The CASE building, where some members of the Office of Information Technology are located. (Courtesy of the University of Colorado Boulder)
On Sept. 16, the Center for Arts and Humanities hosted its latest event in its “Difficult Dialogue” series at the Grace Commons Church. This event specifically focused on election year polarization and how one can stay neighborly with those who hold an opposing ideology.
The panelists at this event included Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett, University of Colorado Boulder Associate Professor of Journalism Angie Chuang and CU Boulder Associate Professor of Communication Matthew Koschmann.
For the first half of the event, CU Boulder Associate Professor Michaele Ferguson, acting as the moderator, guided the panelists through various topics related to the night’s theme. Some of these topics included how to stay civil, how to have productive conversations and the importance of finding common ground.
Later, the event transitioned to a Q&A portion, where panelists responded to questions asked by the audience. One audience member, Andy Young, asked how CU Boulder works to prevent an “ideological bubble” from forming on the campus.
Professors Chuang and Koschmann both said they felt that the university does a great job at ensuring that no one ideology is seen as “correct” on campus. Both agreed that the faculty in their respective departments come from different backgrounds and harbor unique opinions, which they said proves the university’s commitment to preventing an ideological bubble.
Professor Ferguson also explained how she aims to examine and teach different ideologies through a more objective lens in one of her classes. She said this helps students better understand what different ideologies truly represent and to decide for themselves where they stand.
Young said he thinks events like this one are valuable.
“I think we’re too much getting behind our screens, and we need to get out there and interact and with folks,” he said. “That would probably diffuse a lot of the animosity that’s building up.”
Chuang said the best piece of advice CU Boulder students should take away from the event is that they must step away from trying to argue to prove themselves right.
“(If) we start to move away from debating and more into conversation, we can get into a better space,” she said. “But you have to need to not want to win, and I think that’s a tough thing that we’ve been trained to do.”
The next Difficult Dialogue event will focus on how democracy in the US has changed and evolved. It will be held on Oct. 2 at the Colorado Chautauqua’s Community House from 6:00-7:30 p.m.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Charlie Meyer at charles.meyer@colorado.edu.
