Indebted: The Compounding Politics of Black and Trans Argumentation in Intercollegiate Policy Debate

This essay studies the emergence and rise of transgender argumentation in intercollegiate policy debate by marking its indebted relation to Black radicalism in the activity. Instead of situating trans argumentation merely as a discordant offshoot of (primarily white and non-Black) feminist and queer arguments, the author argues that trans argumentation is made possible by Black debaters, coaches and judges who innovated (and continue to innovate) techniques and methodologies to theorize and counter anti-Black exclusion. Attending to the intricacies of Black study is critical to reckoning with the disagreements Black studies pursues with white and non-Black trans theory, practice and politics. Instead of clearing its debt, the author argues that trans argumentation should stay with the rhetorical debt of its own emergence by studying lessons from the Black radical tradition and refusing trans trajectories that ultimately separate and distance trans liberation from Black liberation

After Dinner Speaking: Problems, Causes, and Still No Solutions

I was judging a round of After Dinner Speaking last weekend, hoping for a laugh. Some competitors were successful through their use of wit, others used cheesy lines, and the last student was probably supposed to be entered in Persuasion. It was extremely difficult and frustrating to fill out the ballots. Should I have voted for the funniest person, the funniest looking person, or the most significant topic with some jokes thrown in at the end like laws on a California proposition? This is a question facing many individual events judges today, while the students competing in this event are equally confused. Although many forensics judges maintain that whoever can entertain them the most will take the one in an ADS round, AFA-NIET final rounds are consistently full of speeches jam packed with importance. This is just one example of how the waters of ADS have become murky. Since its inception, the After Dinner Speech has changed more than Hillary Clinton\u27s stance on the war in Iraq. Therefore, it is important to analyze the communicative evolution of this event and the controversies that have arisen since its incarnation. In order to do so, we must first, peek into the past of After Dinner Speaking, ponder the present status of the event, and finally, have a premonition of how to pursue progression

Law, Legal Institutions, and the Legal Profession in the New Economy

The diverse, dynamic, and inchoate developments we call the new economy are a catalyst for responsive and reflexive changes in the production of law, legal institutions, and the legal profession in Canada and elsewhere. This article examines these changes alongside ongoing themes of the privatization of legal production, hybridization, and juridification. The resulting transformation of legal production has reshaped the role of law experts and aggravated existing tendencies of stratification, concentration, diversification, and marginalization within the legal profession itself

Law, Legal Institutions, and the Legal Profession in the New Economy

The diverse, dynamic, and inchoate developments we call the new economy are a catalyst for responsive and reflexive changes in the production of law, legal institutions, and the legal profession in Canada and elsewhere. This article examines these changes alongside ongoing themes of the privatization of legal production, hybridization, and juridification. The resulting transformation of legal production has reshaped the role of law experts and aggravated existing tendencies of stratification, concentration, diversification, and marginalization within the legal profession itself

A Polarizing Dynamic by Center Cabinets? The Mechanism of Limited Contestation

What effect does the presence of a coalition of the ideological center have on polarization in party systems? Studies of party positioning demonstrate the impact of a party’s affiliation to the cabinet for its electoral campaigning. In addition, comparative studies of party systems analyzed the effects of the competitive situation between the coalition and the opposition on party competition dynamics. Nevertheless, the linkage between findings of both branches of literature is still missing. On the one hand, studies of party competition models generally focus on explaining party behavior and do not aggregate these insights. On the other hand, party system studies usually lack an analytical micro-foundation. Thus, we do not know the mechanism that drives a polity to the extreme. To find this missing link, we derive two potential explanations based on the spatial theory of party competition and Satori’s study of party systems: incumbent punishment and limited contestation. We elaborate these mechanisms with the help of an agent-based model. Then, we trace the effect of cabinet type back to the limited contestation between coalition parties. If the incumbent parties avoid contestation with each other, a center cabinet induces polarizing dynamics since the opposition then has no incentive for responsible office-seeking. Specific circumstances such as a polarized electorate and voters’ negative evaluation of the cabinet parties support this mechanism. Methodologically, our simulation study reveals three advantages of the agent-based modeling approach: (1) the uncovering of thus far implicit assumptions; (2) the possibility of analyzing causal dependencies within a complex and dynamic model; and (3) the precision of our theoretical expectations based on the micro-foundation

The Hilltop 3-12-1993

This document created through a generous donation of Mr. Paul Cottonhttps://dh.howard.edu/hilltop_902000/1081/thumbnail.jp

For the benefit of all? Developing a critical perspective in mega-event leverage

The purpose of this article is to bring to light the need for developing a critical leveraging perspective on mega-events and propose a research agenda that extends the focus of the leverage concept towards this direction. Current research on leverage focuses on the attainment and magnification of mega-event outcomes. A critical lens of inquiry however is needed to move forward and take into account the influence of power structures and social-ordering processes on developing and implementing strategic leveraging programs. Such a perspective can help examine if and how the benefits of mega-events are fairly delivered to host communities, equally distributed among stakeholders and then sustained, while negative impacts are minimised. Ten research themes are brought forward to help build a robust ground for a critical mega-event leveraging perspective

Online pre-events during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, mega-events such as the Olympics and expo were postponed, prolonging the build-up phase of the events and providing the opportunity to organize pre-events. COVID restrictions and limitations on movement forced these pre-events to be held online. Examining the case of pre-events leading up to Expo 2020 Dubai, we argue that, as an emerging and growing phenomenon, digital pre-events create spaces for experimenting and reengineering new communication approaches. The case study shows how pre-events provide opportunities to event-planners and organizations for communicating in diverse, rich ways with primary stakeholders before a physical event. Because of their small size, pre-events do not attract large publics and, therefore, are also key opportunities for dialogue and interactivity with primary stakeholders. This article not only contributes to our knowledge about this promotional phenomenon but also highlights the importance of pre-events for practitioners in providing spaces for experimentation and small-scale forms of dialogic engagement and cocreation with stakeholders without the pressure that comes from publics’ increasing expectations around large-scale events