David Zarefsky
Encyclopedia
David Zarefsky is an American communication scholar with research specialties in rhetoric
al history and criticism. He is professor emeritus at Northwestern University
. He is a past president of the National Communication Association
(USA) and the Rhetoric Society of America
. Among his publications are six books and over 70 scholarly articles concerned with American public discourse
(both historical and contemporary), argumentation
, rhetorical criticism
, and public speaking
are books on the Lincoln-Douglas debates
and on the rhetoric of the war on poverty
during the Johnson administration. His lectures on argumentation and rhetoric can be heard in a course for The Teaching Company
.
individual top speaker honors in 1968. While pursuing a major from Northwestern's Department of Communication Studies, Zarefsky also took courses in English, Political Science, and History.
Following completion of his B.S., Zarefsky stayed at Northwestern to pursue advanced degrees in Speech and coach the debate team. During this period, his teams were regularly recognized as among the best in the nation, with the pair of Eliot Mincberg
and Ron Marmer winning the 1973 NDT. As a debate coach and judge, Zarefsky earned a reputation for his systematic and thorough approach. For example, he "sat for a full half hour reviewing his flow chart" before rendering the pivotal decision in the 1969 NDT semifinal round between Harvard University and Loyola University. He made up for difficulty in spotting differences in the makes and models of cars by scanning university parking lots to find the license plate of his team's vehicle at any given tournament.
Zarefsky pioneered a policy debate "judging paradigm" called "hypothesis testing," which spells out how debate judges can draw metaphorically upon the scientific method's process of weighing scientific conjectures and refutations. Upon his retirement as Director of Forensics in 1975, Zarefsky was voted by his peers as the second best coach of the decade during the 1970s.
Zarefsky has taught courses in the study of American public discourse, with a special focus on the pre-Civil War years and on the pre-Civil War years and on the 1960s. He also has taught courses in argumentation theory, persuasion, and public speaking. On thirteen different occasions he was named to the student government's honor roll for distinguished teaching. Zarefsky also has two video courses, "Abraham Lincoln: In His Own Words" and "Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning," marketed by The Teaching Company.
Some of Zarefsky's more notable students include: University of California, Irvine
Founding Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky
; United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
federal appellate judge Merrick B. Garland
; and former White House Chief of Staff
and current Mayor of Chicago
Rahm Emanuel
. Asked about Emanuel's reputation for ruthlessness, Zarefsky was quoted in The Daily Northwestern as saying, "I think it can be applied to him in a positive sense because he's just very determined to achieve his goals."
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
al history and criticism. He is professor emeritus at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. He is a past president of the National Communication Association
National Communication Association
The National Communication Association is the largest national organization to promote communication scholarship and education. A non-profit organization that has over 8,000 educators, practitioners, and students who work and reside in every state and more than 20 countries...
(USA) and the Rhetoric Society of America
Rhetoric Society of America
The Rhetoric Society of America is an academic organization for the study of rhetoric.The Society's constitution calls for it to research rhetoric in all relevant fields of study, identify new areas of study, encourage experimentation in teaching rhetoric, facilitate professional cooperation and...
. Among his publications are six books and over 70 scholarly articles concerned with American public discourse
Discourse
Discourse generally refers to "written or spoken communication". The following are three more specific definitions:...
(both historical and contemporary), argumentation
Argumentation theory
Argumentation theory, or argumentation, is the interdisciplinary study of how humans should, can, and do reach conclusions through logical reasoning, that is, claims based, soundly or not, on premises. It includes the arts and sciences of civil debate, dialogue, conversation, and persuasion...
, rhetorical criticism
Rhetorical criticism
Rhetorical criticism is an approach to criticism that is at least as old as Plato. In the Phaedrus, Plato has Socrates examine a speech by Lysias to determine whether or not it is praiseworthy...
, and public speaking
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
are books on the Lincoln-Douglas debates
Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858
The Lincoln–Douglas Debates of 1858 were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for Senate in Illinois, and the incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. At the time, U.S. senators were elected by state legislatures; thus Lincoln and...
and on the rhetoric of the war on poverty
War on Poverty
The War on Poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national poverty rate of around nineteen percent...
during the Johnson administration. His lectures on argumentation and rhetoric can be heard in a course for The Teaching Company
The Teaching Company
The Teaching Company is a Chantilly, Virginia company that produces recordings of lectures by university professors and high-school teachers. It sells the courses in CD, DVD, MPEG-4, and MP3 formats.- Background :...
.
Early Education and Forensics Career
As a member of the forensics team at Bellaire High School in Houston, Texas, Zarefsky won first place in the National Forensic League's Oratory competition in 1964. His brother, also a Bellaire and Northwestern alum, is U.S. Magistrate Judge Ralph Zarefksy. . He enrolled as an undergraduate student at Northwestern University later that year, beginning a highly successful career as an intercollegiate debate competitor. Zarefsky earned National Debate Tournament (NDT)National Debate Tournament
The National Debate Tournament is one of the national championships for collegiate policy debate in the United States. The tournament is sponsored by the American Forensic Association with the Ford Motor Company Fund.-History of the NDT:...
individual top speaker honors in 1968. While pursuing a major from Northwestern's Department of Communication Studies, Zarefsky also took courses in English, Political Science, and History.
Following completion of his B.S., Zarefsky stayed at Northwestern to pursue advanced degrees in Speech and coach the debate team. During this period, his teams were regularly recognized as among the best in the nation, with the pair of Eliot Mincberg
Elliot Mincberg
Elliot Mincberg is Chief Counsel for Oversight and Investigations, House Judiciary Committee.Mincberg grew up on the south side of Chicago, Illinois and received his BA degree from Northwestern University in 1974, where he was active on the debate team, and his JD from Harvard Law School in...
and Ron Marmer winning the 1973 NDT. As a debate coach and judge, Zarefsky earned a reputation for his systematic and thorough approach. For example, he "sat for a full half hour reviewing his flow chart" before rendering the pivotal decision in the 1969 NDT semifinal round between Harvard University and Loyola University. He made up for difficulty in spotting differences in the makes and models of cars by scanning university parking lots to find the license plate of his team's vehicle at any given tournament.
Zarefsky pioneered a policy debate "judging paradigm" called "hypothesis testing," which spells out how debate judges can draw metaphorically upon the scientific method's process of weighing scientific conjectures and refutations. Upon his retirement as Director of Forensics in 1975, Zarefsky was voted by his peers as the second best coach of the decade during the 1970s.
Research and Teaching
Two of Zarefsky's books have won the Winans-Wichelns Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric Rhetoric and Public Address, an award of the National Communication Association.Zarefsky has taught courses in the study of American public discourse, with a special focus on the pre-Civil War years and on the pre-Civil War years and on the 1960s. He also has taught courses in argumentation theory, persuasion, and public speaking. On thirteen different occasions he was named to the student government's honor roll for distinguished teaching. Zarefsky also has two video courses, "Abraham Lincoln: In His Own Words" and "Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning," marketed by The Teaching Company.
Some of Zarefsky's more notable students include: University of California, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
Founding Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky
Erwin Chemerinsky
Erwin Chemerinsky is an American lawyer and law professor. He is a prominent scholar in United States constitutional law and federal civil procedure...
; United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit known informally as the D.C. Circuit, is the federal appellate court for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Appeals from the D.C. Circuit, as with all the U.S. Courts of Appeals, are heard on a...
federal appellate judge Merrick B. Garland
Merrick B. Garland
Merrick Brian Garland is an American federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...
; and former White House Chief of Staff
White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...
and current Mayor of Chicago
Mayor of Chicago
The Mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of Chicago, Illinois, the third largest city in the United States. He or she is charged with directing city departments and agencies, and with the advice and consent of the Chicago City Council, appoints department and agency leaders.-Appointment...
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel is an American politician and the 55th and current Mayor of Chicago. He was formerly White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama...
. Asked about Emanuel's reputation for ruthlessness, Zarefsky was quoted in The Daily Northwestern as saying, "I think it can be applied to him in a positive sense because he's just very determined to achieve his goals."
Administrative Leadership
Zarefsky joined the Northwestern faculty in 1968 and rose through the ranks, achieving promotion to Professor in 1982. He also has held a series of administrative appointments, including Chair of the Department of Communication Studies (1975-83), Associate Dean of the School of Speech (1983-88), and from 1988-2000, Dean of the School of Speech (later renamed the School of Communication), a 12-year tenure notable for its length among Northwestern deans serving during that era. In 1993 Zarefsky served as president of the National Communication Association and in 2001 he received its Distinguished Service Award. He held the presidency of the Central States Communication in 1986-87. In 2006-2007 he served as president of the Rhetoric Society of America. He has held numerous leadership positions in the American Forensic Association, whose journal he edited from 1977-80. From 1984-89 he was the Director of the National Debate Tournament.Recent Publications
- “Making the Case for War: Colin Powell at the United Nations,” Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 10 (Summer 2007), 275-302.
- “Strategic Maneuvering through Persuasive Definitions: Implications for Dialectic and Rhetoric,” Argumentation, 20 (2006), 399-416.
- “The U.S. and the World: Unexpressed Premises of American Exceptionalism,” Proceedings of the Sixth Conference of the International Society for the Study of Argumentation (Amsterdam: Sic Sat, 2007), 1567-1571.
- Sizing Up Rhetoric, co-edited with Elizabeth Benacka (Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, 2008).
- Public Speaking: Strategies for Success, 5th ed. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2008).