Hahn,+Taylor

Taylor Hahn University of Pittsburgh Judging Philosophy 2011-12 Years judging: 5

My interest in the debate community (and why you should care): My academic interests have developed to focus on the better norms and practices of collegiate policy debate. This means that I am interested in your arguments, but I also care deeply for how various styles of argumentation affect the activity and our collective capacity for social engagement. What does this mean? 1.) I like good theory debate. This also means that I probably hate bad theory debate more than most judges because I consider shallow discussion to be failed potential. 2.) Your debate (all debate) is a performance. Don’t be afraid to play with your role. You don’t have to step outside of our argumentative comfort zones to debate in front of me, but don’t be afraid to engage in new styles. This message is for debaters that are usually policy-centric as much as it is for kritik or performance-centric debaters. 3.) Norms and practices in the community are established through our individual discourse. Don’t be afraid to defend good debate / attack bad debate if you believe it manifests in the round.

My default style of judging: Unless told otherwise I will view the round as a policy maker. That being said, I am very much open to alternative modes of analysis. In the world of a policy maker, I will judge the round based on the question of whether or not the plan is better than the status quo or a competing policy option. Any level of speed is fine, but please be clear. An articulate semi-fast speaker is far better than a speed superstar that I can’t understand. CX is binding and I flow it when necessary. I notice that in the past year I have rarely called for cards. If one team does a far better job articulating warrants, I do not find it acceptable to discover the warrants of the opposing team on their behalf.

Topicality/Theory: Under the policy making framework, I will also consider topicality a prima facie voting issue. If I should be considering topicality, fairness, etc. as undesirable (or genocidal) you will need to spend a good amount of time explaining why. In regard to theory, in-round abuse is not necessary to win as long as the potential abuse is clearly explained. Theoretical arguments should be as specific as possible in regard to both the argument and its relation to the topic.

Counterplans: I’m fine with international/alternate actor CPs, but I’m open to theoretical objections against either. Fiat abuse is entirely open to debate, but I do believe that fiat is necessary and reciprocal. I am open to conditional/dispo positions, but enjoy and can be persuaded by theory arguments against either. The acceptability of multiple conditional advocacies is always open to discussion.

Kritiks: I enjoy well-constructed kritiks, but clear articulation of the core philosophy is essential. I was a policy debater and coach policy teams, so you will need to catch me up on your literature. Kritiks should clearly explain what they mean, how they apply specifically to the plan, and why I should vote for them. Alternatives should be clearly defined (this is where most kritiks fail). Role of the ballot arguments are fine, but I need to know how they relate to debate as an academic activity. An important caveat - I realized recently that I have never voted on the argument that there is 'no value to life.' I doubt that I could ever find this argument persuasive.

Non-traditional debate/projects/performance: What you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and what it means in context of the ballot is essential. If you are promoting a project and are arguing that the ballot is a mechanism for change, I will need to know why and how this change might operate. I am persuaded by teams that simultaneously defend their own framework while engaging in the other teams’. Engagement is the key word here.

DA/Case: Most good debates have an intense discussion on the case advantages and solvency. Case debate has been heavily under-utilized in the past despite being one of the most persuasive avenues for the neg. DA flows are generally more persuasive when cards and warrants are extrapolated rather than giving me tagline extension or a card throw down. Storytelling will win or lose you the round here.

Speaker points: Have fun and enjoy yourself. It will help all of us.