How to Have Political Conversations in the Classroom?

These conversations need an ongoing construct of a space safe. From the start, dedicate deliberate time over the course of the semester.

• Set the tone. One way to do this is to show your own vulnerability on the topic.
• Make clear what you bring to class and why you are teaching it. Make it clear that there is no such thing as objectivity or a right answer, and the issues that are discussed are complex. State any normative positions you have in any topics at the beginning of class.
• Establish "non-negotiables". Make clear that evidence really matters. Evidence can be from data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics but also can be from personal experiences. Acknowledge that knowledge comes from different places and is valid, but be firm that when we share that knowledge or evidence that we never attack another person. Appreciate that people of goodwill can disagree but that in order to have a conversation it has to be about the issues at hand, and not about the judgements about other peoples lived experiences. [4:33]
• Acknowledge the student's efforts. State that you see them, understand that they may be nervous about speaking in class, but encourage engagement as that will create a better class environment and give students the opportunity to really grapple as a community this idea. [26:30]

• The goal is to teach students how to work through their own biases and processes beyond just the course material. Teach them to be active thinkers, consumers of information relevant to politics. Be clear that your point of view is embedded into the syllabus, and we shouldn't act as if that is not true, and admit that there are things that you don't know.
• In the beginning, set up community agreements, a set of principles of how we're going to engage in conversation. An popular example is "take space, make space", the idea that if you're cognizant of how much space you're taking up and sho if you're talking too much that you know kind of pull back. [3:29]
• Be comfortable with discomfort. Establish with your class that these are tough topical discussions and that they should elicit emotions that are unsettling, and that it is normal to feel this way. State how these discussions may uncover information contrary to your beliefs or ideas of how the United States has worked historically which can be uncomfortable but normal. [3:42]
• Look for the "ray of hope". Students also want to learn not only what is happening, but how they can change it. Show students what they can do and the glimmers of hope in our current political climate. [29:00]
• Understand that not all students will agree with you. You cannot have all students agree with what you believe in, and that isn't the goal of teaching the class. But if a student does make a statement not based on facts, try not to leave it unchallenged, as it can adopt a sense of false equivalency. Provide factual correction where needed. Teach your students to think empirically, and speak on the opposing opinion on the statement. Otherwise, take the opportunity to play devil's advocate and have students think about these opinions and learn by example how to speak back.

• Work with your GSIs. Not many have experience in how they can construct their spaces and manage their conversations. Meet with them every week to check in and ask about their position: what may be currently happening in their classroom or any particular issues that arise with conversations or students. [6:15]
• Strategize how to have conversations in small versus large classrooms. You can build a bigger sense of community in a small group versus the 200 person lecture where people are hiding. Create smaller discussion groups in class and send discussion questions over email to have everyone have the opportunity to think about and respond to these questions. [7:44]
• Invite students to begin a conversation. Ask your students to send you an email if there's something in the current events or news that they want more background in. Then, take five to ten minutes of class to give a some background on the topics. For example when DACA was being litigated, [Professor ?] gave them information about what is DACA , the history of it, and the history and status of refugee resettlement. It's not necessarily take current events head on, but at least try to give background information so that students can place it in a larger conversation. [10:32]
• Incorporate Statistical Analysis. Show students through evidence and numbers through statistics how the world changes through legal actions. Ask students to research and put together timelines of immigration or population statistics themselves, which will show many the impact of certain historical practices on groups of people. Teach them these skills so they are able to incorporate them in larger, current conversations.  [13:48]
• Oral history interviews. Introduce oral history interviews as a tool for students to use in the class and onwards. These interviews can open new avenues and spaces for these conversation and insights to lived experiences of their family members or friends. Discuss how oral history interviews also bring into the picture evidence that show more than just statistics.  [14:49]
• If possible, bring in these topics into courses. Even in broad courses not related to certain political topics on the surface, bring in current events to the classroom to spark engaging discussion.  [19:07]
• "Make Your Own Policy" Assignment. Students are given the opportunity to explore all possibilities on current events and examine for themselves the issue at hand. Through their research, students can make their own policy on the topic and have to make real, difficult choices. The specific example in the panel was the discussion on Immigration policy, and how no matter what a student chose as their policy they had to think about the benefits as well as the real consequences of that policy on the United States on a larger scale.
• With graduate students or small classes, invite them to an informal meeting or closing dinner to create spaces for these conversations outside of just the classroom, where students may be more willing to share their voices. [22]
• Speak to the feelings of your students. Share your own experiences while talking about these difficult issues and empathize with how the students may be feeling during conversations. [23]
• Bring in the arts. Bringing in short films, art pieces, poetry, and music as expressions of feelings of inequality and foreignness helps open up a basis for discussion. [27:35]
• Lift up knowledge from other sources. Provide case studies where subject experts did not succeed in their projects because they lacked knowledge of the ground or bring in voices throughout history in various fields to reframe them. Appreciate discoveries, movements, and events without embedded biases, and uplift the communities that took part in them. 
• iClicker Surveys can help bring the opinions of all students into the discussion that may be more comfortable for them. 
• Write things on a board. Writing things on a black or whiteboard helps give time for you as well as students to think about a student response. Students will be more careful of what they say and be mindful of how they articulate their opinions.