The Sumerian disputation or Sumerian debate is a topical short story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 created in the middle to late 3rd millennium BC. Seven major debates are known, with specific titles.

The list of the majority of the known debates is as follows (from Kramer):

(alphabetical)

1. –Debate between bird and fish
   Debate between bird and fish
   The Debate between bird and fish is a literature essay of the Sumerian language, on clay tablets from the mid to late 3rd millennium BC.Seven "debate" topics are known from the Sumerian literature, falling in the category of 'disputations'; some examples are: The Debate between Winter and Summer;...
   
   
2. –Debate between cattle and grain
   Debate between sheep and grain
   The Debate between sheep and grain or Myth of cattle and grain is a Sumerian creation myth, written on clay tablets in the mid to late 3rd millennium BC...
   
   
3. –Debate between the millstone and the gulgul-stone
4. –Debate between the pickaxe and the plough
5. –Debate between silver and mighty copper
6. –Debate between Summer and Winter
7. –Debate between tree and the reed

Additionally, four compositions of the disputation type with the Sumerian school, and its graduates or teachers:

1. –The Disputation between Enkmansi and Girnishag
2. –The Colloquy between an ungula and a Scribe
   Scribe
   A scribe is a person who writes books or documents by hand as a profession and helps the city keep track of its records. The profession, previously found in all literate cultures in some form, lost most of its importance and status with the advent of printing...
   
   
3. –The Disputation between Enkita and Enkihegal
4. –Disputation between Two School Graduates

An additional text concerns women:

1. –Disputation between two unnamed ladies

External links

• Dsiputations or Literary Debates, at Gateway to Babylon