Engaging Difficult Dialogues

̨��swag’s Engaging Difficult Dialogues Workshop adapts the national “Difficult Dialogues” program in alignment with President Shannon’s “Big Bets” initiative. Designed to promote and protect academic freedom and religious, cultural, and political pluralism on university campuses, EDD equips faculty and staff to support student success and professional leadership in a dynamic, multicultural, and global workforce.

Have you witnessed individuals in the university being marginalized or even attacked for their perceived worldviews or beliefs?
Have academically relevant discussions on gender, religion, science, or politics ever caused student conflict in your classroom or co-curricular spaces?
Have you ever shied away from course objectives or related educative content such as these to avoid conflict in your courses or campus activities?
Do you believe that civil discourse, critical thinking, and the art of respectful argument are foundational elements of the university experience?
Do you struggle managing difficult student discussions while maintaining a safe, educative campus environment that promotes student success?

If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, then we invite you to apply to participate in our online workshop focused on discussion management techniques developed by the Difficult Dialogues National Resource Center and adapted for our ̨��swag community.

The workshop is designed to teach new skills to faculty and staff that transform discussions with students into the learning and affirming experiences they are meant to be. Shaping potentially combative discourses into exercises of intellectual curiosity and constructive debate, EDD teaches faculty and staff how to empower students to engage in respectful and informed disagreement. These skills equip students with communication competencies in leadership and collaboration that are needed in today’s dynamic, multicultural, and global workforce.

Together we can strengthen the learning climate on our campuses and build a university that prioritizes academic freedom, upholds the freedom of individual expression, and ensures a safe place for the free exchange of ideas.

Past Engaging Difficult Dialogues Workshop

This hybrid in-person and online workshop for faculty and staff focused on techniques designed to encourage discussions with students in the classroom and beyond that are learning and affirming experiences.

The spring 2023 workshop was inspired by the Ford Foundation Difficult Dialogues Grant/National Center for Difficult Dialogues text Start Talking: A Handbook for Engaging Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education, Kay Landis editor (University Alaska, Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University)