in this special miniseries we are hosting conversations with some of global debate's leading voices on making debate a more inclusive space. In this episode we speak with Brian Wong. Brian is DPhil (PhD) candidate at the University of Oxford and the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford Political Review. As a judge they have judged nearly every final in competitive debate, whilst also reaching the semi finals of the European Universities Debating Championships as a speaker.
This conversation was wide-ranging and complex. I feel like you should come away from this conversation with more questions in your head than when you entered it. At its core, this is a conversation about how we as individuals and communities should listen, adapt, grow, and remain open throughout difficult debates about inclusion and discrimination.
Topics include:
* How cross-circuit discrimination materialises and the role ethnicity plays in failing to recognise talent ; how reductive argumentation about minorities makes minorities feel unwelcome whilst at the same time being a succesful strategy in winning a competive debate, and how we can stop this vicious cycle.
* How we can go beyond "performing" progressive attitudes to actually incorporating them in our practice. How this 'performative' attitude means people avoid self-criticism whilst stifling voices at the fringe of the community.
* The role of anger and exhaustion in political conversation, a framework for when it is effective or apt to be angry about racism and discrimination, and a recognition of the hard emotional labour we currently and often ask minorities to do in combatting racism.
IDI hosts conversations about making debate education better. Debate Education is a crucial 21st-century tool to improve young people's critical thinking, civic participation, and public speaking. We talk with leading experts in the field to unlock debate's potential. IDI is a podcast by the International Debate Education Association. This podcast is co-funded by the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Union.
A list of further sources accompanying the podcast can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lar5XRgFi-eQOUfD_2StAb2_YhIFfzOj?usp=sharing
The paper mentioned by Brian in the end can be found here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237269740_Deliberation_before_the_Revolution_Toward_an_Ethics_of_Deliberative_Democracy_in_an_Unjust_World
The Oxford Political Review can be found here:
http://oxfordpoliticalreview.com/
Want to offer feedback? Do you want to be featured on this show? Mail podcast@idebate.nl
