Session Description
In popular discourse, many urgent issues of the day get painted in stark and simplistic terms: good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, enemy vs. friend. While binary oppositions make for a compelling story, they do not capture the nuanced complexity of real life. The polarized nature of these debates enters into many parts of the curriculum: environmental science, data science, public policy, American politics, gender and women's studies, sociology, and legal studies, to name a few.
Increasingly, instructors feel pressured to “tell both sides of the story” or give “equal time” to competing perspectives. Some, wanting to avoid appearing polemical or contributing to rising tensions in the classroom, avoid controversial topics altogether. How does the push for “balance” force us into a false binary, and prevent us from investigating and understanding uncomfortable truths? Is a “neutral” or “objective” approach tenable? How do we think critically about who is harmed and who is protected when certain subjects are “off the table”?
Join us for a lively and informal conversation with colleagues from across campus as we discuss strategies to dislodge the “two-sides-fits-all” approach. Come with your questions and ideas and help build collective knowledge around negotiating difficult conversations and fostering a deeper understanding of our complicated world.
This current conversation extends and builds from the Teaching in Troubled Times workshop series offered by the American Cultures Center, Center for Teaching and Learning, and Division of Equity Inclusion.