Abstract
This article argues that intercollegiate forensics should be treated as an integral curricular component within small college speech communication programs rather than as an expendable extracurricular activity. Drawing on comparisons to laboratory requirements in the natural sciences, the discussion contends that forensics provides an essential laboratory experience through which students learn to select, analyze, and organize material in pursuit of varied rhetorical strategies. The article explains how tournament participation exposes students to diverse critical perspectives, motivates higher levels of performance, and develops confidence, poise, and credibility. It assigns primary responsibility for curricular integration to the director of forensics, who must articulate individualized educational objectives, guide students into events aligned with their developmental needs, and emphasize rhetorical and artistic excellence over competitive outcomes. The analysis further outlines the role of department chairs and faculty in promoting forensics as an educational endeavor, recognizing student involvement, and reinforcing conceptual connections between tournament activities and classroom instruction. It concludes that sustained collaboration among directors, administrators, and faculty is necessary to reposition forensics as a meaningful element of the departmental curriculum and to ensure that its pedagogical value is understood and supported within the institution.
Recommended Citation
VerLinden, Jay G.
(1985)
"Integrating Forensics Into the Curriculum,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 54, Article 28.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol54/iss1/28
