljubljana, has also agreed to support the conference. He will host a reception on Friday evening in the historic City Hall for all conference attendees. Mr. Jankovic has previously supported debate events, such as the International Debate Academy held in Slovenia.

Congratulations to conference organizer Bojana Skrt for gaining this amazing support from important officials in Slovenia. Argumentation and debate are surely becoming part of the public scene in Slovenia.

News About Conference Facilities

2008-02-29T13:50:00.003-05:00

Our venue at the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Administration is looking better and better. Here are some details we now have:

Lunch will be served free at a cafe within a few metres of the session venues.
Coffee will be available at some coffee bars also right adjacent to the venues.
We have six main session rooms, each holding 60 people.
We will have a large media room especially designed for movies and videos.
We have a main session room that will seat 240 people.
There is a beautiful foyer we will use for registration and it is a great mingling space.
All rooms have the latest technology, with computer, projector and the capability of meeting your power point presentation needs.
We will have a separate room with 25 computer terminals so attendees can have easy access to email and the web.
There is a music system in the hallways we can use between sessions.
There will be comfortable chairs inside and outside (hopefully, the April weather will be nice) for people to relax in and chat.

We want to thank the Faculty of Administration for being such a generous host!

Preliminaries for April Conference

2008-02-21T14:57:00.002-05:00

From Bojana Skrt:

Please, feel free to send the information about the conference to everybody whom you think might be interested.

We kindly  invite  all of you who are interested in debate, argumentation and debate as an active method in the classroom to come and join us at  the 2nd International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment -- THINKING AND SPEAKING A BETTER WORLD, 11-13 April 2008, Ljubljana, Slovenia.  The conference, organized by World Debate Institute at University of Vermont, USA, Zavod za šolstvo/Institute for education  Slovenia and Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/Pro et contra, Institute for culture of dialogue, Slovenia will happen at Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za upravo (Ljubljana University, Faculty for administration), adress: Gosarjeva ulica 5, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, http://www.fu.uni-lj.si/en/

The conference welcomes scholars and educators from diverse fields for vigorous dialogue and exchange.  This conference will unite scholars of argumentation and rhetoric, teachers, and organizers of local, national and international debating networks to discuss critical thinking and advocacy discourse through pedagogy.  Please, find the list of almost 80 abstracts the conference organizers received till February 15th deadline and the draft schedule at the end of this message.  The final programme will be available on March 15th at the Conference websites: http://debate.uvm.edu/betterworld.htm and http://betterworldconference.blogspot.com/

Those wishing to attend the conference without submitting a paper  and participate in the discussions are very welcome but must register as well.  The participation fee is 65 Euros and covers the conference sessions and materials,  Friday evening reception, Saturday lunch  as well as a Saturday banquet. Low cost accommodations must register through Bojana Skrt, while all others must be booked by the attendees. You can check the list of suggested hotels at the Conference web page. I also need to remind you that Slovenia presidency of EU made the Ljubljana hotels quite full, so do not wait too long before making a booking.

Please note that registration for admission to the conference and low cost housing must be coordinated through Bojana Skrt bojana.skrt@siol.net. Registration deadline is 15 March 2008. You can find the application form at  http://debate.uvm.edu/conf08appform.doc

All inquires about application, payment and other information should be sent to Bojana Skrt at bojana.skrt@siol.net.

Looking forward seeing you in Slovenia,

Bojana Skrt
Za  in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/Pro et contra, Institute for culture of dialogue, Slovenia

Alfred C. Snider
World Debate Institute at University of Vermont, USA


CONFERENCE DRAFT SCHEDULE
Friday, 11th of April 2008
12.00 – 14.00 Registration and payment

14.00 Opening
14.30 – 16.30 Presentations
16.30 – 17:00 Break
17:00 – 18.30. Keynote speech 1 and discussion  Franz van Eemeren
18:30 – 19:30 Reception

Saturday, 12th of April 2008

9.30 – 11. 30 Presentations
11.30 – 12.00 Break
12.00 – 13.30 Keynote speech 2 Kate Shuster
13.30 – 14.30 Lunch  (at the Faculty of social science cafeteria)
14.30 – 16.30 Presentations
16.30 – 17:00 Break
17:00 – 19.00 Presentations
19.30 Banquet

Sunday, 13th of April 2008
9.30 – 11.30 Presentations
11.30 – 12.00 Break
12.00 – 13.30 Keynote speech 3 Omar Salahuddin
13.30 Closing ceremony

ROOM 1 – Argumentation panels
ROOM 2 – Debate panels
ROOM 3 – Pedagogy panels
ROOM 4 – Video room
ROOM 5 – Live events (debates, round table discussions, etc.
ROOM 6 – Overflow of panels from three areas

VIDEO ROOM
We will be showing the following videos on a scheduled basis. A number of them will be shown twice.

Resolved – USA documentary about high school debate
Sixty Minutes – USA report on urban debate leagues
Svetovci – Slovenia documentary about World Schools
The Journey – John Maynard’s piece about youth activism and Eastern Europe
Sample Middle School Debate – USA seeking permission to show it
Discussion by Middle School teachers – USA seeking permission to show it
Sample Debate by Teachers – in nutrition classroom
Others – let us know if you have ideas

LIVE EVENTS ROOM
We will be staging sample debates in a number of different formats in this room. We will also use this room for round table discussions by registered attendees who are now organizing some topics and participants. Let us know if you are interested. Already agreed »Is debate an answer for rhetoric classes?«  and »Challenges of running a debate club.«



KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Argumentation - Frans van Eemeren, University of Amsterdam,  perhaps the most noted argumentation scholar in the world.
Be Critical!The Need for a Well-Considered Normative Dimension in the Study of Argumentation
Some scholars have the mistaken idea that the study of argumentation, in order to be a scientific enterprise, should be purely descriptive. They shun away from any normative concerns. Although descriptive studies, provided that they have a sound theoretical basis, are indispensable, it is Frans van Eemeren’s view that the study of argumentation cannot do without a normative dimension. He explains why he thinks that this is the case and argues that the normative dimension and the descriptive dimension of the study of argumentation should in fact be integrated, so that in the analysis and evaluation of argumentative discourse insights from both perspectives can be systematically combined.


Debate - Omar Salahuddin bin Abdullah, MultiMedia University,Malaysia. Recognized* as the "father of Asian debating" and recent winner of the first distinguished service award by the World Universities Debating Championship.
Debating in South-East Asia: A road less traveled.
One of the less visible legacies of colonialism, in Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Hong Kong, is an educational system that, in tandem with traditional classroom practices, spawned what might be best termed, “Classical Debating.” This highly stylised precursor for the art and craft of debating that we recognise now trained generations of high school students to deliver speeches on bland topics, often determined months in advance, in competitive matches against other schools with a ‘tradition and history of debating’. Speeches were usually written by teachers, researched by teams of less debate-able students and rehearsed until every gesture and pattern of emphasis was perfect. Not unsurprisingly, prior to the 1990s, debating was rarely a feature of mainstream coursework or co-curricular activity at tertiary levels in any of these countries.
Small groups of students in institutions such as Ateneo D’Manila University in the Philippines and the Singaporean universities occasionally tried to rally colleagues to attend one of the major international competitions and represent their universities and their countries, but these efforts went almost entirely unrewarded, and motivation was easily lost amongst the pressures of the Asian academe.
In 1994, a number of things began to materialize, almost out of thin Asian air. The first was an effort by student leaders in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, to generate a debating competition that would offer Asian university debaters an alternative to the intimidating environments of Worlds (WUDC) and Australasians. This small beginning would burgeon into the competition and format now recognised as All-Asians.
The second unlikely happenstance was a meeting that took place on the steps of the old parliament building in Melbourne, Australia, immediately prior to the Grand Finals of the World Universities Debating Championships in January, 1994. This meeting brought together a number of committed educators and a much larger number of somewhat disgruntled students – the latter, for the most part, upset by what seemed to them to have been an embarrassing loss of face and esteem in failing to present any real opposition for their European and American peers. Beneath the portals of a bygone legislative, a pact was made that day that Asians would never be so humbled again.
This presentation will chart the course of Competitive Debate development in South East Asia from that meeting until the present day. On this short journey together, we will consider the key elements that have raised the profile of debating in the region, established debating as a recognised part of the academic curriculum and propelled universities in the region into the forefront of international competitive debating.


Pedagogy - Kate Shuster, Claremont Graduate School, USA the  worldwide leader in understanding and applyingactive methods in the classroom at various levels. One of her areas of emphasis has been oral literacy and how it can be successfully taught. Kate has eight recent books to her credit and a number of important works in submission. She is perhaps best known for her efforts to promote debating and critical thinking in middle schools.
Known Knowns, Known Unknowns, and Unknown Unknowns: Pedagogy and the
Importance of Evaluation
There are things we know about teaching and learning. There are things we know we don¹t know. And there are things we don¹t know we don¹t know. Without a serious commitment to evaluation and assessment, pedagogy and school improvement initiatives are unlikely to make any progress on the things we don¹t know. Drawing from new and emerging research in evaluation and accountability, this keynote suggests that teachers and researchers must engage in active collaboration to identify and replicate successful practices in education.


PRELIMINARY PAPERS:

This is a list of submissions. The committees may decide to refuse some of them or request rewrites.

ABSTRACTS SUBMITTED FOR PEDAGOGY SECTION

Panagiota Kotarinou, Anastasia Chrisanthaki-Apostolopoulou, Despina Koutli, Greece: Using “debate” in the teaching of Science

Alfred Snider & Bojana Skrt, USA & Slovenia
TEACHING TEACHERS TO USE DEBATE IN THE CLASSROOM

Bojana Skrt, Slovenia
Debate as a subject in school

Yeoman, George, UK
CREATING OR RE-KINDLING A 'THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE’ ABOUT GLOBAL ISSUES, IN THE CLASSROOM

DANIELA KOZLOVIČ, Slovenia
Debate and skills developing in the philosophy class

Veronika, Hovnik, Slovenia
Philosophy for children through the debate

Ryhdian Morgan, UK
Critical Thinking Skills in the Classroom

Maria Wilrath Soderberg, Sweden
Pedagogical consequences of viewing topoi as habits

Hedvika Dermol Hvala, Slovenia
DEVELOPMENT OF RETHORICAL SKILLS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS

Istvan Pusztai Hungary
Unwanted heritage
The reminiscences of the authoritarian political system in Hungary built obstacles for practising democratic teaching methods in schools.

Dr. Nena Mijoc, Slovenia
Reciprocal and mutual learning within study circles at the Slovenian Third Age University

Ivana Mijatovič, Serbia
THE IMPOWERING ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN TECHING QUALITY MANAGEMENT COURSES

Maja Bregar, Slovenia
EXAMPLES OF DEBATES WITH SIX AND SEVEN YEAR-OLDS IN THE FIRST GRADE OF NINE YEARS' PRIMARY SCHOOL IN SLOVENIA

Nives Videc, Slovenia
DEBATE WITH SIX AND SEVEN YEAR-OLDS IN THE FIRST GRADE OF NINE YEARS' PRIMARY SCHOOL IN SLOVENIA

Darinka VrabiČ and Alenka Gortan, Slovenia
Does matura exam restrict critical thinking and how a debate can contribute to quality of lessons

Andreas Felten, Germany
New Debate-Formats and „Pre-Debate-Forms“ for classroom use

Uve Poom, Tallinn University, Estonia
Factors influencing student reflection in the experiential education context: case study of debate education [summary of BA thesis]

Candace Williams, USA
Debate and Plagiarism: Do Current Debate Practices Violate School Honor Codes?

Mateja Glušič Lenarčič, Slovenia
TOGETHER IN DIVERSITY – PROMOTING INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE IN LANGUAGE CLASSES THROUGH DEBATE

Irena Lapanje, Slovenia
Teaching Young Not to Believe Everything

Mirella Ceglar Jurinčič, University of Koper: , Slovenia
DEBATE AND LANGUAGE, Debate Training as a teaching method

Lara Godec Sozak, Slovenia
Analysis of students' oral presentations in the second year of primary education at the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana

Natasa Makovecki, Slovenia
DEBATE (TECHNIQUES) THROUGH THE LENSE OF THE CURRICULUM REFORM OF THE UPPER-SECONDARY VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN SLOVENIA

Vida Vončina, Slovenia
Critical literacy and motivation for responsible engagement in a community



ABSTRACTS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEBATE SECTION

Ivanka Mavrodieva, PhD, Rhetoric Department, Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, Bolgaria:  Debates during the Presidential election campaigns in Bulgaria (from 1991 till 2005)

Boris Vezjak, Faculty od Arts, Maribor, Slovenia:  Arguments, fallacies and media

Steven Woods, Ph.D., Department of Communication, Western Washington University: Arguments of Mass Destruction: The Nexus between Intercollegiate Debaters Catastrophic Impact Claims and Bush Administration Invasion Appeals

Javier Rodríguez Alcázar, University of Granada, Spain:
Risk Assessment: the Limits of Expertise and the Role of Public Debate


Kate Shuster , Claremont College, USA: Not Making the Case: A Critical Examination of Research Supporting Urban Debate Leagues.

Dea Ajduković, HDD – Hrvatsko debatno društvo (Croatian Debate Association), Croatia: Attitude change and need for cognition in debaters and non-debaters

Božena Perko, Križe Primary School, Slovenia: Solving conflicts in school by means of coeval mediation

Dr Ann Kirson Swersky, Founder and Chairperson, Sia’h vaSig – The Israel Debating Society, Israel: Establishing Parliamentary Debate in Modern Israel

Anna Mojca England Kerr, Debate club of Faculty of social science, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia: A comparison between World Schools Debate Format and British Parliamentary Debate Format

Karlina Koželj, Master of Politology American Studies, Professor of English and Slovene at Secondary School for Catering and Tourism Celje, Slovenia: I am proud to say: these are my students.

Korry Harvey, Lecturer and Assistant Director of Forensic, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA USA: Beyond Competitive Decision Making: A Primer on Civil Discourse and Deliberative Dialogue Methodology

Manolis Polychronides, PhD Candidate, University of Athens, Greece: Does debating, as an extracurricular activity, promote democratic values and skills? An empirical study in 14 Greek High schools.

Rozália Klára Bakó, Sapientia University of Transylvania, Miercurea Ciuc, Romania and Gizela Horváth, Partium Christian University, Oradea, Romania: The Religious Icons‘ Scandal: Radiography of a Public Debate in Romania

Rhydian Morgan, UK: The changing nature of rhetoric - looking at the way rhetorical styles develop and alter over time

Rhydian Morgan, UK: Zen & the Art of Debating

Miha Gartner, Gimnazija Celje – Center, Celje, Slovenia: Mentorship of debate club.

Veronika Hovnik, Gimnazija Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia: Tekma

Maja Nenadović, Fellow of the George Bell Institute,  University of Amsterdam, PhD Candidate:  Giving Back the Voice

Helena Felc, Faculty of administration, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, under – graduate student: Promotion of a debate club - story of success or failure?

Alex Just, Program Director, QatarDebate, Qatar:  QatarDebate and the future of debate education in the Arab World

Alex Just, Wadham College, Oxford University, UK: William Gladstone: A Model British Parliamentary Debater?

Bojan Marjanović, Chairman of the Executive board, Croatian debating society.Final year student of Sociology, department of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb  Croatia and Dea Ajduković, HDD – Hrvatsko debatno društvo (Croatian Debate Association), Croatia
Evaluation of Croatian debating society debate program.

Conor Tucker, Student, Colgate University, USA: Rhetoric, Debate, and Deliberation: The Colgate Policy Institute

Jerneja Domajnko. Post – gradute student at ISH, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Debating and equal opportunities for everyone.

Christopher Langone, graduate student Department of Communication, Cornell University, USA: Debate and the media

Sam Nelson, Director of Debate, Cornell University: Teaching debate in non-traditional places to non-traditional audiences.

Sam Nelson, Director of Debate, Cornell University, USA: What its past and present can tell us about its future.

Donald Reape, undergraduate, Cornell University, USA: The case against American style policy debate: A personal narrative

Ameila Kermis, undergraduate, Cornell University, USA: Ethos, Pathos, Logos in competitive debate: Can they be balanced?

Kyle Rouse, undergraduate, Cornell University, USA: The international debating workshop as the ideal vehicle for the learning of World's Format Debating: Personal reflections on the 2007 International Debate Academy - Slovenia

Kate Shuster, Claremont Mckenna College, California, USA: Middle school debate programe.

Donal Carbaugh, professor at Department of communication, University of Massachusetts, USA: Debate, Dialogue and Rhetoric as Cultural Discourse: Di-ciphering Codes for Communication Conduct

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA
NPPF: COMBINING WRITING WITH ORAL DEBATE

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA
GLOBAL DEBATE: THE STORY OF A DEBATE BLOG

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA
Middle Age Debate Transition: How One Coach Changed Horses in Mid Career

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, USA
TABULATING A DEBATE TOURNAMENT USING TRPC

John Adams, Director of Colgate University Speaking Union, USA: Statis


ABSTRACTS SUBMITTED FOR ARGUMENTATION SECTION

Lillian Bermejo Luque (Spain) Rhetorical argumentation vs. the rhetorical
dimension of argumentation

Henrik Bohlin  (Sweden)  Perspectives in critical thinking

Bart Garssen (Netherlands) Ad hominem attacks as derailments of critical
testing


Michael Hoppmann (Germany) On Three Kinds of Argumentative Responses

Lyudmila Kourchak (Belarus) Pragma-Dialectical Theory of Argumentation as a
Background for Analyzing and Criticizing of a Cross-Cultural Business Communication.

Irina Oukhvanova (Belarus)  The Сausal-Genetic Approach as a Background for
Verification Analysis and Criticism of the Content of a Communicative Product (Case Study on Pedagogical Discourse).


Danilo Šuster (Slovenia)  Some dilemmas of informal logic


Paul van den Hoven (Netherlands) Playing with the Protagonist: Strategic
                                                  manipulations with discourse voices


C. Andone (Netherlands)  Manouevring strategically by retracting a standpoint
in what can be reconstructed as the confrontation stage of a critical discussion

Marcin Lewiński (Netherlands) The straw man fallacy in the Internet discussion
                             forums

Constanza Ihnen (Netherlands) Exploiting topical potential with practical
argumentation: what do arguers choose when they choose between arguments from consequences and arguments from principles or norms?


Roosmaryn Pilgram (Netherlands) Characterising character: Analysing appeals to
ethos in a dialectical framework

Satoru Aonuma and Naoto Usui In Defense of Argument Culture:  A Rhetorical
(Japan)     Criticism of Asiacentric Bias in Intercultural
                                 Communication

Ivan Mikirtumov  (Russia)  The Arguments driving to the Responsible
                   Knowledge:  Logical Representation

Cristián Santibáñez Yáñez (Chile) Metaphorical design from an argumentative point
                                     of view

Peter Mesarec (Slovenia) Argumentation and logical fallacies in the
Slovenian presidential election debate

David Cratis Williams (USA)  Rhetorical Approach to Problems of           Education


Bilal Amjarso (Netherlands) What is persuasive about dealing with anticipated counterarguments? A pragma-dialectical study of a form of strategic manoeuvring

Over Eighty Papers Proposed

2008-02-18T08:26:00.002-05:00

The emails have been full of paper proposals as February 15th came and went. All three areas (argumentation, debate and pedagogy) are well represented, and it seems like we will meet or top the eighty papers delivered last year.

A preliminary program will be announced soon. There are still a few slots for proposals given our facilities and arrangements, so if you have a great idea for a presentation, now is the time to send it to us.

bojana.skrt@siol.net

Make sure to make hotel arrangements soon as things will be tight in Ljubljana that time of year. The housing at Hostel Bezigrad is inexpensive, convenient and nice.

Housing Update Information

2008-02-16T14:55:00.002-05:00

Youth Hostel Bezigrad

From Bojana Skrt:

IMPORTANT: THE RESERVATIONS AND PAYMENTS FOR THE LISTED HOTELS YOU NEED TO MAKE DIRECTLY TO HOTELS BY YOURSELF. I NEED TO REMIND EVERYBODY THAT YOU SHOULD BOOK YOUR ACCOMODATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE – IF YOU WAIT IT MIGHT HAPPEN YOU WILL HAVE HARD TIME TO GET A FREE ROOM.

All the hotels recommended are in the center of Ljubljana. The reservations and payments can be made on – line through their web pages. The prices goes from 30 EUR per person in Hotel Tabor to a 150 EUR and more in Grand Hotel Union, breakfast included.

HOTEL TABOR: http://www.hotelpark.si
HOTEL EMONEC: http://www.hotel-emonec.com/
CITY HOTEL LJUBLJANA: http://www.cityhotel.si
HOTEL SLON http://www.hotelslon.com
GRAND HOTEL UNION GARNI http://www.astralhotel.net
GRAND HOTEL UNION http://www.gh-union.si/

For the ones who would like enjoy the »Hippest Hostel in the World« we strongly recommend HOSTEL CELICA: http://www.hostelcelica.com/ , where the room and breakfast can be found for 25 EUR.

Hostel Celica has been artistically transformed from a former prison into an artistically designed youth hostel. Celica (meaning cell in English) offers accommodation in 20 artistically renovated former cells with bars on the door and on the window. Each cell is unique and had been artistically designed by its own author or a group of artists.

You can find more information about accommodation and Ljubljana at the: http://www.ljubljana-tourism.si/

BUDGET OPTION

THE ONES WHO WOULD LIKE TO ENJOY THE BUDGET OPTION IN HOSTEL BEZIGRAD, PLEASE SEND THE RESERVATION TO BOJANA SKRT on bojana.skrt@siol.net The payments should be made directly to the hostel when checking in. This dorm is located 5 minutes from the Faculty of administration where the Conference will be held, the prices vary from 20 to 25 EUR, breakfast included.

Conference Update

2008-01-15T03:44:00.001-05:00

Create a global academic footprint for your work and your career.

Great keynote speakers, international draw, quick turnaround on submitted abstracts, invitation letter to show your administration and help gain support. Last year 120+ attendees and 84+ papers. Join us for year two.

2nd International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment
11-12-13 April 2008, Ljubljana, Slovenia
The conference begins with registration at 1200 11 April 2008.
The conference ends with the closing ceremony at 1500 13 April 2008.
The conference sessions will be held on the beautiful campus of the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Administration.

The World Debate Institute at the University of Vermont USA, the National Education Institute of the Republic of Slovenia and ZIP, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga/ Pro et contra Institute for culture of dialogue Slovenia invite all scholars and practitioners of argumentation, rhetoric, debate, and educators using deliberative education methodologies to the International Conference on Argumentation, Rhetoric, Debate and the Pedagogy of Empowerment -- THINKING AND SPEAKING A BETTER WORLD, 11-13 April 2008, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Main website: http://debate.uvm.edu/betterworld.htm
Application form: http://debate.uvm.edu/conf08appform.doc
News website: http://betterworldconference.blogspot.com/

The conference will welcome scholars and educators from diverse fields for vigorous dialogue and exchange. This conference will unite scholars of argumentation and rhetoric, teachers, and organizers of local, national and international debating networks to discuss critical thinking and advocacy discourse through pedagogy. We intend for the conference to welcome all who are involved in public discussions and debates about different issues.
This conference is extremely timely. A global information society which seeks reasoned solutions to problems through broad citizen involvement needs to develop and refine techniques for criticizing and validating ideas through discourse and then impart these to new generations of citizens if we are to create a better future and avoid looming crises. This conference represents a unique opportunity to share ideas, network and cross-fertilize with global critical thinkers.

The conference will generate a proceedings volume in the form of a book with completed papers. Submissions will be selected from the papers available at the conference.

The program for the conference will have three themes. Submissions are encouraged to center their work on one of the three themes and to submit proposals to the appropriate conference division. Interdisciplinary work that might fit into more than one category is welcome.

Argumentation and rhetoric. The study of the use of logic and reason to criticize and analyze ideas through communication is important to our world. Those interested in research on argumentation theory, criticisms of communication acts and scholarship on argumentation practice are encouraged to submit to this division.
Debate. The use of formal argumentation forums and debating to educate and empower citizens is a growing movement throughout the world. Those interested in work on the practice and theory of debate competition, public debates, research on the impact of debate for participants, and theorizing about debate paradigms are encouraged to submit to this division.
Critical thinking/pedagogy. Teaching and the methodology of teaching in the active classroom is an extremely important field. Those interested in using debate, discussion and argumentation in classrooms, discussion of experiences and teaching lessons relating to communication and critical thinking are encouraged to submit to this division.

Keynote Speakers:

Argumentation - Frans van Eemeren, University of Amsterdam. Frans van Eemeren, perhaps the most noted argumentation scholar in the world, has agreed to be the keynote speaker in argumentation at the 2008 conference. Professor van Eemeren will also serve on the argumentation evaluation committee along with David Williams of Florida Atlantic University will also be on that committee.
Debate - Omar Salahuddin bin Abdullah, MultiMedia Univerity, Malaysia. Recognized as the "father of Asian debating" and recent winner of the first distinguished service award by the World Universities Debating Championship, Dr. Salahuddin has agreed to be our keynote speaker.
Pedagogy - Kate Shuster, Claremont Graduate School, USA. Kate Shuster has been a worldwide leader in understanding and applying active methods in the classroom at various levels. One of her areas of emphasis has been oral literacy and how it can be successfully taught. Kate has eight recent books to her credit and a number of important works in submission. She is perhaps best known for her efforts to promote debating and critical thinking in middle schools.

Paper proposals (a less than one-page abstract) should be submitted as soon as possible but not later than 15 February 2008. The committees will evaluate proposals in hand each month and inform those submitting papers of the committee's decision. Full copies of papers should be provided electronically by the beginning of the conference. ALL PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS MUST BE IN ENGLISH.

Format for papers will be that of the Modern Language Association. For information, see http://www.docstyles.com/mlacrib.htm . You can download a copy of the guidelines at http://debate.uvm.edu/dcpdf/mlacrib.pdf .

A committee of conference organizers and scholars will examine submissions to each division.
The members of the argumentation division committee are:

David Williams, Florida Atlantic University, USA
Frans van Eemeren, Department of Speech Communication, Argumentation Theory and Rhetoric, University of Amsterdam

The members of the debate division committee are:

Bojana Skrt, ZIP Slovenia.
Sam Nelson, Cornell University, USA
Loke Wing Fatt, SAID, Singapore

The members of the pedagogy division committee are:

Alfred Snider, University of Vermont USA
Zora Rutar, National Education Institute, Slovenia
Maria Wolrath Söderberg, Department of Rhetoric, Södertörn University College, Sweden

Proposals and full papers for argumentation should be sent to David Williams at davidcratis@hotmail.com
Proposals and full papers for debate should be sent to Bojana Skrt at bojana.skrt@siol.net
Proposals and full papers for pedagogy should be sent to Alfred Snider at alfred.snider@uvm.edu

Those wishing to attend the conference without submitting a paper are very welcome but must register.

The Conference will be held on the beautiful campus of the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Administration. The participation fee is 65 Euros and covers the conference sessions, reception, coffee breaks and materials as well as a banquet. The participants will be accommodated in different locations in Ljubljana, depending on the budget option they choose. There are different accommodations possible, from low cost high school dormitory to moderate hotels in Ljubljana to the best hotels in Ljubljana. Low cost accommodations must register through Bojana Skrt, while all others must be booked by the attendees. We will be supplying a list of suggested hotels soon. The conference is a non-profit project and all organizers are unpaid. The participation fee is designed to cover costs only.

Please note that registration for admission to the conference and low cost housing must be coordinated through Bojana Skrt bojana.skrt@siol.net. Registration deadline is 15 March 2008.

The payment for the participation fee should be transferred to ZIP bank account by March 15 2008 or in cash on arrival. All inquires about application, payment and other information should be sent to Bojana Skrt at bojana.skrt@siol.net.

Travel to Ljubljana is possible through many forms. Regular air service from most European cities is available, including on a number of discount airlines such as Easyjet. Train and bus service is convenient with arrivals at the city center. We will not be arranging pick ups from arrival points because it is quite easy. We will be publishing low cost options for airport pick up.
Ljubljana travel guides can be found at: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/europe/slovenia?_http://www.randburg.com/si/ljubljana.html_http://www.ljubljanalife.com/

Organizing committee:
Bojana Skrt, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga, Slovenia
Alfred C. Snider, World Debate Institute, University of Vermont, USA

Ljubljana Faculty of Administration to Provide Conference Facilities

2007-12-05T08:48:00.000-05:00

President-elect of Slovenia Danilo Turk addresses debaters in one of the halls to be used for the conference.

Bojana Skrt has secured an agreement with the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Administration to use their lovely new facilities for the conference.

Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za upravo/University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Administration Address: Gosarjeva ulica 5, Ljubljana
web adress: www.fu.uni-lj.si

The facilities were used by the International Debate Academy and they are truly beautiful. There are ample large classrooms for presentations as well as two large auditoriums for keynotes and opening meetings. There is a large space for registration and a reception. There are a number of coffee bars, drinks bars and a number of restaurants to visit for lunch. Negotiation has begun with one restaurant to provide lunch for all conference participants on Saturday.

We are truly greatful to the Faculty of Administration for their support and partnership in this event.

Make Hotel Reservations Early

2007-10-29T08:33:00.000-04:00

Because Slovenia will be occupying the presidency of the European Union for the next six months hotel rooms in Ljubljana are already 60% full for the weekend of the conference.

Please make reservations early. We will have lots of space in the low cost high school dorm we have arranged, but or more upscale housing you need to act now.

Details are at
http://betterworldconference.blogspot.com/2007/09/hotel-list-now-available.html

Dr. Omar Salahuddin bin Abdullah to be Debate Keynote

2007-10-19T07:12:00.000-04:00

<== Omar with university debaters in Korea

 Omar is a faculty member at Multi-Media University in Malaysia and is recognized as the father of Asian debating.  Omar first debated in University [Leeds, UK] in the early 70s [He says, "Badly! Too much manner and almost zero substance"]. Got involved as a coach/trainer of Debaters in the National University, Malaysia [UKM] in the early 90s. Teams that he has coached have won the Malaysian Nationals [Royals] twice (UKM and UiTM], the All-Asians five times [UKM, MMU and UiTM] and broken consistently at Australs. 

Omar Salahuddin has also continued to debate: competitively, as a member of 'Team CWD' on the "adult circuit" in Malaysia, as a member of Team Malaysia [3-time winners of the All-Asian Masters competition, as a member of 'Team Chaos' representing MMU in the Australs in 2003 [Lost in 1/4 finals to eventual Champions from Sydney] and in various exhibition and Model debates. 

Omar claims that his 'important skills' are: An ability to navigate by sextant - day or night, having what it takes to make a mean Mexican chillie, competent woodworking skills, the 'kiss of the Blarney' and the common sense to know when not to argue [with life-partners].

Kate Shuster to Keynote at 2008 Conference

2007-09-18T15:22:00.000-04:00

Catherine "Kate" Shuster of California has been announced as the keynote speaker in the pedagogy division of the April 2008 Ljubljana conference, Thinking and Speaking a Better World.

Kate has been a worldwide leader in understanding and applying active methods in the classroom at various levels. One of her areas of emphasis has been oral literacy and how it can be successfully taught. Kate has eight recent books to her credit and a number of important works in submission. She is perhaps best known for her efforts to promote debating in middle schools. Her work in southern California to promote debating in this age group has been matchless. The Middle School Public Debate Program is the largest and fastest growing classroom and contest debate outreach program for students in fifth through eighth grade. Since its inception in 2002, more than 10,000 students from Southern California communities have participated in the program, says Kate, who teamed with Claremont McKenna College's John Meany to create the program from scratch. Her work can be seen at http://middleschooldebate.com/index.htm . Her classroom debate blog can be found at http://teachingdebate.typepad.com/.

Kate was the USA National Debate Tournament champion in 1996 and has been a driving force in the evaluation and critical reexamination of debate practice ever since. Her pedagogical focus is demonstrated by her comments about the middle school program's expansion into the Los Angeles school district. “This really is an opportunity to foster leadership and critical thinking skills, and encourage civic engagement among adolescents in the county’s most disadvantaged communities,” Shuster says.

Kate also has an outstanding reputation as a speaker and lecturer, and is known as one of the most engaging speakers anywhere.

Paper and Presentation Guidelines Updated

2007-09-10T08:09:00.000-04:00

Paper proposals (a less than one-page abstract) should be submitted as soon as possible but not later than 15 February 2008. The committees will evaluate proposals in hand each month and inform those submitting papers of the committee's decision. Full copies of papers should be provided electronically by the beginning of the conference. ALL PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS MUST BE IN ENGLISH.

Papers should be between 2500 and 5000 words. Conference presentations should be 20 minutes with 10 minutes for questions. Feel free to also propose panel discussions, debates and other events. Format for papers will be that of the Modern Language Association. For information, see http://www.docstyles.com/mlacrib.htm . You can download a copy of the guidelines at http://debate.uvm.edu/dcpdf/mlacrib.pdf .

Hotel List Now Available

2007-09-08T17:03:00.000-04:00

ACT SOON! LJUBLJANA ROOMS CAN BE HARD TO GET AT THE LAST MINUTE!

Bojana Skrt bojana.skrt@siol.net writes:

IMPORTANT: THE RESERVATIONS AND PAYMENTS FOR THE LISTED HOTELS YOU NEED TO MAKE DIRECTLY TO HOTELS BY YOURSELF.

All the hotels recommended are in the center of Ljubljana. The reservations and payments can be made online through their web pages. The prices go from 30 EUR per person in Hotel Tabor to a 150 EUR and more in Grand Hotel Union, breakfast included.

HOTEL TABOR: http://www.hotelpark.si
HOTEL EMONEC: http://www.hotel-emonec.com/
CITY HOTEL LJUBLJANA: http://www.cityhotel.si
HOTEL SLON http://www.hotelslon.com
GRAND HOTEL UNION GARNI http://www.astralhotel.net
GRAND HOTEL UNION http://www.gh-union.si/

For the ones who would like enjoy the "Hippest Hostel in the World" we strongly recommend HOSTEL CELICA: http://www.hostelcelica.com/ , where the room and breakfast can be found for 25 EUR.

Hostel Celica has been transformed from a former prison into an artistically designed youth hostel. Celica (meaning cell in English) offers accommodation in 20 artistically renovated former cells with bars on the door and on the window. Each cell is unique and has been artistically designed by its own author or a group of artists.

You can find more information about accommodation and Ljubljana at the: http://www.ljubljana-tourism.si/

LOW COST ALTERNATIVE

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ENJOY THE HOSTEL IVANA CANKARJA OPTION http://www.dic.si, PLEASE SEND THE RESERVATION TO BOJANA SKRT bojana.skrt@siol.net The payments should be made directly to the hostel when checking in.
This dorm is also located in the center of Ljubljana, room and breakfast in two bed rooms is 18 EUR per person/night , in single 23 EUR (there are a very limited number of singles available).

Frans van Eemeren To Be Keynote Speaker

2007-09-08T10:55:00.000-04:00

Frans van Eemeren, perhaps the most noted argumentation scholar in the world, has agreed to be the keynote speaker in argumentation at the 2008 conference. Professor van Eemeren will also serve on the argumentation evaluation committee along with David Williams of Florida Atlantic University will also be on that committee.

Here is a description of Frans van Eemeren's background from http://home.medewerker.uva.nl/f.h.vaneemeren/

Frans van Eemeren is Professor in the Department of Speech Communication, Argumentation Theory and Rhetoric in the University of Amsterdam and director of the research programme 'Argumentation in discourse' of the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis. His research interests include argumentation theory and rhetorical and dialectical analysis of argumentative discourse.

Prof. Frans van Eemeren is internationally recognised researcher in the field of argumentation theory and rhetoric, as is visible by his numerous credits (keynotes, awards, guest professorships, translations into Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, etc.); Supervised 24 doctoral students who all graduated; Editor and member of editorial boards of a large number of international scientific journals (editor of Argumentation, the most important journal in the field) and book series (such as Kluwer Academic’s Argumentation Library); Chairman of theInternational Society for the Study of Argumentation (ISSA); Administrator and experienced programme manager who also has experience in leading and attending international educational programmes (among others DASA and University College Utrecht). Acting director of the Institute for Cultural Analysis and director of the research programme Argumentation in Discourse (ASCA). Currently he is also a Guest Professor at New York University.

His publications include Studies in Pragma-Dialectics (with Rob Grootendorst, eds., 1994); Fundamentals of Argumentation Theory. Handbook of Historical Backgrounds and Contemporary Developments (with Rob Grootendorst, A. Francisca Snoeck Henkemans and others, 1996); Logic and Argumentation (with Johan van Benthem, Rob Grootendorst and Frank Veltman, eds., 1996).

Find complete information about the conference at http://debate.uvm.edu/betterworld.htm

Malaysian Debate Trainer Excited About Conference

2007-09-06T10:03:00.000-04:00

<== Hafiedz (left) with Jake Meany of Vermont at the Asian Debate Institute in Korea

Iqbal Hafiedz of Malaysia has been an outstanding debater (top speaker at Asians) as well as an excellent debate trainer. He is excited about the conference.

He writes:

I actually was just been appointed to be the head of our newly created debate unit in my university (Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia). Trying to settle in my new job and a first job as well is quite stressful. I saw your posting regarding the international conference you'll be holding in April and this looks like an excellent opportunity for me to start my career as an educator and the time is ripe for me to start my research into some debate related study.

I am extremely exited about this but I am inexperienced and would probably need some support and guidance. Omar has promised to help me with the paper I am planning to write.

I will be submitting my abstract by the deadline, but since this is my first time, I would like to attend the conference even if my paper doesn't make the cut.