October 11, 2006
Clark University to launch Difficult Dialogues program
Worcester, Mass. - This fall Clark University launches its Difficult Dialogues program, aimed at creating a culture of dialogue on campus. Clark is one of 27 institutions of higher education selected out of 675 nationwide for a $100,000 Ford Foundation grant to facilitate a two-year program of trainings and events to encourage discourse across differences.
The goals of Clark's Difficult Dialogues program are:
- to develop the skills of dialogue among faculty, students, and administrators
- to encourage a culture where those skills are valued, developed and practiced in respectful, safe settings, and
- to integrate these practices into the curriculum
This focus on dialogue is aimed at addressing a climate of separation and silence around difference that too often exists not only on campuses across the nation but in society as a whole.
Co-directing the Difficult Dialogues program are Sarah Buie, director of the Higgins School of Humanities, and William Fisher, director of the Department of International Development, Community, and Environment (IDCE). With an ever-expanding team of faculty, staff and students, they have worked to create a Difficult Dialogues program that can engage all members of the University, as well as the Worcester community, in workshops, trainings, panels and arts events.
Some programs are designed to expand the appreciation of dialogue's potential and meaning; others are a chance to experience the power of dialogue as modeled by others. Workshops and trainings build skills of dialogue and create opportunities to practice those skills around significant and controversial issues. Arts events and those highlighting creativity reveal dialogue as a force for learning something new.
"At Clark and in our country as a whole, we see a combination of forces at work which make it harder for people to have dialogues—to listen well, to enter conversations without preconceptions, to think together, to respect the coherence of another's view (even if you disagree), and to ask real questions. The process of respectful, open exchange is fundamental to a healthy democracy, and the best arena for all manner of creativity and connection," says Buie.
Twenty Clark faculty are participating in an intensive faculty development process with consultants from the Ashland Institute, Dialogos and the Public Conversation Project to expand their skills and awareness of dialogue in relation to their teaching. Another 30 faculty, staff and graduate students have participated in a daylong dialogue training experience. A total of ten classes, including first-year seminars, will integrate skills of dialogue into the course content for 150 students, beginning in the 2007 spring semester.
Fisher notes, "We're really trying to create an open and safe environment where people will feel comfortable enough to express opinions and not feel that they'll be done in by criticism, or what they say won't be heard or appreciated or somehow validated. It's up to the University to provide an environment where both sides can be heard and in a way that is respectful to the other side." \
The Difficult Dialogues program officially begins at Clark on Tuesday, October 31, with a campus-wide "Day of Listening." Faculty, staff and students will learn skills of listening during a series of informal interactive workshops held around campus throughout the day.
Two major events are free and open to the general public:
Keynote address
Diana Chapman Walsh
Wednesday, Nov. 1
7:30 p.m.
Razzo Hall, Traina Center for the Arts, Downing Street
Diana Chapman Walsh, twelfth president of Wellesley College, will talk about how, as leader of the nation's pre-eminent college for women, she emphasizes the practice of dialogue as a vital aspect of campus intellectual and cultural life.
Forum
"Bridging the Abortion Divide: The Boston Story"
Thursday, Nov. 2
7:30 p.m.
Daniels Theater, Atwood Hall, Downing Street
Boston "pro-choice" and "pro-life" leaders will discuss a secret dialogue that began after local clinic shootings in 1994 and was made public through a jointly authored article in the Boston Globe five years later. The panelists will discuss what made their difficult conversations constructive, as well as how their exchanges affect their lives, their leadership and the abortion conflict in Boston. Moderating the discussion is Laura Chasin, a co-facilitator of their dialogue and founder of the Public Conversations Project, the organization that convened their dialogue. The panel is followed by roundtable conversations, open to all attending the event.
Other upcoming events for the campus community include:
Workshop
"Way of Council"
Wednesday, Nov. 1
3 to 6 p.m.
Dana Commons
Bonnie Mennell and Paul LeVasseur of the School for International Training, Putney, VT, will offer a workshop and discussion. Council is an ancient tradition, and modern practice spans diverse cultures and religions. This practice elicits an experience of true community, recognizing that each voice needs to be heard, that every person has a gift, a story to share and a piece of the whole.
Lecture
"David Bohm and the Wholeness of Nature: A Dialogue on Physics and Humanity"
Monday, Nov. 6
4 p.m.
Dana Commons
Clark Professor of Physics and Education Les Blatt discusses the ideas of maverick quantum theorist David Bohm. Bohm may be the only physicist who was able to put forward truly convincing arguments on the connections between the laws of nature at the atomic and nuclear scales on one hand and the universe at large on the other. Professor Blatt explores how Bohm's ideas and life journey culminated in the book On Dialogue.
Workshop
"From Dialogue to Action: Utilizing Communication for Social Change to Catalyze Social Movement"
Monday, Nov. 6
12:30 to 3 p.m.
Dana Commons
Denise Felder-Gray, president of Communication for Social Change Consortium, and Heidi Larson of the IDCE faculty will explore two cases in which fundamentals of communication for social change are applied to knowledge of HIV status and accountable government.
Film
"Promises" (2002)
Tuesday, Nov. 7
7:30 p.m.
Razzo Hall, Traina Center for the Arts, Downing Street
Though they live only 20 minutes apart, seven Israeli and Palestinian children exist in completely separate worlds; the physical, historical and emotional obstacles between them run deep. The ability to have dialogues in a way that breaks through prejudices is surely a prerequisite for peace in the region, and yet hardly anyone has such conversations. The documentary filmmakers B.Z. Goldberg and Justin Shapiro were able to confront and overcome these obstacles for a time. The film explores the nature of these boundaries and tells the story of a few children who dared to cross the lines to meet their neighbors. The screening will be followed by roundtable discussions. This film is part of the Difficult Dialogues film series.
The public is invited to attend two special launch events, free of charge.
Difficult Dialogues launch events conclude with a rousing drumming workshop and circle led by members of the EarthSpirit community based in western Massachusetts. Drumming is a unique form of dialogue, dependent on keen listening and creative, natural response through rhythm and movement.
The Difficult Dialogues program runs throughout 2007 and will include events that examine the state of our democracy, the questions of racial and religious intolerance, and the phenomena of power. Through these, the Clark and Worcester community have the opportunity to appreciate, learn and practice the skills of dialogue–the practice of conscious exchange in which different views and beliefs can be shared toward the goal of greater mutual understanding.
All of the events are co-sponsored by the Higgins School of Humanities and the International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE) Department at Clark. For more information, visit http://www.difficultdialogues.org/. For more information about Clark's Difficult Dialogues programs, visit www.clarku.edu/dd/calendars.