A Conversation of Understanding – The Power of Civil Discourse: Strategies for Productive Dialogue
This discussion will focus on the importance of dialogue in critical thinking skills and understanding. The conversation will be a hybrid event — available both as a live virtual discussion, and for the first time, held on campus in SIU Carbondale Student Center’s Ohio Room. Faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members are invited to join the discussion from noon to 1:30 p.m.
The meeting will be available on the SIU System’s YouTube channel.
A Q&;A session will be from 1 to 1:30 p.m. during which both on campus and online audiences can participate. Online participants can use the YouTube comment section. Questions may be submitted before or during the event by email to doris.williams@siu.edu.
Speakers will include:
• Sheila Caldwell, SIU System vice president for antiracism, diversity, equity and inclusion, and chief diversity officer, who will serve as moderator.
• Michael W. Eichholz, professor, zoology and Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, and program director, professional science master's - Wildlife Administration and Management, SIU Carbondale.
• Linda Flowers, executive president, Carbondale NAACP branch.
• J. Tobin Grant, professor, political science, SIU Carbondale.
• Jyotsna Kapur, professor, cinema and media studies and director, University Honors Program, SIU Carbondale.
• Pamela Smoot, assistant professor of history, School of History and Philosophy, SIU Carbondale.
• Doris Williams, program coordinator, SIU System President’s Office, will serve as facilitator.
Conversations of Understanding have become a fixture across the SIU System and on our individual campuses. They are a series of exchanges where students, alumni, faculty, staff and the broader SIU communities can share their experiences and thoughts on a variety of themes related to antiracism, diversity, equity and inclusion. We want to be a model for others in higher education and be recognized as a leader in our region and beyond for our work in fostering understanding of relevant contemporary issues.
Sponsored by the SIU System President’s Office and the SIU System Diversity Advisory Council.