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(This page is a work in progress. We will be revamping how we showcase all of our guest speakers later down the line. Stay tuned!)
If you are somebody that would be interested in guest speaking at one of our events or seminars, please email us at debate@uoguelph.ca as we would love to get in contact with you to discuss the possibility. We strive to have diverse voices from many walks of life, so no debate background is necessary!
Don Dedrick is and Associate Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department at U of G. He writes about colour and cognition (a lot) and critical thinking (a bit). Right now, he’s finishing a paper on the way people talk and think about the difference between fact and opinion. He spends a few hours every week trying to convince students to major in Philosophy.
Don will be joining us for our second Politics & Economy seminar in Sept. 2023. He will be discussing how to form arguments effectively using material from his critical thinking courses.
(Coming Soon)
Ethan is entering what he thinks is his 10th year of competitive debating, however at this stage there’s always a chance his memory is fading. He is a two-time National Champion and a North American Finalist. He joined debate because it was one of the few spaces where it felt comfortable to radically express your own opinion, where going out of your way to learn things felt rewarded in a unique way. And he continues being involved in debate to help others get access to all the resources he feels were so essential to his own personal development. Ethan loves talking about debate and will do so until told to stop, so if you have any questions please feel free to ask.
Ethan will be speaking at our second Politics & Economy seminar in Sept. 2023. He will be discussing how to effectively frame and weigh arguments in competitive debate.
(Coming Soon)
Dennis Su is a research assistant at the Urban Institute as well as the debate coach of both the Williams College Debating Union and the Johns Hopkins University Debate Council. As a debater, Dennis was a semifinalist at the US Championships and a quarterfinalist at the North American Debating Championships. His favorite part of debate is how it forces us to challenge and better understand our own assumptions about the world and engage in better faith with the ideas of different people in our own communities.
Dennis will be speaking at our third Politics & Economy seminar in Sept. 2023. He will be discussing the mechanization of arguments in competitive debate and nuancing claims.
(Coming Soon)
Deirdre McCorkindale is a historian interested in the history of Race in North America with a focus on the African Canadian and African American Experience. Her current research currently concerns the history of intelligence testing in North America focusing on a racial intelligence study preformed southwestern Ontario in the 1930s. Deirdre has appeared in several documentaries talking about the Black history of Ontario specifically the Chatham Kent region and is a proud member and consultant for the Chatham Kent Black historical society.
Deirdre will be speaking at our first History seminar in Oct. 2023. She will be discussing the uses and abuses of history and its importance on modern debate.
(Coming Soon)
Hai is a graduate of Lang, completing both her M.Sc. in marketing and consumer studies and B.Comm. in marketing management. She then went on to successfully complete her Juris Doctorate from Osgoode Hall of Law and has now started her own legal practice in Guelph. At the University of Guelph, she is responsible for teaching law related courses within Lang and providing support to our alumnis, student recruitment and related activities.
Hai will be speaking at our last Law & Culture seminar in Nov. 2023. She will be discussing law and diving deeper into its relationship with society and culture.
(Coming Soon)
Nicholas Abernethy is a fourth-year philosophy major at Queen’s University, and his philosophical interests include AI ethics, bioethics, and climate ethics. In high school, he began debating because his parents lent his brother a tent in exchange for his brother forcing Nick to try debating. He has debated ever since due to inertia. In university, he has won HHIV, BP champs, and CP champs, and he has semifinaled NAUDC, Oxford IV, and Yale IV. If you wish, you can ask him about debate, but he may prefer being asked about fishing or rock climbing.
Nick will be speaking at our last Law & Culture seminar in Nov. 2023. He will be talking about the best methods for debating about ethics with a focus on theories and thought experiments.
(Coming Soon)
Dr Shoshanah Jacobs is a Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Management. They have published over 60 articles or book chapters, written two books, and taught over 14,000 undergraduate students. Recognized as being one of Ontario’s most outstanding educators by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) in 2020, Jacobs serves as a board member of Royal City Science (youth STEM program), and, with over 1.6M in research grants, they are currently leading a large international project to develop a climate adaptation strategy.
More information about Dr. Jacobs can be found on their website here.
Dr. Jacobs will be speaking at our last Health & Science seminar in Dec. 2023. They will be talking about the ways to build successful collaborations and how to solve problems with inspiring solutions.
(Coming Soon)
Lisa Taylor teaches journalism at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Before becoming a university professor, Lisa was a lawyer and, prior that, an award-winning CBC broadcast journalist. Much of her research explores issues at the intersection of law and journalism. In addition, Lisa leads the Canadian Worlds of Journalism Study, an interdisciplinary group that, together with research teams from more than 100 countries, provides data-informed assessments of the global state of journalism.
Lisa will be speaking at our first Politics & Economy seminar in Jan. 2024. She will be discussing misinformation/disinformation and the threats it poses to journalism.
(Coming Soon)
The University of Guelph Debate Club acknowledges that much of our work takes place within the Between the Lakes Purchase (Treaty 3); the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. It is recognized that the Anishinnabe and Hodinöhsö:ni’ peoples have unique, long-standing and on-going relationships with the land and each other and that the Attawandaron people are part of the archaeological record.