INTD 250: Speaking and Writing Across Difference
What is the purpose of INTD 250?
This course will be taught beginning in Fall 2023 and will teach students how to facilitate effective dialogue. Students interested in taking the course must be selected through an interview process and the course is team-taught by a variety of instructors. To learn more about the class, you can explore the syllabus here.
After completion of the course, course participants will be invited to work with community members to have dialogue about difficult topics -- they will act as dialogue facilitators in the community! This will be supported by Dickinson's Center for Civic Learning and Action.
Course Description
In this course, we engage with the theoretical frameworks and practical applications of dialogue necessary to bring about culture change in our communities. First, we will discuss the concept of civil (and uncivil) dialogue. What is civil dialogue, and why do we engage in it? How can the concept of "civility" be used against people? What happens when dialogue fails? What tools do we have left? If the goal of dialogue is mutual understanding, how do we know if we have achieved mutual understanding? We also delve into issues that affect dialogue: the costs of polarization and cancel culture; the notion of free speech; the implications of safe versus brave spaces; misinformation and disinformation; the role of ethical reasoning; civil dialogue in global contexts; and the critiques of civility in regard to minoritized people. Second, students will explore various public conversation models, evaluate them in light of our campus culture, and make recommendations about their transformative potential. Third, the class will choose two models and facilitate a dialogue using their methods.