Debate Chamber

Young Diplomats Conference

adam — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:38:16 +0000

This past weekend students took part in the London Summit 2010 at the Debate Chamber Young Diplomats Conference. They represented all corners of the globe, and spent the weekend attempting to come to solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. On Saturday morning, students took on the roles of delegates of several countries and regional organisations, including the USA, China, the African Union and the Gulf Arab States. They attended briefings and discussion on four issues of global importance – the fight against climate change, the international regulation of labour standards, the problems of a fictional failed state in Africa – Equatorial Kundu and the Tobin Tax – a proposed tax on currency and financial transactions which could raise money to help alleviate poverty. The delegates to the London Summit then had to consult the top secret briefings from their foreign ministry, confer with others in their delegation, and take part in the informal negotiations to try and get their point of view across and to try and get their interests represented.

On Sunday, the delegates came to the more formal part of the Summit, where competing resolutions were presented on the different issues, and delegates had to try and convince others to back their version of the resolution and their amendments, using whatever diplomatic means they had at their disposal – be it persuasion, appeals to justice, the promises of aid or cheap oil prices or even the threat of economic sanctions! They also had to respond to breaking news and events occurring during the Summit, which had dramatic consequences for their countries. The students did an excellent job of overcoming their competing interests to find compromise and consensus on several issues, including the environment, the regulation of labour standards and the situation in Equatorial Kundu, although in the end the USA and Gulf States held out to the last against the imposition of a Tobin Tax.

The Young Diplomats Conference will be taking place again on 20th and 21st March, see here for more details or to book a place.

PPE Weekend

PPE Weekend

adam — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:21:06 +0000

The PPE Weekend concluded with a half day exercise introducing students to the issue of poverty alleviation and allowing them the opportunity to take part in an EU-Africa Summit on reducing poverty. After being introduced to the most controversial issues regarding the causes and possible solutions to poverty in Africa by tutors, and through discussion, the students took on the characters of the main players in EU-Africa relations, from the brutal dictator of Equatorial Guinea, to the ever-charming leaders of generous donor Sweden, to African businessmen, to Make Poverty History Campaign to the European Farmers’ Union to the representatives of democratic, multi-racial South Africa.

The activity allowed students both to learn about the issues of aid and trade and to have a go at negotiating and representing their interests while trying to come up with agreement between different countries and lobby groups. A final summit was held where the details were thrashed out and the countries agreed to debt interest-rate freezes, tariff reductions on non-agricultural products and conditions on the aid such as the holding of free and fair elections and respect for human rights. This was a lively and interactive way to end the weekend, and gave the students a real demonstration of how politics, philosophy and economics inter-link, and how they are applied in real-world situations.

You can find out more about our upcoming PPE and Young Diplomats events here.

Lewis Turner, PPE Tutor

Creative Writing

adam — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:49:24 +0000

The Poetry Masterclass gathered a small group of students for a day of reading poetry and creative writing, with special emphasis on the function of imagery in poetic works. The students spent the morning session reading a selection of praise poems from African, Aztec and other world traditions, analysing them for their use of descriptive and comparative language. The group then headed out into the chilly February air for a writing exercise in observation and description in nearby Gordon Square, and returned to the classroom to distill their field notes into short, imagistic poems. Students read their works and received commentary and feedback from the tutor and their peers. The afternoon session focused on the concept of metaphorical reasoning and entailed close textual analysis of a wide range of poems from ancient and contemporary sources. Using these poems as a springboard, students experimented with image as a structural device through crafting their own short pieces. Once again, students shared their work and received supportive and enthusiastic response from the group. The day concluded with a general discussion on imagery in poetry, and some advice for the young writers on how to pursue creative writing practice in their everyday lives.

You can book for our next Poetry Masterclass here.

Sonia Gomez, English Tutor

Medical Practice

adam — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:32:35 +0000

The Medical Practice Masterclass offered prospective medical students an opportunity to see what medicine is all about, to appreciate the didactic training in medical school and the art of medical practice by doing several case studies.

In the morning, students were introduced to two branches of medicine, cardiology and hematology. In these lectures, we talked about the normal heart structure, its function, looked at the heart in a living motion, identified the cause and treatment for some of the common conditions that pertubate the cardiovascular system; the common components of the hemo/lymphatic system and two of the major blood groups. The group then spent time learning how to work out ABO blood groups.

The afternoon was spent examining the pulmonary system. We talked about the normal lung architecture composed of the lung, the fundamental until of the pulmonic operation which is the gas exchange, breathing cycle and its regulation, and some of the common lung conditions. At the end of the lecture, students were divided in groups and participated in a lung study exercise. In the last part of the workshop, armed with the medical knowledge learned earlier during the day, students were presented with more complex medical cases. By looking at the chest X-ray images, students were asked to make preliminary diagnoses. The tutor rounded off the discussion and summarized the materials presented throughout the day by explaining the medical history given for each diagnosis.

Students actively participated in many discussions, which overall the day was an enjoyable experience for both the students and tutor.

You can find out more about Debate Chamber Medicine courses here.

Giang Huong Nguyen, Medicine Tutor.

Literary Criticism

adam — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:56:30 +0000

On Sunday a diverse group of students from London and beyond gathered for the English Masterclass to explore the place of literature and criticism in society. Engaging in a free-flowing discussion on issues such as pleasure, censorship, freedom of expression and morality, they learnt how writers have defended their craft from the Renaissance to the present day. In the afternoon, three short workshops introduced students to diverse aspects of literary theory – including Feminism, Postcolonialism, and the Death of the Author – as methods for close reading. Getting to grips with the political repercussions of literature, students united these with their own literary experiences and with our previous discussions to produce a lively and vital debate.

Learn more about Debate Chamber’s English and Drama events here.

Megan Murray-Pepper, English Tutor

Verse Tutorial

Courtroom Drama

adam — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:50:14 +0000

Over the past weekend 30 students gathered in the centre of London to spent two days learning all about criminal law, the trial process and the justice system. On Saturday the group began with a discussion of how the implementation of the law progress from a crime being committed to the trial, through the investigation and the CPS, through to the day in court and how that process works.

The group then moved on to look at what makes up a crime, why we have laws against certain activities and also how those laws are made. We also discussed how laws are used to protect vulnerable members in society. The group discussed a variety of offences including theft and assault before considering various fact situations and possible crimes committed within them. Late on Saturday the group learned how to question witnesses and how to carry on a case in court.

The group was split into teams and give case papers so they were acting for either the Crown on in defence of an accused person. In their teams they worked out their strategies for questioning the victim, the defendant and the witnesses. They also tackled advanced aspects of the trial such as arguing for their clients’ previous conviction records to be included, or not allowed at trial. Later on Sunday the teams battled it out in two Mock Trials.

The defence teams came out on top, securing not guilty verdicts for both of their clients. By the end of the weekend the students had learned a great deal about the criminal justice system, court cases and how to argue a case in front of a judge and jury, with the quality really showing through in some of the court performances.

Learn more about Debate Chamber Law events here.

Art Ward, Law Tutor

Mock Trial at Oxford Crown Court

Economics Masterclass

adam — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:28:10 +0000

Sunday’s Economics Masterclass aimed to equip students to uncover and explore the economic forces which lie behind so much of the activity that governs their daily lives. Through a mixture of teaching, discussion and structured debate, the quick-to-learn students came away with a nuanced appreciation of economic policy-making and its effect on the incentives that structure the decision-making of a range of actors from government to firms to consumers.

We began by looking at how market mechanisms function in allocating resources, and how they fail to do so in a socially optimal fashion in certain conditions or in markets for particular kinds of good. For me, a particularly interesting discussion centred on unpacking the numerous reasons why healthcare would be underdemanded under purely free market conditions. We explored policy solutions for market failure and their drawbacks, before concluding the morning with an interactive, group-based exercise whereby students had to consider the privatisation of various industries and how government and firms should interact in providing them so as to maximise welfare.

In the afternoon we broadened our focus beyond individual markets, beginning with an examination of the causes of absolute and relative poverty and potential policy solutions. We then turned to the macro-economy, and students gained the theoretical tools to understand the dynamics of the current recession. The whole day was rounded off with three debates on key macro policy issues: the structure of the tax system, central bank independence and, especially topically, deficit financing. The students showed a capacity to reason their way to distinctive and imaginative conclusions and to defend and criticise these conclusions. By moving beyond the standard arguments of exam-oriented school courses, and examining the value judgments lying behind economic proposals, students got closer to the real world logic of economic practice.

Find more information about our Economics and Finance events here.

Alex Worsnip, Economics Tutor

Understanding the credit crunch

British Politics

adam — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:56:44 +0000

Saturday’s British Politics and Government Tutorial aimed to give students both an understanding of the constitutional structures of the UK and of some of the most interesting, controversial and pressing issues affecting long-term British Politics, particularly focusing on voting behaviour in Britain.

In the morning, students learnt about the main features of the British system – the constitutional monarchy, the Houses of Commons and Lords, the judiciary, the first-past-the-post voting system and, very importantly, studied both the strengths and weaknesses of these (often uniquely) British institutions. We also addressed what changes were happening (or not) in Britain – was Tony Blair more of a President than a Prime Minister, or did he just think he was? Who are these 92 hereditary peers and what on earth are they still doing in the House of Lords? After looking at the main pros and cons of the systems, students had the opportunity to be creative and choose and design a piece of constitutional reform which they thought was essential to the British system.

In the afternoon, the focus moved on to issues within British politics and government, looking firstly at where the parties stand on the contentious issues of the day. We then studied voting behaviour, looking at the decline in participation in British elections, and tried to make sense of the data to find out why fewer and fewer people come to the polls. Finally, we looked in depth at the role of class in determining someone’s vote – is it still as important as it used to be, how does the fragmenting class structure affect people’s voting behaviour and how do changing party policies interact with class voting.

The students were a very enjoyable group to teach – quick learners who brought their own knowledge and examples from British politics to the class.

If these issues sound like things you’d like to learn more about with Debate Chamber, you may be interested in our British Politics Weekend.

Lewis Turner, Politics Tutor

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Formal Logic Tutorial

adam — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:45:45 +0000

The aim of Sunday’s logic tutorial was to explore what it means for an argument to be valid, focussing on the key issue of consistency. The morning was spent developing an understanding of what logic is – not rationality, as popular understandings may have one believe, but possibility and internal consistency. The students then developed a spectrum in which to categorise the ‘truth-value’ of declarative sentences – from logical truths (tautologies, necessary truths, etc.) at one end, through contingent truths, to logical falsities (contradictions) at the other. After fully grasping what is meant by all of the relevent terms, we moved on to learn ‘the language of logic’. Students had to acquire an understanding of a range of new symbols, so that they could translate ambigous sentences of English into unambigous formulae of ‘Logicese’.

If the afternoon, we set about using our new language to translate arguments, and then to prove whether or not those argument were valid. Using the student’s new understanding of validity – the impossiblity of the simultaneous truth of the premisses and falsity of the conclusion – we used two methods of proof. Firstly, the cumbersome and time-consuming ‘truth-table’ method, which we found frustrating, but intuitive. After verifying the students’ understanding of this method with a series of exercises, we moved on to the more difficult, but more elegant, ‘tableaux’ method.

I was hugely impressed with the ability of the students. They were able to grasp the counter-intuitive elements of logic quickly, and we were able to cover some advanced topics.

Check out the Philosophy Summer School for more workshops like this.

Max Kasriel, Philosophy Tutor

Gender in History

adam — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:11:14 +0000

The small group size of the tutorial format allowed for a really nuanced approach to the issue of gender in history. The aim of the tutorial in particular was to try and equip students with some theoretical knowledge concerning the difference between sex and gender; the idea of the patriarchy and methods to analyse differences in gender between class and other social groups in the morning. Students were shocked by the attitudes of Augustine, Aquinas and Anselm; building a partial picture of some attitudes towards gender differences in the early medieval period. Whilst initially critical of Christine de Pizan’s response to these ideas in the late medieval period eventually students admitted that given the context her critique of these attitudes and in particular her explanation for their rise was incredibly sophisticated and pointed. From here we discussed the article the students had read; I was very impressed by the depth of understanding they gained from a detailed and at times complex argument. Students were able to interrogate the methodological underpinnings of the article, challenging whilst still appreciating the value of personal accounts.

The afternoon was spent attempting to examine the phenomenon of witchcraft persecution and the role of gender in political theory; with an aim to demonstrate that gender analysis in history was at its strongest when integrated as part of wider historical scholarship. The students became immersed in some intense and at some points unsettling personal accounts of witchcraft trials from the seventeenth century and later dealt well with Machiavelli and Locke and the role that women played in the exposition of arguments concerning fortune and patriarchical rule. Overall the day was a great success!

Find out more about our History Masterclass and History Summer School.

Ben Jasper, History Tutor