- 1. What is the NFA?
- The NFA is an intercollegiate forensics association devoted to individual events and Lincoln-Douglas debate. We are affiliated with the American Forensics Association, an umbrella group of organizations interested in the promotion of intercollegiate speech and debate.
- 2. So do you have anything to do with science or the study of dead bodies?
- No, although both do share some origins. As Golden, Berquist and Coleman note, "Legal speaking in the law courts was referred to as forensic discourse" (Rhetoric of Western Thought, 3rd edition, Kendall/Hunt, 1983, p. 39). Aristotle's Rhetoric (book 1, 3.5) describes three forms of speaking. One is forensics, for which Aristotle notes: "The end of the forensic speaker is the just or the unjust." In book 1, 3.4, Aristotle defines forensic speaking as "either accusatory or defensive, for litigants must necessarily either accuse or defend." (Both quotations come from the J.H. Freese translation, Harvard University Press, 1926).
So how do people tend to look at both of forms of forensics as the same? Golden, Berquist and Coleman suggest it is because forensic discourse
"deals with happenings in the past as in the case of alleged criminality" (ibid, p. 60).
- 3. Why should I join the NFA?
- Membership provides three distinct benefits. First, it allows a school to enter the national tournament in April. Also, for schools that participate in NFA-LD, membership provides the only way to vote for the topic areas and resolutions. Finally, it promotes the activities of the organization, which include intercollegiate tournaments, scholarly discussions at the National Communication Association, and more.
You can join the NFA, as well as other forensics organizations, through the American Forensics Association. They have electronic and paper copies of the registration form on their website.
- 4. What are the time limits for NFA Lincoln-Douglas?
- You can find that information on the NFA-LD page.
- 5. How do I get invitations for tournaments? Where do I find a tournament calendar?
- The tournament calendar is now on the website (Adobe Acrobat required) - click the tournaments link above.
Also, if you become a member of NFA, you'll be added automatically to the mailing list; many schools purchase mailing labels and so you'll
be added to their mailing lists automatically. Otherwise, you may wish to subscribe to the IE-L. Often, there will be tournament announcements there. You might also consider becoming a member of the American Forensics Association; they also list tournaments as well as sponsor a national tournament.
- 6. What is IE-L? How do I subscribe?
- IE-L is a discussion list for people interested in intercollegiate individual events and Lincoln-Douglas debate. It is not officially
sanctioned by NFA or AFA. The list is moderated, and it is owned by Cornell University. To subscribe, send a message to: ie-l-request at cornell.edu. The message body should read: "join". Don't
use the quotation marks when typing, and use plain text to send your message.
- 7. What are the names of some college programs?
- Dr. Jim Hanson had started the list, and then moved the list to the IDEA (International Debate Education Association) website.
- 8. What are the events? How do I do them?
- You'll find the event descriptions at:
- 9. How do I qualify for Nationals? When is the last date?
- A complete description of qualifying rules is available at: http://www.nationalforensics.org/qual.html
Typically the last qualifying date is the 3rd Saturday of March; however, the qualifying rules page listed above will have the specific date for
each year.
- 10. Can you find me a good persuasion/interp program... ?
- That's really something that you're better off finding yourself. Besides, the webmaster is a coach of a large program and has enough difficulty helping his students find good material. :) If you want a good reference text, you might want to consider M'Liss Hindman's Intercollegiate Forensics; the book gives ideas of where to find material and how to do each event. Kendall/Hunt is the publisher, and the ISBN is 0-8403-8873-X.
- 11. How do I start a forensics program?
- This is a wonderful question -- we believe that every student should have the ability to participate in forensics. If you're a student, you should try to talk to your Student Government and faculty members in departments such as Communication, Speech, English, and so on. If you're
a faculty member, you should not only secure funding from within your own insitutition, but also go to state, regional and national conferences
-- you'll find colleagues ready and willing to help. In either case, let Larry
Schnoor, our President, know; often, he'll have additional names and contacts.
- 12. Where can I see examples of speeches?
- Due to copyright restrictions, interp events are generally not available. NFA has sold videotapes in the past; the webmaster will again put up a link to the videotape page once an inventory has been done of what is currently available.
- 13. How can I get access to communication research in forensics?
- Dr. Dan Cronn-Mills, the Director of Forensics at Minnesota State-Mankato
has created an Online Index to Forensics Research. The web address is: http://fmp.mnsu.edu/forensicindex/online_index.htm
- 14. How do I find out information about the NIET tournament?
- The NIET is sponsored by the American Forensics Association. The website for the NIET is: http://www.afa-niet.org
- 15. Are there other discussion lists for forensics?
- Currently, there are the following lists. Note that these are not officially sanctioned by the NFA:
- District 3: AR, KS, LA, MO, OK, TX (Sean Stewart, University of Texas - Listowner)
- 1.) Send a mail message to the following address - listproc@lists.cc.utexas.edu
- 2.) In the body of the message, put the following:
subscribe district 3 your name
(For example: subscribe district 3 Joe Forensicator)
- 3.) You should receive a confirmation letter stating that you are subscribed to the list.
- 4.) You will use the following address to send messages to the list-- district3@lists.cc.utexas.edu
- District 4: IA, MN, NE, ND, SD, WI (Michael Dreher, Bethel University - listowner)
- Go to: http://lists.bethel.edu/mailman/listinfo/d4forensics/ to subscribe.
- 16. Where can I found out about jobs in forensics (college level)?
- Dr. Dan Cronn-Mills at Minnesota State-Mankato has set up a listing of jobs at the NIET website:
http://www.afa-niet.org/positions/positions.html
