Monday, July 20, 2009

New college policy debate resolution

I don't usually post debate-related stuff on this blog (for those that don't know, one of the major things I do with my life is coach academic policy debate, mostly at the college level). However, I figure I would let everyone know what the topic is for the up-coming year:

Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially reduce the size of its nuclear weapons arsenal, and/or substantially reduce and restrict the role and/or missions of its nuclear weapons arsenal.


While I am excited about the topic, I am somewhat embarrassed by our inability to craft wording for a resolution that doesn't grate on one's ears (not saying I could do better, but still, a little embarrassing).

For those that know nothing about policy debate, well, it's a pretty idiosyncratic yet vastly interesting activity. It is nothing like The Great Debaters. A major part of the activity are arguments termed 'kritiks,' which is the reason I started reading Foucault and Arne Næss in high school. So, if anyone of you critical/philosophy people out there have any suggestions for articles and books on nuclear weapons, please feel free to sound off in the comments section.