Book Club: November 2018 - International Relations

We're excited to be releasing our third Book Club post. This month, we have selected works curated by VBI PF staff members Matthew Salah, Ellie Singer, and Chris Conrad focusing on international relations. These are fantastic works that are important for every debater to be familiar with when engaging in a complex topic area such as international relations. Feel free to leave comments or questions about the works we've selected at the Reddit thread.

Book: Nuclear Politics: The Strategic Causes of Proliferation by Alexandre Debs

Nuclear weapons can be a confusing topic, but it is important to understand both as a global reality and also as something that appears in basically any debate topic that involves international relations. “Nuclear Politics: The Strategic Causes of Proliferation” by Yale professors Alexandre Debs and Nuno Monteiro provides a rich analysis of why states acquire nuclear weapons, how they interact with other states, and how all of these patterns appear in history. While the book is pretty long, it’s extremely well written and you can certainly read it in bits and pieces if you so choose. Debs and Monteiro go case-by-case in every section, which helps readers understand not just the theories behind proliferation but also how they actually look. I love this book because instead of treating proliferation as something purely cerebral and theoretical it grounds theories very clearly in reality, which makes the book informative and accessible to audience members with any level of background interested in nuclear politics.

Pick up a copy of the book here.

Article: “Don't Come Home America: The Case Against Retrenchment,” by Stephen Brooks, G. John Ikenberry, and William Wohlforth

“Don't Come Home America: The Case Against Retrenchment,” by Stephen Brooks, G. John Ikenberry, and William Wohlforth is a fantastic article for students seeking to learn about great power politics in international relations. Brooks, Ikenberry, and Wohlforth take a realist perspective to forcefully argue in favor of US leadership of the international system (commonly known as hegemony). The article is focused on refuting arguments made by advocates of retrenchment, in which the US would pull back from its global commitments and distribute more burdens on its allies in order to reduce defense spending. I really like this article because it gives a very comprehensive introduction to the scholarly debate about the ideal US grand strategy. The article contains in-depth argumentation supporting US hegemony, and also lays out responses to common arguments made against US leadership. As a result, students will be introduced to both sides of the scholarly debate, and those seeking to read literature supporting the side of the scholarly debate will find plenty of resources in the footnotes of this article.

Find the article here.

Podcast: 'A Feminist Voyage Through International Relations' by J. Ann Tickner

International relations has historically been a field dominated by men. This is objectionable not only because it’s highly exclusionary, but also because it has a tangible impact on the theories the field produces. Ann Tickner pioneered the feminist perspective on IR: a doctrine that emphasizes subjectivity, contingency, and cooperation. In this podcast, Tickner outlines her feminist approach and uses it to analyze the hypermasculinity of US policy following 9/11. I recommend this piece because it’s important for students to understand that there are alternative frameworks to realism, and this podcast exemplifies the diversity of IR scholarship.

Find the podcast here.

Book Club: October 2018 - Racial Justice

We're excited to be releasing our second Book Club post. This month, we have selected works curated by VBI staff members Christian Quiroz and Darius White focusing on works of racial justice. We are quite happy with the works we've selected and hope you enjoy them as much as we did. Due to the in-depth nature of this topic, we have elected to suggest two books and one article/podcast to better cover the issues at hand. Feel free to leave comments or questions about the works we've selected at the Reddit thread!

Book: The History of White People by Nell Irvin Painter

Christian Quiroz:

The History of White People is a must read for any student trying to grapple the problem of whiteness and racism. Nell Irvin Painter traces the historical progression of racial ideology, critiquing the structures of whiteness that permeate science, politics, and aesthetics. Indeed, the novel begins from the earliest times in Western history to pinpoint the ways in which ancient ideologies influence and culminate into a misguided racial theory in modern times. I strongly recommend this book because it is easily accessible and is a compelling account of the ways in which whiteness has manifested itself historically. Painter’s novel is integral for readers trying to cross the gap between whiteness being merely skin tone and whiteness as social power and domination.

Pick up a copy of the book here.

Book: The Racial Contract by Charles Mills

Darius White:

Charles Mills’ book The Racial Contract is an excellent read when one is starting to dive into critical race theory. His book describes the nature of social contract theory as a “Racial Contract” that “is intended as a conceptual bridge between two areas now largely segregated from each other: on the one hand, the world of mainstream (i.e., white) ethics and political philosophy, preoccupied with discussions of justice and rights in the abstract, on the other hand, the world of Native American, African American, and Third and Fourth World political thought, historically focused on issues of conquest, imperialism, colonialism, white settlement, land rights, race and racism, slavery, Jim Crow, reparations, apartheid, cultural authenticity, national identity, indigenismo, Afrocentrism, etc.” Mills’ theorization of the Racial Contract reveals that the social contract created to establish governance “is not a contract between everybody ("we the people") but between just the people who count, the people who really are people ("we the white people").” Mills’ analysis allows us to see that it is the social contract that allows even for the exclusive of Native and Black people from the genealogy of history, the category of the “Human”, and the American constitution itself. This book will serve as an excellent critical interrogation of the social contract, challenge traditional race-blind theories, and help students understand critical race theory.

Pick up a copy of the book here.

Article and Podcast: The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Lawrence Zhou:

The Case for Reparations is considered a must-read and at the time of its release generated immense amounts of public conversation. The cover piece is thousands of words long, deeply moving, and well-written. Regardless of whether one agrees with the conclusion, it is impossible to deny the power this piece has. It urges readers to consider racial injustice beyond merely slavery and examine the legacy of Jim Crow as it continues to the modern day. The powerful call to action forces readers to consider their ethical and political views as it relates to racism, desert, and inequality. This piece brought racial justice issues into the public spotlight and forced intellectuals and the average American to think critically about ways to redress racial inequality. It is difficult to sum up this piece and give it its due credit, so instead I urge all debaters to read this piece. I think it is near impossible to consider oneself an advocate for equality and justice without having read this piece.

Read the article here and listen to the podcast below:https://soundcloud.com/user-154380542/the-case-for-reparations-the-atlantic-ta-nehisi-coates 

Book Club: September 2018

We're excited to be releasing our very first Book Club post. This month, we have selected works curated by Director of Curriculum Marshall Thompson and Director of Publishing Lawrence Zhou. We are quite happy with the works we've selected and hope you enjoy them as much as we did. Feel free to leave comments or questions about the works we've selected at the Reddit thread!

Book: Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter Brown, Henry Roediger III, and Mark McDaniel

Marshall Thompson:

"I went back and forth about which book to recommend for the first book club. A part of me wanted to recommend Plato’s Gorgias (which I believe should be required reading for all debaters). Another part wanted to recommend Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow (an eye opening look at the weirdness that is human cognition). A yet third party of me wanted to recommend something fun to keep people coming back to the book club (I quickly realized though that I have no idea what other people find enjoyable). However, I ended up rejecting the various suggestions of my, arguably wiser, other parts and ultimately decided on Make it Stick.I chose Make it Stick not because it was the most enjoyable read, nor because it contains the most useful information. Instead, I chose make it sick because I think that the science of learning has a special claim to temporal priority. If you are going to learn three things, a) how to be ethical and a debater b) how the human mind processes information and c) how to learn in a way that will help you remember information later, its best to learn the learning first, that way you can apply those lessons to each of the other subjects in turn.It’s the beginning of the school year, you are about to spend nine months reading for classes, drilling for debate, studying for exams, and remembering for life. And the scary thing is that the majority of things you learn this year will be forgotten by the time next year roles around. Humans keep in long-term memory and shockingly small percentage of the information they try to retain.Luckily we can do better, and even minor changes in how we study and learn can pay real dividends in long-term retention. There has been a huge growth in scientific work on human memory and learning, and Make it Stick does a wonderful job of presenting that science in an accessible form and in giving practical advice on how to learn this science to improve your own learning. It also does a wonderful job of using the very principles of effective teaching in the design of the book. Thus, the book not only tells, but also shows how to learn well.Your goal while reading this book should be to both familiarize yourself with a vocabulary with which to think about your own learning and to learn some practical tips and principles you can use to change how you study and drill."

Lawrence Zhou:

"If anyone has watched my VBI module about making the most of your camp knowledge (which you can find here), a substantial portion of that module was based off of this book that Marshall forced me to read. But my module barely got beyond chapter 3 in terms of the content and anyone interested in learning how to learn should read this book."

Pick up a copy of the book here.

Article: “Autonomy as Intellectual Virtue” by Kyla Ebels-Duggan

Marshall Thompson:

"This is an amazing article written by one of my all time favorite living philosophers."

Lawrence Zhou:

"Agreed."

You can find the article here.

Podcast: The Science of Doing Good on The Knowledge Project

Lawrence Zhou:

"The Science of Doing Good interviews the youngest tenured professor of philosophy at Oxford William MacAskill. On top of being remarkably smart, he is also the co-founder and President of the Centre for Effective Altruism. This podcast episode is an illuminating insight into the basics of Effective Altruism, which is the idea of using science, reason, and evidence to find the best possible way to make a difference in this world. Effective Altruism is a movement that really hit me hard after contemplating my lifestyle choices and spending on luxury items that are really unnecessary. Debaters, by virtue of living in the United States, have many opportunities. These include opportunities to succeed in life, to debate, to make the most of their futures. But they also include the opportunities to use what they are fortunate enough to have by being lucky enough to be born here to greatly benefit the lives of others who are not as lucky to live here and instead live lives characterized by suffering and destitution. I think every debater should seriously consider the impact that they can have on the world right now and this podcast episode might just force you to care a little more about the world outside. MacAskill spends this podcast discussing a wide variety of issues, but the focus of the episode is on effective altruism. He also discusses cognitive biases, mistakes, and the meaning of life. This episode is a must listen to for those unfamiliar with MacAskill and his works."

You can find the episode here.For those interested in learning more about altruism, check out this talk by Peter Singer.

Bonus: Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky

Lawrence Zhou:

"This fan-fic, written by commonly cited utilitarian and prominent AI writer Eliezer Yudkowsky, is (maybe) undoubtedly the greatest Harry Potter fan-fic ever written and in contention for the greatest fan-fic of all time (although that claim is certainly much more controversial and I can see why one might disagree). The story follows young wizard Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres as he attempts to explain wizardry using the scientific method. This book is over a hundred chapters long and was designed to promote the rationality skills Yudkowsky advocated on his site https://www.lesswrong.com/. Debaters aspiring to think about the world in a more rational and logical way will find this work to be both ridiculously hilarious and informative. I'm currently on Chapter 20 of the podcast and have been enjoying every bit of it. Note: the story really starts picking up around Chapter 5, so don't be turned away so quickly. This book has also received many mixed reviews and please remember that Yudkowsky is not primarily a fiction writer.For those that have seen Marshall and I's debate on Harry Potter on youtube (which you can find here), this book is carded in it."

You can find the work for free here as a book or as a podcast on the podcasts app by simply searching Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.

Announcing the Victory Briefs Book Club!

Victory Briefs is excited to announce the Victory Briefs Book Club! Every 2nd week of the month, we will post a link to one book, one article, and one podcast episode that we think debaters should read or listen to on Briefly, Facebook, and the r/Debate subreddit. The content will be hand-selected by Victory Briefs staff with reasons for our recommendations. Discussions about the content will occur on the r/Debate subreddit posts that we create and some of the Victory Briefs staff will join into the conversation about the works. The first list of works will be released in two weeks!

What is the point of this?

Debaters can always read more and they can always read more together. We think that our recommendations will greatly benefit debaters and that conversations with your friends or teammates will enhance your understanding of these works. We hope that our recommendations will all be helpful and informative and that we might even help you find an author or podcast that you really like!

Is this for LD or PF?

It's for both! We'll try to pick works that are relevant to all debaters. Even the philosophy works that we recommend will be things that we think every person, not just philosophy majors and LDers, should be aware of.

Are these all debate applicable?

One of our motivations for creating the book club is not just to make debaters more informed debaters, but to make them more informed people. To that end, many of the works will simply be things that we think all debaters should be aware of, such as issues in society, general knowledge, and how to better yourself as a person. And some of these will just be silly works that we think are entertaining for debaters to read. Of course, many of the works will be debate applicable and we wouldn't be surprised if you carded a few of these works.

How do I contribute to the discussion?

You can, of course, read these on your own. However, we think a lot of the value of a book club is that you can discuss this with other people. You can find a friend or a teammate and discuss the works with them. You can suggest to your debate captain or coach that you follow along with the Victory Briefs Book Club and have your entire team read along. And you can also comment on our r/Debate posts along with others to pose questions and discuss the works that we've selected.

How do I recommend a work for the club?

If you have an excellent book, article, or podcast episode that you'd like us to consider recommending to others, email lawrence@victorybriefs.com with your suggestion and a short paragraph as to why we should publish your selection. You might just be featured in a future Book Club recommendation!