Zoom debate watch party with Northwestern students, presidential rhetoric expert

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern University undergraduate students will take part in a presidential debate watch party on Zoom Tuesday night with leading expert on presidential rhetoric and debate Professor David Zarefsky.

Media interested in attending must RSVP to Erin Karter at erin.karter@northwestern.edu by Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 5:30 p.m. CT. Zarefsky is available to speak with media following the debate. Interview requests should also be sent to Karter.

One of the country’s leading experts on presidential rhetoric and debates, Zarefsky will join student members from Northwestern’s Communications Residential College, Public Affairs Residential College and International Studies Residential College to watch and discuss what experts are calling the most important political event of the 2020 presidential campaign.

Zarefsky has been teaching at Northwestern for nearly a half century; he served as dean of the School of Communication for 12 years, and he is the author of 13 books, including the widely acclaimed “Lincoln, Douglas, and Slavery: In the Crucible of Public Debate.”

Quote from Professor Zarefsky

“The debates this year will be more important campaign events than usual, because the pandemic has interfered with so many other campaigning opportunities. That said, I expect them to be more like performances than debates, without much argument in any depth but with a lot of hostility, personal attacks and competition to control the time.”

The schedule is (Central Time Zone):

7:40 p.m. -- Professor Zarefsky will present an historical overview of presidential debates

8 to 9:30 p.m. -- Everyone will watch the debate, either streaming on the Zoom site or on an in-home device   

9:30 p.m. -- Return to the Zoom site for a discussion and analysis led by Zarefsky