Dialogues Program at MSU Denver , Summer 2020 Dialogue Series

Dialogues Program at MSU Denver

Conflict is a normal part of life. But it is not always a comfortable one. Lean into the discomfort and join us to dialogue about difficult topics in a meaningful way.

What is Dialogue?

Dialogue is not debate or discussion. Rather, dialogue is a process where we invite inquiry, explore differences, and build shared understandings.

In our campus community, the Dialogues Program brings together students, faculty, and staff to participate in small-group facilitated dialogues. Dialogue brings people together to deeply engage in listening, sharing our lived experiences and challenges us to think about different perspectives other than our own. Above all, dialogue is about having a space to learn from each other despite differences and to create change by talking about action.

You can download a Dialogues Program Overview document here: Dialogues Program Overview (PDF).

Check out our Dialouge@MSUDenver Padlet to learn more about dialogue, get resources related to our dialogue sessions, and more!

The Dialogues Program is a joint partnership between the Communication Studies Department and the Dean of Students Office.

More on Dialogues: What you need to know to participate

All dialogues are different. As a participant in dialogue, you may engage in facilitated discussion, self-reflection, small group discussions, and activities. Typically, a dialogue consists of about 15 people with 2 facilitators. The facilitators will have a plan for the flow of dialogue, but ultimately it is up to the participants on where it goes.

You should expect dialogue to be uncomfortable. Dialogue bridges the gap of understanding by allowing for space where people bravely confront uncomfortable conversations with vulnerability, trust, and openness. By allowing people to voluntarily enter a situation where they know they will be sharing opinions that will be challenged, and listening to others' opinions and struggles, dialogue helps us understand each other in a deeper way. Engaging in dialogue is not easy and it can be difficult building trust in a room full of potential strangers or over virtual platforms.

The purpose of dialogue is to uphold each person's dignity, challenge each other's perspectives, and be respectful of each other's voice. The beginning of each dialogue will start with norms and community building to ensure that we are all on the same page. Facilitators guide the dialogue and help the group uphold the norms.

How to bring Dialogue to the classroom, student org meeting, and more!

Dialogues are offered through a semester-based series, single opportunities, and can be tailored to fit the classroom, department meeting, student organization event, program discussion, in your community-based organization, and in other settings. We also can host and facilitate other events that encourage community building and understanding.

If you are interested in bringing dialogue to you or partnering on a dialogue event, please contact Elise Krumholz at ekrumholz@msudenver.edu.

We will collaborate with you to develop and facilitate a dialogue to help you address a complex or contentious issue. During the initial consultation, we will discuss what you would like to achieve, how to prepare your class/program/organization for dialogue, and what the facilitated dialogue will look like.

What is the difference between Dialogue, Debate & Discussion?

To better understand what makes dialogue, dialogue, please explore the difference between Dialogue, Debate & Discussion:

(Adapted from The National Intergroup Dialogue Institute (n.d.)

Dialogue	Debate	Discussion

Broaden our own perspective	Succeed or win	Present ideas

Look for a shared meaning	Look for weakness	Seek answers and solutions

Find places of agreement	Stress disagreement	Persuade others

Express paradox and ambiguity	Defend our opinion	Enlist others

Bring out areas of ambivalence	Focus on 'right' or 'wrong'	Share information

Allow for and invite differences of opinion and experience	Advocate one perspective or opinion	Solve our own and others' problems

Ask questions and invite inquiry

Discover collective meaning	Search for flaws in logic	Give answers

Challenge ourselves and other's preconceived notions	Judge other viewpoints as inferior, invalid or distorted	Achieve preset goals

Explore thoughts and feelings	Deny other's feelings	Acknowledge feelings, then discount them as inappropriate

Listen without judgment and with a view to understand	Listen with a view of countering	Listen for places of disagreement

Validate other's experiences and feelings	Discount the validity of feelings	Avoid feelings

Articulate areas of conflict and difference	Focus on the conflict and difference as advantage	Avoid areas of strong conflict and difference

Build relationships	Disregard relationships	Retain relationships

Honor silence	Use silence to gain advantage	Avoid silence

Summer 2020 Dialogue Series

How Do We Talk About Race?

The death of black men and women due to police violence and deep rooted systemic racism have resulted in protests across the country (and the world). As a result, many in the campus community may be struggling to identify how they feel, provide support to others, engage with others on social media, talk with their family and friends, or with their coworkers about what is going on and about race.

The Dialogues Program recognizes the importance to listen and share with each other about what is happening right now. And the importance of action. We also understand that the now includes our current context of covid-19 and experiencing a health crisis that has wide ranging ripple effects, as well.

We will be hosting several events this summer, starting with a Livestream Event on June 12th where Dr. Katia Campbell will be moderating a panel of Black scholars from across the University as they discuss, How Do We Talk About What’s Going On?

Also, listen in to Dr. Katia Campbell talk with Dr. Janine Davidson, MSU Denver President, talk about the Dialouges Program here.

We will also be hosting smaller facilitated dialogue sessions over Microsoft Teams as part of the overall series. To learn more about the full series, to go to the Livestream event, or to RSVP for the dialogue sessions, scroll down.

A note on the summer schedule:

Please be aware that the dialogue sessions may have limited capacity. You may be placed on a waitlist if you sign-up after we have reached our capacity for those events. We will let you know if spots open up and if we are able to plan an additional session. We also recognize that there may be a session that you cannot attend. We scheduled the sessions for different days and times in the hopes that there is an option that may work for you.

Questions? Want to know more about Dialogues?

Please feel free to reach out to us with questions:

Communication Studies:

Katia Campbell, Associate Professor, Communication Studies & Faculty Senate President

kcampb28@msudenver.edu

Dan Lair, Chair & Associate Professor, Communication Studies

dlair@msudenver.edu

Dean of Students Office:

Elise Krumholz, Coordinator for Student Conflict Resolution Services

ekrumhol@msudenver.edu

Thomas Ragland, Director of Student Accountability & Behavioral Intervention

Traglan1@msudenver.edu

Dean of Students Office Phone Number: 303-615-0220

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