Description: What does it mean to engage in civil dialogue? Common understandings ordinarily center on polite and dispassionately objective discourse that avoids hostility and direct antagonism. Yet, a critical understanding of civility takes into account not only the ways civility has been deployed throughout history as a tool of oppression, but also the ways it can be used to cultivate communities in which individuals’ identities, beliefs, and needs are respected. Join us to contemplate key questions in today’s climate: What do we need in this moment to embrace both chaos and community? How do we dream of a new reality to know where to go from here? We’ll seek to address these questions in ways that center meaningful dialogue, perspective-taking, and relationship-building for positive social change.
Panelist(s): Lisa-Marie Napoli, Maria Hamilton Abegunde, Carmen Henne-Ochoa