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Dialogue Across Difference
Overview | Guides | Campus Examples | Documents to Download
Bonner Curriculum and Reflection Guides
A number of trainer/facilitator guides provide support for the development of skills and habits of active listening, conflict resolution, engaging in and leading reflection, and engaging in dialogue across difference. Here are some that may be of use to programs and situations on campus. We recommend that all Bonner Programs and centers build a sequential, developmental, rich series of education, trainings, and reflections, not simply react through occasional workshops. See Documents to Download for the descriptions of these guides. Download them by clicking on the linked titles.
Other Resources
Additionally, several other national organizations have terrific resources for dialogue and deliberation. Many of these groups often convene citizens across all walks of life and political persuasions to work together on issues of concern. Many of these organizations work outside of higher education, convening individuals in municipalities and cities. Connecting their work and experience with that of higher education civic engagement could be a strategy to strengthen the engagement and impact of local initiatives for community change.
The Program on Intergroup Relations/National Intergroup Dialogue Institute
The Program on Intergroup Relations (IGR) is a social justice education program first started at the University of Michigan which also offers a model for a campus-based program consisting of courses and trainings for students (as well as faculty). IGR blends theory and experiential learning to facilitate students' learning about social group identity, social inequality, and intergroup relations. The program prepares students to live and work in a diverse world and educates them in making choices that advance equity, justice, and peace. The CommonGround Workshop Program was developed for students to learn about social inequalities and social justice in a workshop format. IGR was founded in 1988 and was the first program of its kind. IGR hosts a National Intergroup Dialogue Institute. The next one is scheduled for June 19-22, 2017 in Ann Arbor, MI. Learn more about IGR at: https://igr.umich.edu/about and learn more about the Institute at: https://igr.umich.edu/article/national-intergroup-dialogue-institute.
National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation:
The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation is a network of thousands of innovators who bring people together across divides to tackle today’s toughest challenges. NCDD serves as a gathering place, a resource clearinghouse, a news source, and a facilitative leader for this extraordinary community. Learn more about who they are and what they do at: http://www.ncdd.org/.
Essential Partners: Reaching Across the Red/Blue Divide:
This guide will help prepare individuals to speak about what is most important in ways that can be heard, and to hear others’ concerns and passions with new empathy and understanding even if — especially if — you continue to disagree. The guide offers a step-by-step approach to inviting another person — someone whose perspectives differ from your own — into a conversation in which: (1) individuals agree to set aside the desire to persuade each other and instead focus on developing a better understanding of each other’s perspectives, and the hopes, fears, and values that underlie them; (2) individuals agree to be curious and to avoid the pattern of attack and defend; and (3) individuals choose to ask questions and move beyond stereotypes and assumptions.
- Download the full guide by clicking on the image or title. This may be a helpful resource for post-election campus and community dialogues.
Conversation Café:
Developed by three women in a Seattle community, Conversation Cafés offers a range of resources for others who want to replicate dialogues in their own places. Conversation Cafés are open, hosted conversations in cafés as well as conferences and classrooms—anywhere people gather to make sense of our world. At a Conversation Café there is nothing to join, no homework, no agenda, just a simple process that helps to shift us from small talk to BIG talk, conversations that matter. Learn how to host one by vising their website. They offer videos, a blog, history, listings of events, and more.
Not In Our Town:
Not In Our Town is a movement to stop hate, address bullying, and build safe, inclusive communities for all. Their approach is based on the premise that real change takes place at the local level. Not In Our Town was launched in 1995 with its landmark PBS film that documented the heroic efforts of Billings, Montana citizens who stood up for their neighbors after a series of hate crimes. They focus on solutions to inspire and empower communities to create a world where:
- All residents stand together to stop hate and promote safety and inclusion for all
- Students and school leaders work to prevent bullying and intolerance, and promote kindness
- Law enforcement and communities join forces to prevent hate crimes and violence
- Find specific resources for communities, schools and law enforcement on https://www.niot.org/
Guide for Discussion Leaders: Free Speech & Inclusion on Campus
How do we protect free expression, inclusion, and the open exchange of ideas at our colleges and universities? Everyday Americans are deeply divided along lines of political ideology and social identity, and higher education institutions now find themselves in the middle of an ongoing - and increasingly heated - debate. Using this guide, we encourage colleges and universities to examine the tensions on their campus in order to help foster the kind of learning environment and community they want. "Treat this guide as a roadmap, not a prescription, to guide conversations about free speech and inclusion. e structure is envisioned for diverse groups of 8 to 12 people – faculty, staff, students – who meet once for 2.5 hours. You can organize a large forum with multiple small group discus- sions or a series of small group discussions spread out over time. Led by a facilitator, the discussion will follow a sequence
