Inviting Dialogue: Renewing the Purposes of Higher Education (Perspectives on the Difficult Dialogues Initiative at Clark University from Spring 2005 to the present)

Authors

Higgins School of Humanities, Clark University
Sarah Buie, Clark UniversityFollow
Patricia Ewick, Clark UniversityFollow
Barbara Bigelow, Clark University
Meredith Neuman, Clark UniversityFollow
Walter Wright, Clark UniversityFollow
Abhishek Raman, Clark University
Kristen Williams, Clark UniversityFollow
John Sarrouf

Document Type

Text

Publication Date

2010

Keywords

Difficult Dialogues, higher education

Description

A 144-page document from Clark's Higgins School of Humanities (now Higgins Institute of Humanities) reporting and reflecting on Clark's Difficult Dialogues Initiative. The document is largely made up of chapter perspectives from Clark community contributors, covering the six years of Difficult Dialogues from its 2005 to its launch in 2006 to the present (2010). The following is quoted directly from the document's "Project Profile":

"Difficult Dialogues at Clark University was launched in 2006. It began as one of 27 independent programs nationwide selected from more than 700 proposals from colleges and universities by the Ford Foundation for their national Difficult Dialogues initiative.

The Difficult Dialogues initiative at Clark University raises awareness and develops skills of dialogue as a distinct approach to discourse, and encourages its practice among faculty, staff, and students. Through a wide range of public programs, faculty development, dialogue-affiliated courses, dialogue seminars, and work with student life, we support more conscious approaches to discourse and exchanges across difference. By engendering a culture of dialogue on campus, our intention is to deepen experiences of learning and engagement, and to encourage an ethos of transparency and collaboration across our community.

We offer this document for our own community as an invocation of what we’ve experienced and accomplished, and as a resource for others interested in encouraging cultures of dialogue in their institutions and organizations.

Recommended Citation

Higgins School of Humanities, Clark University; Buie, Sarah; Ewick, Patricia; Bigelow, Barbara; Neuman, Meredith; Wright, Walter; Raman, Abhishek; Williams, Kristen; and Sarrouf, John, "Inviting Dialogue: Renewing the Purposes of Higher Education (Perspectives on the Difficult Dialogues Initiative at Clark University from Spring 2005 to the present)" (2010). Difficult Dialogues (2006-2013). 1.
https://commons.clarku.edu/difficultdialogues/1