Curriculum Overview

One of our primary goals at SWSD@ASU is to create a stronger, more inclusive forensics community. We want to provide you not only with the skills offered by your particular choice of events, but also with the skills to take your knowledge back and share it with your teammates. To these ends, we have created a leadership curriculum at SWSD@ASU that is integrated into each camp’s schedule. Each day we have a leadership lecture delivered by a member of our senior coaching staff, or prominent community members, businesspeople, and politicians. We believe that our leadership development program offers something unique to SWSD@ASU, and that it is critical information to building a broader sense of community in forensics. The topics cover everything from effective time management to issues of inclusivity in the activity. These lectures have become a crucial part of making SWSD@ASU a community leader in forensics.

Our two-week intensive Lincoln Douglas camp is designed to help you level-up from wherever you find yourself. Our primary focus is to help you get comfortable with all aspects of LD debate, from traditional casework to more progressive debate techniques. We also believe that the best way to learn debate is by debating, so we offer a huge number of practice rounds, drills, and activities that are designed to encourage you to debate and to think like a debater. Our curriculum covers everything from research, case-writing, and evidence comparison, to policy-style arguments, debate theory, and kritiks. We are confident that we can help you to be a better debater, and a strong team leader.

LD Camp is 2 weeks: July 1st – 15th

Policy debate, the oldest form of debate, is a partner activity in which teams of two learn to both affirm and negate a year-long resolution. Teamwork, extensive research, and depth of argument are hallmarks of this event. Campers will learn the relevant context surrounding the topic, including history and current events, learn about argument construction and research, and practice the skills necessary to succeed.

Policy Camp is 2 weeks: July 1st – 15th

SWSD@ASU’s two week long PF curriculum is designed to enhance students’ research, speaking, and partnership/teamwork skills. Public Forum is a partnered debate event centering relevant current events in government, public policy, and law. Due to the size and variance in experience levels our lab brings in each year, we cater to all students, breaking them into layered groups. Ranging from the foundational and basic aspects of PF to advanced framework and building case narratives, our lab emphasizes several topics that will help PF debaters grow and develop. Through a combination of in-depth lectures and hands-on, interactive drills and activities, PF students learn how to research effectively, write cases cogently, and speak confidently, leaving with skills and knowledge pivotal to debate success.

PF Camp is 2 Weeks: July 1st – 15th

This year we are making a change to our Speech curriculum at SWSD – We will be offering a two week session with the option for “Major” and “Minor” tracks. We will offer the same slate of events that everyone is used to seeing: Interp events, Platform Speaking events, and Extemp, but students will be able to spend two weeks working on getting their favorite speech events ready for competition season, with help from an incredible staff of award-winning educators.

Speech Events are 2 Weeks: July 1st – 15th