The AFA Outstanding Dissertation or Thesis Award recognizes the best dissertation or thesis in the theory and practice of argumentation and forensics completed in the previous calendar year.  The candidate must be a member of AFA.  To nominate a thesis or dissertation, a letter of nomination detailing the significance of the dissertation or thesis (usually from the project advisor), a copy of the table of contents, and a representative chapter of the completed study.  Electronic submissions are preferred.

Send nominations and submissions to:

Dr. Ben Voth
Southern Methodist University
bvoth@smu.edu

2020     Jason Jordan, University of Utah, Rhetorics of Rurality: A Semester with the Anson High School Debate Team. Co-Advisors: Drs. Ann Darling and Michael Middleton.

2013     Brett Bricker, University of Kansas.  Doctoral dissertation: “Rhetorical Investigation of Public Disbelief in Climate Science.” Advisors: Drs. Donn Parson and Scott Harris.

2012     Ryan McGeough, Louisiana State University. Dissertation: The American Counter-monumental Tradition Renegotiating Public Memory and the Evolution of American Sacred Space. Advisor: Dr. Andrew King.

2009     Crystal Lane Swift, This House Would Ethically Engage a Critical Examination of Competition and Coach Leadership in NPDA Debate. Advisor: Andrew King.

2008     Chad Kuyper (Minnesota State University-Mankato), Inroads to Outrounds: An Intercultural Approach to Newcomer Integration into the Macro-Culture of Forensics. MFA Thesis, Advisor: Dr. Leah White.

2007     James P. Dimock, “The Place of Parliamentary Debate in a Pedagogy of Argumentation,” MFA Thesis, Department of Speech Communication, Minnesota State University-Mankato. Advisor: Leah White.

2004     Doyle Srader, “The Nuremberg doctors’ trial: Framing collective memory through argument.” Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Georgia, 2003. Advisor: Ed Panetta.

Doyle Srader