Blueprint for Reform: Civil Discourse
American college and university campuses are at risk of becoming echo chambers. Many students are afraid to express their opinions because it’s unclear how their professors and peers will receive…
Posts tagged with
“Civil Discourse”
Why I Started A Free-Speech Magazine at Duke
At America’s elite universities, we are told that pursuing free inquiry and civil discourse is a fundamental value. Administrators champion “grand” initiatives such as the Duke Provost’s Initiative on Free…
AI Meets Civil Discourse
As universities across the U.S. seek to deal with protests, polarization, and the presidential election, many have focused on how to foster civil-discourse skills in students. As this tweet (below)…
UNC’s School of Civic Life and Leadership Is Up and Running
Only 14 months after the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees voted to accelerate the creation of the School of Civic Life and Leadership, SCiLL has made significant progress. “The idea…
Restoring Real Debate on College Campuses
I don’t sleep much after chairing a Braver Angels college debate. There’s a surge of excitement that reverberates for hours after I guide the collision of highly charged, diverse viewpoints…
The Public Discourse Program at UNC-Chapel Hill: Expanding Students’ Minds
Since the rise of social media, many students have gotten used to discussing difficult topics within the protection of their own echo chambers. Students are often not expected to defend…
A Conversation with UNC-Chapel Hill’s New Provost, Chris Clemens
Late last year, UNC-Chapel Hill’s chancellor, Kevin Guskiewicz, announced the appointment of the university’s new executive vice chancellor and provost, Christopher “Chris” Clemens. Clemens, who officially began his new role…
Revitalizing Freedom of Expression at Davidson
Over the last several years, Davidson College’s inhospitality to freedom of thought has caught the attention of concerned alumni. Among other concerns, a group of alumni was deeply dismayed by…
Teaching Students Civil Dialogue in a Culture Hostile to Free Speech
It can be disheartening to witness how college culture has become inhospitable to viewpoints that fall outside of the ideological mainstream. For example, a March 2020 report by three professors…
UNC Board Steps Up to Defend Civil Discourse on Campus
An important new front in the culture war has opened up at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one with major implications about intellectual diversity and how universities…