Conference path · open inquiry
BASTARD 2014: themes for critical discussion
A useful gathering begins with difficult questions, explicit terms, and room for participants to test ideas rather than perform agreement.
Open inquiry
Design the room for useful friction.
A conference or public conversation can hold disagreement without turning debate into spectacle. The structure matters as much as the speaker list.
- 01
Make terms explicit
Ask participants to define the words carrying the most political weight.
- 02
Distribute the floor
Use facilitation that prevents confidence, status, or volume from becoming authority.
- 03
Keep a question open
End with a record of unresolved tensions instead of manufacturing consensus.
Working principle
Participation is more than attendance.
People need enough context, time, and agency to affect the direction of a conversation.