Register NowCome put an academic feather in your “cap” at BPS’ Critical Argumentation and Praxis Think-Tanks! These one-week sessions will feature 3 hours a day working through a specific geographic region, a particular philosophical concept, and an academic skill. All the sessions will develop students' capacity for understanding contemporary events, engaging in critical thinking, conducting research skills, and perfecting their confidence in public speaking! Each week will offer students a distinct focus on new topics, theories, and skills.
This is a one-week session. A hearty lunch offered by Sage Dining Services is an add-on option for this camp.
Weeks 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (incoming 5th - 9th graders)
Weekly Descriptions
Week 2: The Greeks - Democracy and Oratory
"Citizens Unleashed: Speak Like a Greek!"
Week 3: The Romans - Law and Debate
Title: "Roman Rhetoric: Debating the Past into the Present"
Week 4: The Middle East - Religion and Extemporaneous Speaking
Title: "Voices of the Bazaar: Stories, Faith, and Spontaneity"
Week 5: The Americas - Identity and Self
Title: "Roots & Reflections: Embrace Your American Mosaic"
Week 6: Africa - Colonialism and Public Speaking
Title: "Echoes of Ubuntu: Decolonizing Minds, Amplifying Voices"
About the InstructorDr. Kevin Douglas Kuswa is the co-author of
Argumentation and Critical Thought: An Introduction to Advocacy, Reasoning, and Rhetorical Analysis, a textbook used in debate classes at the collegiate level. Dr. Kuswa’s students have been successful at every stage, winning virtually every debate tournament in the country on the high school and collegiate levels. He has been teaching and coaching debate for 26 years at institutions such as the University of Richmond, California State University, the University of South Carolina, and Dartmouth College (where his team won the National Debate Championship). Dr. Kuswa himself won the National Championship debating for Georgetown University where he received a degree from the School of Foreign Service. Earning his PhD in Communication Studies with a specialty in Rhetoric from the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Kuswa has presented his scholarship at numerous conferences and published pieces in the top journals in the field such as the Quarterly Journal of Speech, Rhetoric and Public Affairs, and Argumentation and Advocacy.
Dr. Kuswa teaches Ethics, World Religion, Honors International Relations, Anthropology, and Sociology during the year in addition to his role as the Debate Coach. Dr. Kuswa will be joined by other BPS faculty as well as former and current BPS debaters to provide a small student to faculty ratio and expertise from multiple perspectives.