{"id":441,"date":"2024-04-15T20:48:05","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T20:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/life-at-mac\/?page_id=441"},"modified":"2025-09-18T18:08:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T18:08:34","slug":"dialogue-across-differences","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/life-at-mac\/dialogue-across-differences\/","title":{"rendered":"Dialogue Across Differences"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cOne of my highest priorities is to ensure all members of this community \nfeel included and all voices can be heard\u2014even the ones that challenge or upset us. We must do all we can to promote the exchange of ideas, anticipating that it sometimes will result in passionate conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

-Dr. Suzanne M. Rivera, President<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

At Macalester College, we foster a learning environment that challenges our students and supports them as  they develop their own opinions. This means encouraging them to remain curious, listen deeply, practice discernment, and maintain a learning stance as they encounter ideas that are unfamiliar or even in conflict with their worldviews. We invite students to engage courageously with the most vexing controversies of the day. Sometimes it gets messy and that\u2019s okay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We believe more speech\u2014not less\u2014is vital to learning. We treat differences of opinion as opportunities to learn and grow. For this reason, we encourage academic departments at Macalester to invite speakers to campus from across the political spectrum who are passionate about their areas of expertise. We train students to communicate persuasively in classes, using evidence to support their arguments. And, through co-curricular programming, we provide opportunities to apply these skills in dialogue with others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here is a sampling of the efforts currently underway at Macalester to promote viewpoint multiplicity and encourage dialogue across differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advisory Group on Dialogue Across Differences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Advisory Group on Dialogue Across Differences was established by President Rivera to coordinate, facilitate, and promote programming that advances the strategic goal of fostering understanding, empathy, open-mindedness, and a willingness to engage constructively across even deep differences of experience and perspective. The group is co-chaired by Dr. Sarah West (Professor of Economics) and Dr. Hui Wilcox (Professor and Dean of the Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship), with student, faculty, and staff representation.<\/p>\n\n\n

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2024-25 Annual Report<\/h2>\n

The advisory group summarized last year’s Dialogue Across Differences programs in this report.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n Read the Report<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

Campus Free Expression Project<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Council of Independent Colleges is now overseeing the Campus Free Expression Project<\/a>, which launched in 2019 at the Bipartisan Policy Center. Through this initiative, CIC is offering resources to support academic leaders in creating consistent, principled approaches to civil discourse and free expression, including publications, webinars, and training sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Civil Discourse Project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Macalester Professor of Political Science Lesley Lavery will participate in the summer seminar “Teaching Civil Discourse in the Classroom.” Part of Duke University’s Civil Discourse Project<\/a>, the seminar promotes civil discourse through modeling and teaching the capacities and virtues necessary to engage in productive exchange across differences. The seminar will cover topics including potential course content and best practices for effectively promoting civil discussion over sensitive topics in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

College Presidents for Civic Preparedness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Representing Macalester, President Rivera is an inaugural member of College Presidents for Civic Preparedness<\/a> (CP2), an initiative of the Institute for Citizens and Scholars<\/a>. CP2 brings together campus leaders who are committed to preparing today\u2019s young people for confident citizenship in our democracy. Participating institutions spotlight, uplift, and emphasize the principles of freedom of expression and critical inquiry on our campuses through a coordinated set of presidential and campus activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congress to Campus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Congress to Campus<\/a> is the flagship program of the Association of Former Members of Congress, an alliance of 800 former US senators and representatives. In 2022, with financial support from Mac alums, Macalester began a partnership with Congress to Campus<\/a> that will bring new speakers from both sides of the US political aisle to campus each year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program helps students become informed voters who understand multiple perspectives on an issue, engage in constructive dialogue, and practice listening to opposing views, even when they make us uncomfortable or angry. The goal is not to engage in a formal debate, with a winner emerging at the end, nor provide a platform for former members to broadcast their personal views. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Unpacking Academic Freedom at Congress to Campus<\/h3>\n

Former US representatives Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) and Rob Woodall (R-Ga.) were at Macalester in October 2023 for the second Congress to Campus event.<\/p>\n

\n Read More<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/article> \n
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Learning Across the Aisle<\/h3>\n

Former US representatives Sam Coppersmith (D-Ariz.) and Dennis Ross (R-Fla.) participated in a question and answer session in October 2022 about how they arrived at their positions on reproductive rights.<\/p>\n

\n Read More<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/article> \n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

Critical Dialogue Series<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Critical Dialogue Series<\/a> invites us to listen to voices that affirm, contradict, and challenge our worldviews. Led by staff in the Lealtad-Suzuki Center for Social Justice, this series equips our community with the tools to navigate complex and difficult topics, interrogate our lived experiences, and embrace the contradictions inherent in real-world issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Discussion Project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Discussion Project<\/a> is a professional learning course to support instructors in designing, implementing, and facilitating high-quality classroom discussion. At Macalester, this learning opportunity is administered by Jan Serie Center for Scholarship and Teaching. The course will be held following the spring semester, with priority given to faculty who will be teaching at least one discussion-based class during the coming academic year or who are interested in incorporating more discussion into their classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macalester Alumni of Moderation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Macalester Alumni of Moderation<\/a> \u2013 or \u201cMac Mods\u201d \u2013 is a group of active alumni dedicated to promoting free speech, academic freedom, and viewpoint diversity on campus and in the world. They share our belief that a liberal arts education is enhanced by differing points of view shared freely on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reduce the Rancor, Minnesota<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reduce the Rancor, Minnesota<\/a> is a statewide campaign led by Braver Angels<\/a> to reduce hostility and increase respect in public and private life. Macalester has endorsed the program alongside other prominent leaders and organizations in Minnesota.  Together with participants from University of Northwestern, Macalester students, a faculty member, and the President, will participate in ongoing dialogue to practice the skills of respectful dialogue and build relationships across ideological differences.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cOne of my highest priorities is to ensure all members of this community feel included and all voices can be heard\u2014even the ones that challenge or upset us. We must do all we can to promote the exchange of ideas, anticipating that it sometimes will result in passionate conflict.\u201d -Dr. Suzanne M. Rivera, President At […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":391,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-441","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/life-at-mac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/life-at-mac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/life-at-mac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/life-at-mac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/life-at-mac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/life-at-mac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":773,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/life-at-mac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/441\/revisions\/773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/life-at-mac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}