Choosing a Topic
Choose a debatable topic with controversy in the area of either art & design or current social/political events. Be sure to choose a topic that will interest you and your classmates, pertain to something in your and their lives, and provide enough controversy to sustain a good class discussion. If you choose a topic people aren't interested in, there won't be much discussion; if you choose a topic nobody knows anything about, people won't have a knowledge foundation from which to discuss the issue; if you choose a topic that isn't very controversial; a debate would really only last a few seconds. Use some judgment here...

Finding an Article
In order to provide some background information on your topic to the class, you will be assigning an article for your classmates to read before the day of your discussion. Make sure you choose an article that discusses the entire issue you want to debate in class, describing all aspects and details of that issue, so your classmates will have a complete understanding of the debate surrounding the issue. The article should probably be at least five pages long, and if you don't want your classmates to hate you, it should probably be shorter than twenty.

Creating a Quiz
We all know that many people try to skid by in class and pretend they did the reading. To prevent this from happening, you will also be creating a short quiz/worksheet, with a minimum of ten challenging questions (NO true/false, matching, or multiple choice), to keep people in check. You will also provide me with an answer key.

List of Discussion Questions
To generate a stimulating and academic discussion about your topic, you will need to prepare at least a dozen substantive questions (nothing that can be answered with less than a single sentence; questions that require viewpoints) to start off class discussion. You do not need to end up asking all of the questions in class; in fact, a good discussion will probably stray from the questions list once people begin debating the issue at hand. These will also be submitted on the day you present.

Topics and Discussion Order
There are no dates listed for a reason: more than likely, we will be discussing at random. The order below will stay the same, but we may skip a day here and there, or a particular group may be absent on a given day. For these reasons, be prepared to present (have your materials finished and with you in class) if your topic is within two of the current discussion. For example, if we are discussing topic #3, and your topic is #5, be ready to present. If need be, you may have to present a day or two early.