American University Project on Civic Dialogue

American University Project on Civic Dialogue The Project on Civil Discourse fosters civil discourse and productive dialogue among students, faculty, staff, and the AU community.

PCD is not the Project on Civic Dialogue.  Learn more at:
10/17/2023

PCD is not the Project on Civic Dialogue.

Learn more at:

Project on Civic Dialogue at American University

"At a moment in time when many in our society remain up in arms about “cancel culture” and so-called liberal bias on Ame...
12/22/2020

"At a moment in time when many in our society remain up in arms about “cancel culture” and so-called liberal bias on American campuses, few people recognize that those who suffer the most from limitations on free speech might actually be the very same professors accused by some of indoctrination."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/12/22/latest-chapter-mississippis-long-history-squelching-anti-racist-activism/

Freedom of speech on campuses is key to addressing racial inequality.

“A lot of the focus that we might give on this self-editing question is much more complex than what’s happening on a col...
09/29/2020

“A lot of the focus that we might give on this self-editing question is much more complex than what’s happening on a college campus,” Schwartz said. Many students “are coming from homogenous communities and are coming into much more heterogeneous communities in college … People are very unused to being in a community where they’re a minority viewpoint.”

A new report finds a majority of students feel they can't express their opinions on campus, especially when they are in the ideological minority and even if they believe their college fosters a climate that supports free speech.

08/24/2020

PCD's first for-credit offering is SPA-296: Campus discourse, rights to responsibilities.

This one-credit class meets Thursdays starting 10/1 from 5:30-7:10pm ET.

Course description:
Most conversations about speech on campus focus on the term “free,” which is derived from our First Amendment’s protections against government interference. But speech- whether in the public square or on campus- is not entirely unregulated. Laws protecting intellectual property rights, consumers’ rights, and individual safety all effectively limit our freedom to speak (I cannot pass off Beyonce’s songs as my own, advertise my Tofu Surprise as real beef, or threaten my neighbor with violence). In the classroom, academic integrity rules, course, subject matter, and norms of classroom conversation limit what we can say (we can’t pass off a friend’s paper as our own, submit a psychology paper in our physics course, or sing while others are talking).

These rules and norms notwithstanding, we all have a great deal of latitude to determine how to use our voices. Each of us must choose how we use our freedom to speak, listen, learn, explore new ideas, protest, form (and end) relationships, forgive, and grow. This course is a collaborative learning experience in which students explore the factors that affect central components of higher education: expression, inquiry, listening, and working with others. In these conversations, students will move beyond simple questions of freedom vs. censorship and consider their values and responsibilities as speakers and learners.

Course requirements:
• Attendance and engagement, including self-assessment 60%
• Personal reflection (may be video, paper, artwork, blog, website) 40%

"A dozen protesters facing federal charges are barred from going to “public gatherings” as a condition of release from j...
07/29/2020

"A dozen protesters facing federal charges are barred from going to “public gatherings” as a condition of release from jail — a tactic one expert described as “sort of hilariously unconstitutional.”"

A dozen protesters facing federal charges are barred from going to “public gatherings” as a condition of release from jail — a tactic one expert described as “sort of hilariously unconstitutional.”

07/18/2020

"We must build a beloved community, an all-inclusive community, a community at peace with itself."

Representative John Lewis. Senate Judiciary Committee testimony, March 24, 2004.

Still time to register for this Tuesday's conversation: Building Faith Remotely with Rev. Khristi Adams, author of "Para...
06/27/2020

Still time to register for this Tuesday's conversation: Building Faith Remotely with Rev. Khristi Adams, author of "Parable of the Brown Girl" and Rabbi Ruti Regan, visiting scholar at Harvard Law School Project on Disability.

Tuesday, June 30 at Noon ET on Zoom.

RSVP: https://american.swoogo.com/pcdseries

06/19/2020

On the eve of Juneteenth, educators said the history of systemic racism in this country and the contributions of Black people have been erased.

"These shows...and all those who are profiting from it, have made a choice. The report's goal is to both expose that and...
06/16/2020

"These shows...and all those who are profiting from it, have made a choice. The report's goal is to both expose that and to hopefully give more power to people on the inside because we know there are people on the inside who want want to do the right thing to push for the right thing and push for change. to give them more power and more data to do that well," he said. "And then the goal...over time is that we are going to run campaigns. We are going to push back against these depictions and folks won't be able to say that they didn't know, that there wasn't any information out there, that they aren't making a choice, that they aren't choosing profit over the real depictions of people's lives and that it could have real harm."

Crime dramas are the cornerstone of primetime television,...

RSVP link now available for our summer brown bag series on Zoom. May 26: Inspired Higher Education with Kevin Gannon, au...
05/19/2020

RSVP link now available for our summer brown bag series on Zoom.

May 26: Inspired Higher Education with Kevin Gannon, author of Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto

and every Tuesday at noon ET.

Join Lara Schwartz, executive director of the Project for Civil Discourse at AU’s School of Public Affairs (SPA), every Tuesday at noon for a conversation series on building and maintaining community and connection in a world of self-quarantine.

"California could permit protests on the condition that individuals abide by social distancing guidelines and mask ordin...
05/19/2020

"California could permit protests on the condition that individuals abide by social distancing guidelines and mask ordinances. It could reasonably limit the number of protesters so that social distancing is feasible. To protect the health of state employees, it could impose buffer zones around entrances and exits to state buildings.

But that is not what California did. Instead, it chose to indefinitely strip Californians of their fundamental right to protest."

Although some states have tried to ban them, anti-lockdown demonstrations are protected by the First Amendment.

Introducing the Project on Civil Discourse Summer brown bag lunch series-- Communication and Community  in the Time of S...
05/19/2020

Introducing the Project on Civil Discourse Summer brown bag lunch series-- Communication and Community in the Time of Social Distancing.

Tuesdays at noon Eastern, starting May 26, on Zoom.

An RSVP link for our first event-- Inspired Higher Education Across Distance-- will be posted tomorrow.

All are welcome- and please share widely.

Webinar:  Virtual Introductions for Incoming Students: Building an Inclusive Campus Community in an Online WorldThe COVI...
05/14/2020

Webinar: Virtual Introductions for Incoming Students: Building an Inclusive Campus Community in an Online World

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the way we approach many things, and higher education is no exception. Campus orientation programs and some fall programming will now be conducted online.

On Thursday, May 21st at 10:00 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET, UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement Fellows Lara Schwartz and Andrea Malkin Brenner, authors of How to College: What to Know Before You Go (And When You’re There) and American University class of 2020 member and Project on Civil Discourse coordinator Isabella Dominique will address the challenges that this new reality brings for building inclusive learning communities. They will describe effective ways to onboard new students online and share techniques for building trust, transparency and respect in classroom and campus conversations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the way we approach many things, and higher education is no exception. Campus orientation programs and some fall programming will now be conducted online. On Thursday, May 21st at 10:00 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET, UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement Fell...

"Per ADF policy, its attorneys called transgender girls “male athletes” and referred to them with male pronouns. In Apri...
05/12/2020

"Per ADF policy, its attorneys called transgender girls “male athletes” and referred to them with male pronouns. In April, U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny, the Bill Clinton appointee overseeing the case, ordered ADF lawyers to say “transgender females” instead in an effort to preserve “respectful, humane, intelligent, civil discourse.” In response, ADF accused Chatigny of displaying an “appearance of bias,” asserted a violation of its First Amendment rights, and asked the judge to disqualify himself."

It is not biased or unconstitutional for a judge to demand that transgender litigants be treated with respect.

"Many people try to avoid drama or debates on their social media accounts, and I respect that. But this video is not a t...
05/10/2020

"Many people try to avoid drama or debates on their social media accounts, and I respect that. But this video is not a time to “agree to disagree” because the stakes are too high. It’s a matter of life and death. The false statements in this video can cause deaths."

The stakes are too high right now not to push back on dangerous misinformation about the pandemic. Everyone has a social responsibility to speak up.

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