Revised by Gordon Mitchell and Damien Pfister - from Wake Forest BFTF 2006

INTRODUCTION

Stacy Schiff’s book, A Great Improvisation (Henry Holt, 2005), explains in rich detail how Benjamin Franklin’s political artistry extended to the realm of international diplomacy. Chronicling Franklin’s seven years spent in Paris as a special envoy of the fledgling Continental Congress, Schiff shows how Franklin laid the foundation for a constructive relationship between America and France by blending ingeniously forms of communication ranging from interpersonal banter in informal settings to clever negotiating through official channels. By and large, America spoke to France with one voice through Franklin. But today the rapid development and spread of communication technology enables a multitude of citizens to engage in international dialogue with a wide variety of interlocutors around the globe.

The challenge for the next generation will be to invent forms of dialogue that turn these opportunities into meaningful episodes of communicative interaction that bridge differences, build understanding, and help to make a better world. This workshop is designed to provide students with concrete experience useful for meeting that challenge. Students will be organized into small groups that will record public argument performances that: 1) thematize important topics that students feel warrants fuller public discussion; 2) blend formal debate elements with role-play performances; and 3) spur follow-on dialogue across interpersonal and international boundaries.

FOCAL POINT: CNN - YOUTUBE DEBATES

While the Ben Franklin student performances will be designed to reach broad online audiences, they will also be amplified as contributions to the ongoing dialogue surrounding the U.S. presidential campaign. CNN and YouTube are joining forces to host Democratic and Republican primary debates this summer and Fall (see http://www.youtube.com/debates for more). Individuals from all over the world are uploading questions that CNN’s political team will review, picking the most “creative and compelling” videos to show at the debate on July 23 in Charleston, SC. The same process will be utilized for the Republican debates on September 17th.

The Ben Franklin Transatlantic Fellows have a unique opportunity to participate in this process by aiming to produce three inter-related videos per lab group that intersect with the CNN/YouTube process. 

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  • A 30-second question directed toward one or more presidential candidate.
  • An approximately 10 minute long argumentative performance that serves as a “campaign spot” for the group’s question, designed to convince others that the question is important, and that the question taps into a live controversy featuring different points of view.
  • Follow-on guest commentary that reacts to the student work.