USC College Debate Series

One of the advantages of attending a residential university is the opportunity that it affords to join the community of scholars and to engage pressing questions and contemporary issues.  Here at USC, the College Debates Series promotes this intellectual tradition by inviting knowledgeable and diverse speakers to address a common theme and to initiate a discourse that will carry over from the auditorium to the residence hall and classroom.  In addition, as mentioned above, the USC College Debates Series provides the topic for the in-class essay written as part of the final course portfolio.

This year, there will be two different series of lectures, one for Social Issues affiliations that meet MWF and another for those meeting TTH.  Dates for the lectures, together with background information on the speakers, will be posted early each semester on the Writing Program website.  Writing 140 instructors will distribute tickets to students immediately prior to each event.

March 20, 21
New Media & Youth
a Panel Discussion with Justin Hall, Danah Boyd, & Sasha Constanza-Chock
Moderated by Cory Doctorow
7pm Bovard Auditorium

Justin Hall has been on the front lines of the World Wide Web since its early days, starting Justin's Links from the Underground in January 1994 and eventually writing 4,800 pages of hypertextual personal journalism before stepping back in January 2005.

Danah Boyd is an expert on youth culture, digital publics, identity negotiation, ethnography, blogging and social media including MySpace and Friendster.

Sasha Constanza-Chock is a researcher and media activist who works on the political economy of communication, international policy, tactical media production and transnational movement for communication rights.

Cory Doctorow writes for the blog BoingBoing: A Directory of Wonderful Things.

For more information, see the USC College Debate Series site.