Greetings, Community!
The sociologist and writer Paul Goodman once said, “Suppose you had the revolution you are talking and dreaming about. Suppose your side had won, and you had the kind of society that you wanted. How would you live, you personally, in that society? Start living that way now!” It is with this insight in mind that we (Ian Fournier, Monica Fung-Janardhan, Bridget Grim and Faith Yacubian) have collaborated on a campus-wide dialogue series called Critical Conversations.
Critical Conversations is a campus-wide programming series aimed to bring the community together to discuss critical issues of the 21st century that have historical roots. Local and global socio-political issues affect each of us in unique and disparate ways. This program provides a platform for us to share personal opinions and perspectives that aid in building new and evolving queries about complex social issues collectively, such as White Supremacy and Violent Masculinity. As a cross-departmental hosted event, Critical Conversation not only encourages conversations across roles, but acknowledges the value of a transdisciplinary and multi-positional approach to diversity, equity and inclusion work.
Using InSpace as the primary platform and the World Café model for conversations across differences, participants will apply social justice tools, such as reflective listening, to encourage courageous honesty, curious listening, and compassionate querying.
You can participate in one or all of the Critical Conversations. Calendar invitations to come shortly. The dates/time are below:
- February – Tuesday, February 9th @ 4:00pm – 5:30pm
Title: Black Lives Movement
- March – Thursday, March 18th @ 4:00pm – 5:30pm
Title: Healing from White Supremacy
- April – Tuesday, April 6th @ 4:00pm – 5:30pm
Title: Non-Violent Masculinity
We look forward to sharing this space with you, thinking deeply together and noticing the practical application of emergent ideas.
Yours in Action,
Monica, Bridget, Faith, and Ian