Performance Debate! If I can’t dance I don’t want to be part of your revolution. - Emma Goldman

What is Performance Debate? Challenge to the Form and/or Content of Normative Policy Debate. BETTER QUESTION: WHAT IS NORMATIVE POLICY DEBATE? –Highly Research Based (Objective, Expert) –Minutia (Flowing, Detailed organization, Dropped arguments) –3 rd Party Oriented: Judge –Competitive –Constrained: Aff, Neg, Resolution –Refutation

Primarily 2 camps Camp: Modernism! - Identity Politics - Cap Bad Judge - Existentialism Is there a material reality? Yes. Is there such thing as Truth? Yes/No little truths Camp: PoMo - Nihilists (Not in Name) - Deconstructionists - Queers Is there a Material reality? No. Language Is there such thing as Truth? No – Violent

The Performance Motto DO NOT DO WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE

In the Beginning… Narrative - Fiction - Telling Experience - Showing Experience What we learned? Competition makes debate a judgment on the self. When the personal is political, debate can be painful for everyone.

Fort Hays Taking on the Grid! –What we learned? The flow isn’t as important as we think. Functionally answered arguments count. Minutia is silly. Topicality is Genocide –What we learned? Kritiking T – We make violent structures in our language. We discipline and do violence to ourselves and others. Debate rounds matter to violence in the world.

Identity Politics Treaties/CEDAW/Topic Committee – –What we learned: It’s our resolution & our community. Language Barriers – -What we learned: We overlook some of the simplest things. Increasing Meaningful Participation –What we learned: There’s a place for you too! –Towson: Take a tough line.

The Medium is the Message Poetry –Human Agency What we learned? Roland Bleiker taught us we can dissent even in realms that we don’t expect. Hip Hop –Louisville: Identity, Purpose, Method What we learned? Simplicity & the organic intellectual – challenging evidence –Long Beach: Hip Hop as Culture What we learned? Doing is better than saying

Deference Nihilism ala Bard –What we learned: Nihilists often don’t call themselves nihilists or defend Nietzsche WGLF: –What we learned: Must differentiate ass clowns from serious argument. There was always an argument amongst the jokes & the jokes were also a K. Idaho State –What we learned: Make your argument early and know they will K that shit!