Year of Focus
Every year, beginning with the 2024-25 academic year, the Year of Focus will bring a diversity of perspectives to bear on a single question, topic or challenge through public performances, films, lectures, readings, workshops, symposia and other forms of engagement.
The 2024-25 topic, Dialogue and Discourse in Divisive Times, will engage the WSU community in a yearlong conversation and exploration of constructive discourse and dialogue – its purpose, history, challenges and importance in a diverse democracy. Constructive discourse and dialogue on college campuses is vital if we are to promote critical thinking, foster understanding, and create a space for diverse perspectives to be heard and respected. It is even more important during times of uncertainty, social unrest and ideological conflict.
The goal of the 2024-25 Year of Focus will be to foster intellectual engagement with the following question: In polarized and divisive times, how do we invest in and elevate constructive discourse and dialogue and so rise to the challenge of an increasingly complex world?
Events
We will open the fall semester with a series of events that focus on building our capacity to engage in constructive dialogue across differences and the importance of this effort to democracy.
Kicking off the 2024 Year of Focus is a symposium on Sept. 12 featuring a talk by Professor John Inazu, author of Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect. Following Inazu’s talk, there will be a panel discussion and series of interactive activities designed to engage participants in dialogue. This event will also include free copies of Inazu's text, lunch, and an opportunity to sign up for workshops and events that will take place place throughout the semester.
In addition to this opening event, we plan to have a series of events throughout the academic year that embrace this year's theme and challenge the campus community to elevate our commitment and capacity for engaging in constructive dialogue across our many differences. To facilitate compelling, inclusive and meaningful programming, we invite you to email ideas, related events and resources to yearoffocus@wayne.edu.
External resources
More Like Us — Americans are more similar across the political spectrum than we think; this lesson plan for secondary schools explores the Perception Gap, which posits that people believe the other side has more extreme beliefs than they actually do.
- Similarity Hub — Use this one-stop shop to discover policy overlaps between Democrats and Republicans, and among supermajorities of Americans.
- "Are we really as divided as we think?"
Essential Partners (formerly the Public Conversations Project) — This project helps people build relationships despite their differences to address their communities’ most pressing challenges.
- Resources for dialogue in higher ed — Incredibly rich resources including examples, activities, lesson plans, etc.
Divided Community Project, Moritz Law School
Constructive Dialogue Institute
Better Arguments — A national civic initiative created to help bridge divides, not by papering over those divides but by helping people have better arguments.
