Harry Potter & Philosophy - Debates

Schedule

A significant part of our class (and of your grade) will be the use of a fairly formal debate structure. The class will be divided into four teams by Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house team will have 7 or 8 members, four of whom will compete in a given debate round (though all members will have a turn debating).

There will be five debates in all, beginning with two rounds: Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff. Housess not competing in a particular round will judge who won the debate. The two winning Houses will then compete against each other, as will the two losing teams. The fifth round will involve the two winners from the prior rounds.

Here's the schedule:

February 6: First Debate Round - Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw

February 20: Second Debate Round - Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff

March 19: Third Debate Round - winners of First Round debate

April 2: Fourth Debate Round - winners of Second Round debate

April 16: Fifth Debate Round - a run-off between the winners of the Third and Fourth Rounds

Topics

Each pair of Houses will be responsible to choose a thesis for debate. The thesis will be have to be a matter of philosophical importance in the interpretation of the Harry Potter series (e.g., whether the books are more liberal or libertarian; whether ambition is a virtue; whether Dumbledore's sexual orientation is significant to his character). Theses, of course, will have to be worded as positive affirmations (e.g., the Harry Potter series supports a libertarian ideal with regard to the role of civil government).

Which House will take the affirmative position and which will take the negative will be determined the prior week by a coin toss. Members of the teams will then have to decide upon their roles and prepare their presentations for debate.

Format

The debate format will resemble the format used in many high school debate teams, though not following those rules precisely. A debate will run, therefore, in the following way (whee "1A" means "first person from team A," etc.):

3 minutes will be alotted for cross-examination after the first four stages. Cross-examination will be carried out by a member of the opposing House, so long as it is not the member schedules to go next.

Grades will be based upon the clarity and effectiveness of arguments, as well as organization and succinctness of thought. Though rhetorical effectiveness as a debater will not be ignored, your grade is less focused upon your rhetorical abilities.