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  • This house believes that history is thick rather than thin

    Infoslide

    A thick view of history holds that that the macro state of society at a given point is largely determined by overwhelming structural forces which made that state close to inevitable. A thin view of history holds that it is largely as a result of a small number of factors (e.g. events, people or processes) which could easily have been different and lead to different outcomes, making that state subject to a substantial degree of randomness.

    ANU Spring 2025 · Novice Final · 2025-11-15

  • This house, as a religious leader, would destroy the test.

    Infoslide

    Many religions include artefacts that are claimed to be historically sacred, e.g. Buddha relics, bones of Catholic saints, the Holy Grail. You are a religious leader who has discovered a test that can definitively verify the authenticity of any artefact.

    LUMS Asians x OPFDC 2025 · Grand Final · 2025-11-10

  • This house prefers for queer narratives in popular media to primarily center around the present (ex. Heartstopper, Bottoms, Love, Simon, Twinless) rather than the past (ex. Boots, Queer, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Brokeback Mountain).

    Chancellor's Cup 2025 · Round 4 · 2025-11-08

  • This House, as Kvothe, would face the invaders as a diplomat rather than a warrior.

    Infoslide

    You are Kvothe, once a celebrate general, and still regarded as one of the best warriors/strategists in the world. Thirty years ago, your orders led to a civilian massacre, a trauma you erased from your memory with the help of an ancient god. 30 years later you are a controversial diplomat scorned as a hypocrite, who has been struggling in uniting different kingdoms for years. Now, as a powerful overseas nation invades, that forgotten massacre violently returns to your mind, forcing you to choose between uniting the kingdoms as a diplomat or taking up your sword as a warrior once more.

    Santa Fe Open 2025 · Round 3 · 2025-11-07

  • This house supports the use of "Life-like"

    Infoslide

    For the purposes of this debate, "Life-like" is a sentient AI system that creates a comprehensive profile of a deceased person's personality, communication style, and behavioral patterns. It learns from content such as videos of the person, their online interactions, language choices, and preferences to build an AI model. The AI is designed to mimic the speech patterns, mannerisms, and knowledge of the deceased individual based on the data it has processed. The AI is designed to mimic the speech patterns, mannerisms, and knowledge of the deceased individual based on the data it has processed. This data is not limited to recently deceased people, it can include content and information about historical figures. Once the initial AI model is created, it can interact with users through various interfaces such as text messaging, voice messages, and phone calls.

    UBC Summer HST 2025 · Junior Semifinals · 2025-11-04

  • This house regrets the decline of Black Liberation Theology in African American activism

    Infoslide

    James Cone argues that “the task of black theology is to analyze the nature of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the light of oppressed blacks so they will see the gospel as inseparable from their humiliated condition, and as bestowing on them the necessary power to break the chains of oppression.” Throughout the Black Freedom Struggle, African American activists have mobilized Black theology to inspire forms of political action, shape the institutional design of social movements, generate theories of political organizing, deploy political rhetoric, and orient critiques of American society. Black theology has historically animated various movements, including (most famously) the Abolitionist Movement and the Civil Rights Movement led by stalwarts like Pauli Murray, Maria Stewart, Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X. As Taylor Branch writes, The civil rights movement fused the political promise of equal votes with the spiritual doctrine of equal souls.

    Institution of Business Administration Debating Championship 2025 · Semifinals · 2025-10-24

  • This house regrets the Down to the Countryside Movement

    Infoslide

    The Down to the Countryside Movement was a policy instituted in China between 1968 and 1980. It was declared that privileged urban youth should be sent to mountainous areas or farming villages to learn from the workers and farmers there. In total, around 17 million urban youth were sent to rural areas as a result of the movement.

    Malaysia Pre-WUDC 2025 · Pre-Semifinals · 2025-10-18

  • This house supports school curricula prioritizing transnational narratives over national ones.

    Infoslide

    National narratives are educational approaches that structure the teaching of history with a focus on the events, processes, and characters of a single nation. Transnational narratives are approaches that organize the teaching of history based on phenomena that transcend national borders, such as economic exchanges, migrations, regional conflicts, international cooperation, and social transformations on a global scale.

    Curitiba Week of British Parliamentary 2025 · Rodada 3 · 2025-10-17

  • This house, as Josef, would permanently move to Prague rather than return to Denmark

    Infoslide

    In the novel “Ignorance” by Milan Kundera, Josef emigrates from Czechoslovakia to Denmark while fleeing Soviet occupation. In Denmark, he marries the love of his life. When his wife eventually passes away, Josef begins honoring her memory by maintaining habits as if she were still with him (e.g., having everyday “conversations” with her grave, maintaining their shared house the way she would want it, visiting her favorite restaurants on their anniversaries). Josef visits Prague after the collapse of the USSR, only to discover that his homeland has been transformed by tourism and resentment toward returnees. During this time, he meets Irena, a fellow returnee who shares his frustrations with his homeland, and the two sleep together. The two are growing romantically interested in one another. For this debate, Josef, now in his 40s and on vacation from his low-paying job in Denmark, is considering accepting a higher-paying job offer in Prague.

    Drexel Pre-WUDC 2025 · ESL Final · 2025-08-23

  • This house prefers that post-conflict nations teach "history from above" as opposed to "history from below"

    Infoslide

    "History from above" examines the actions and perspectives of elites, leaders, and powerful institutions, often emphasizing political and military events. "History from below," in contrast, focuses on the experiences, actions, and perspectives of ordinary people, marginalized groups, and social movements.

    Orgullo Intervarsity 2025 · Round 3 · 2025-08-16