Policy Debate & Public Speaking
Building Skills to Boost Success
This track uses a debate format to help you develop skills that will also enhance your academic work. We will work within the format of policy debate, a new offering of Notre Dame’s debate program. Because policy debates present detailed arguments about one topic, they require strong research and writing skills—skills that will benefit you in debate and in your academic work.
The first half of the program provides opportunities to develop skill in public speaking through short informative and persuasive speeches and interviews. A visit to the College Football Hall of Fame provides material for your talks. We will also watch clips from film and television programs that illustrate points raised in class. To help you develop arguments for your debates, we will work with Notre Dame’s extensive library holdings. You will learn how to use a college library and work with electronic databases and specialized journals. After you’ve gathered evidence for your topics, Notre Dame faculty and graduate students will help you develop briefs, hone your arguments, and give you intensive, one-on-one instruction in making presentations.
For information on the availability of scholarships to underwrite part of the tuition for this track, please contact the Office of Pre-College Programs at (574) 631-0990.
Academic Director
Susan Ohmer (Ph.D., New York University)
The William T. and Helen Kuhn Carey Associate Professor in the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre, Dr. Ohmer serves as Director of Debate at Notre Dame. She teaches courses on film and television history, digital culture, and media and politics. Her book George Gallup in Hollywood, was published by Columbia University Press in October 2006, and she is currently completing a book on Walt Disney.
University of Notre Dame