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During the academic year 2006/07, we launched the Difficult Dialogues initiative at Clark University with a series of events centering around the topic of dialogue, and continued in the Spring of 2007 with our first full symposium series on The State of Our Democracy and Race and Ethnicity.
Fall 2006 Launch Events
In late October and early November, two weeks of launch events initiated the Difficult Dialogues program at Clark University. The launch series introduced our community to the definitions and practices of dialogue as a first step towards our goal of creating a climate for dialogue on campus (full summaries of these events are listed below). During the Day of Listening, the entire campus community had the opportunity to learn skills of respectful listening, hearing and being heard, in small informal workshops held all over campus. A workshop on the Way of Council launched our series on the Cultures of Dialogue. A keynote talk by Diana Chapman Walsh, President of Wellesley College, helped us set our sights for the year ahead. A public forum among the Boston leaders on both sides of the abortion issue allowed us to experience the powerful space of dialogue. Professor Les Blatt launched a faculty discussion series with an exploration of physicist David Bohm's work on dialogue. A Difficult Dialogues film and discussion series began with the film Promises, and the DD arts series commenced with a large improvisational drumming circle.
The Day of Listening | Oct 31
  
Since the Day of Listening, I have stopped myself
many times during conversations with friends and family
and refocused my attention on what they were saying.
That reminder is always in the back of my head now.
As I actively try to block out distractions, I become
a more considerate listener. – Kara Scimeca '06
“I’m Listening” proclaimed the bright yellow buttons that appeared on lapels and t-shirts – they were a quiet declaration that on this day, members of the Clark community were ready to gather together for a shared experience in listening.
It was a typically busy day on campus, in which students, faculty, staff and administration joined in on one of the 26 listening sessions that took place throughout the day. The participants were invited to slow down and, together, to consciously create a space in which they could explore the relationship between listening and dialogue. They leaned in, engaged in conversation, and shared experiences with one another – most often, with someone they had just met. They spoke of the benefits of good listening – as well as the challenges that come with it.
Participants left Clark’s Day of Listening with their interest whetted. They greeted others they saw on campus, who wore the bright yellow "I'm Listening" buttons, with a sense of camaraderie and connection from their shared experience. This one-hour experience in listening, and relating to fellow Clarkies, was a simple first step towards creating a true culture of dialogue on the Clark campus.
LEARN MORE
Day of Listening Facilitator's Guide – a reference sheet used by the facilitators (PDF file)
Day of Listening events | SPRING '07
The Way of Council Workshop | Nov 1
 
Twenty participants arranged themselves in a large circle, careful to be able to achieve eye contact with one another. They had gathered for a new experience, to participate for a three-hour session in the “Way of Council” – an ancient form of dialogue that has been practiced for thousands of years, by diverse cultures and religions throughout the world. It was to be the first event in the Difficult Dialogues Culture of Dialogue Series.
Council facilitators Bonnie Mennell and Paul LeVasseur, both faculty members at the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont, introduced this practice to the Clark community.
Participants took part in council practices that stressed the critical importance of equal participation and empathetic listening. The council began with a ritual that focused the group’s attention, in order to leave distractions behind and become centered, relaxed and fully attentive to the present. Through a series of exercises, a "talking piece" was passed from person to person allowing everyone equal time to hear and be heard. Participants were urged to be open to the collective wisdom that could arise from this circle of communication - wisdom that was greater than any one person. We learned that council is about building relationships, a sense of teamwork, and trust.
LEARN MORE
The Ojai Foundation – a resource for Way of Council practice
Keynote Address: Diana Chapman Walsh | Nov 1
 
In her keynote address, Diana Chapman Walsh – President of Wellesley College – drew from personal experience in her work with dialogue in order to illuminate our own process. She underscored the importance of the Difficult Dialogues program here at Clark, both in academia and in this moment of history.
So I see at the heart of your project profound intellectual questions the academy needs to be taking up in our difficult dialogues, and profound institutional questions as well: Who our students can be if we attend more closely to their true intellectual needs. How our work lives can be, if we attend to one another, our aspirations and our struggles. What our institutions can be, if we attend to the whole enterprise as a shared responsibility.
And the world we could create, if we could learn to engage each other fruitfully across the differences and the silences that are polarizing and disempowering us and undermining our ability to govern ourselves responsibly. How do we take some risks and break down some of the barriers that perpetuate the over-commitment, overwork, accelerated pace, and resulting isolation, polarization, suspicion and mistrust that are, I think, the arch-enemies of thoughtful dialogue and, with it, deep and integral learning.
LEARN MORE
The Work of the World – Diana Chapman Walsh's keynote address (PDF file)
The Work of the World – video of the event
Bridging the Abortion Divide: The Boston Story | Nov 2
 
 Abortion—just speaking the word evokes strong emotions. How could six leaders from opposite sides of the abortion issue maintain a dialogue with each other for over a decade? On November 2, Clark students and faculty, social workers, members of pro-life and pro-choice groups, counselors in reproductive health, streamed into Atwood Hall to learn the answer. They discovered how people with such fundamental differences in worldview could arrive at a place of mutual understanding and respect.
Their dialogue began after December 1994, when John Salvi shot and killed two people at Brookline reproductive health care clinics. The tension surrounding this event was high, and a call went out for people to come together in the face of tragedy. Thus, these six women – who were high-profile members in the abortion issue, but had never engaged in conversation with one another – entered into a secret dialogue facilitated by the Boston-based Public Conversations Project. With great candor, the leaders described their private dialogues as frustrating, discouraging, even painful. Yet, they recognized that they were also beginning tobridge the deep divides that had separated them for so long, and they agreed to continue their meetings.
As they deepened their friendship and connection over the years, the women spoke movingly about the mutual respect and self-revelation their dialogue has fostered. They called the experience “enriching” and “mysterious”, and believe their conversations were able to subtly, but positively, alter the divisive rhetoric surrounding the abortion issue. They each stressed that they continue to use the skills they learned in this process as leaders of organizations, as advocates, and as counselors.
LEARN MORE
Bridging the Divide – see video of the event
The Public Conversations Project
Communication for Social Change Consortium | CFSC
Listening and dialogue is essential to community cohesiveness, whether it be a community of interest, like Clark University, or a geographic community. Throughout poor communities and developing countries, community groups are using Communication for Social Change (CFSC) processes in innovative ways to address social issues. During this workshop, participants explored the fundamentals of these processes as applied to two case stories: “Know your HIV status” and accountable government. The workshop was conducted by Heidi Larson, associate research professor in IDCE, and James Hunt.
Hunt opened the workshop by defining CSCF as “a process of public and private dialogue through which people themselves define who they are, what they need and how to get what they need in order to improve their own lives.” In this way, says Hunt, CFSC has moved away from the message-driven, top-down model of communication traditionally used by development agencies. Hunt noted, “Dialogue is difficult. The CFSC model is oriented toward action. The participants have a commitment to going forward. You must be clear about what you want as a group or you can’t maximize the group energy.”
 David Bohm and the Wholeness of Nature: a dialogue on physics and humanity | Nov 6
Maverick quantum theorist David Bohm put forward truly convincing arguments on the connections between the laws of nature at the atomic and nuclear scales, and the universe at large (including our own thoughts and behavior). What grew out of this thinking were his beliefs on the value of dialogue – that we all have a piece of reality, and the only way to get closer to reality is for each of us to share those individual pieces. In this event, the first in the Difficult Dialogues Faculty Series, Les Blatt, professor of physics and education, explored Bohm's ideas with a large audience of scientists, social scientists and humanities professionals. Blatt explained that, through his work in physics, Bohm became interested in the connectedness of all things. He explored enfoldment and unfoldment: everything as part of a whole, and the whole as a reflection all of its parts. He summarized Bohm’s view as this: we have all the collective knowledge in the universe, but it takes interactions among people to unfold it, to be conscious of this knowledge. Thus, he dedicated himself to creating space in his work for an open exchange of ideas, for listening and for true dialogue.
RECOMMENDED READING
On Dialogue – On Dialogue is the most comprehensive documentation to date of best-selling author David Bohm's dialogical world view. Bohm explores the purpose, methods and meanings of the multi-faceted process he referred to simply as "dialogue", suggesting that dialogue offers the possibility of an entirely new order of communication and relationship with ourselves, our fellows, and the world around us. – amazon.com
 Promises film screening | Nov 7
Though they live only 20 minutes apart, the seven Israeli and Palestinian children in the film, Promises, exist in completely separate worlds; the physical, historical and emotional obstacles between them run deep. The ability to have dialogues in a way that breaks through prejudices is surely a prerequisite for peace in the region, and yet hardly anyone has such conversations. The documentary filmmakers B.Z. Goldberg and Justin Shapiro were able to confront and overcome these obstacles for a time. The 2002 documentary film, Promises, explores the nature of these boundaries and tells the story of a few children who dared to cross the lines to meet their neighbors.
The screening – the first in the Difficult Dialogues film series – was framed by an introduction from Ian DeZalia, and a wrap-up Kevin Anderson. DeZalia, a Difficult Dialogues Fellow, invited viewers to keep in mind their own definition of dialogue while watching the film – when during the course of the story did they see dialogue occurring or being hindered, and what were the conditions that allowed for this to happen? After the film, Kevin Anderson, a Screen Studies professor, asked viewers to consider how the directors' choices shaped the dialogue between the children, and also to remember as viewers, that we are in a constant dialogue with the film itself.
Participants remained after the film to discuss these questions, and the issues behind the film, in small informal groups. The conversations gave people an opportunity to digest more fully what they had seen, as well as to engage with one another, to share their views, and to listen.
Drumming as Dialogue Workshop | Nov 8
  
Nonverbal dialogue held sway this night on Clark's campus, in the first event of the Difficult Dialogues Arts Series. Led by drummers from Earth Spirit, workshop participants were invited to communicate in a entirely new sphere. Drumming is a unique form of dialogue, dependent on keen listening and creative, natural response through rhythm and movement. The leader of the group opened the program by stressing that active listening is critical to dialogue and good communication.
After passing out pairs of long plastic tubes in bright red, yellows, blues and greens, he divided the group in three “bands” and invited each person to begin to play a beat. He encouraged all to listen to other rhythms being played in the group, then to join in. With laughter and energy, each group sifted through the chaos and began to create a rhythm and syncopation, experimenting as a group until they arrived at a beat they liked. The room filled with a pleasant rhythm that began as a tentative patter and rose in exuberance. The drumming leader reminded the group, “Like when there are too many words, and you can’t hear what’s being said, keep the rhythms simple. Figure out what you can do to contribute to the drama.” Once the bands had connected in their communication through music, they were introduced to a variety of different instruments – from the jembe for powerful slap, to the small june that keeps the rhythm pulsing underneath. Bells were added to add color to the musical conversation, as well as claves and shakers.
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Spring '07 Summary of Events
This spring, we began our Difficult Dialogues 2007 Symposium Series by addressing two central topics – The State of Our Democracy and Race and Ethnicity. Upwards of twenty events were held over the course of the semester, each providing opportunities to engage these difficult subjects and concerns in the spirit of dialogue. We screened films such as Why We Fight and What Makes Me White?, we heard speakers from the Clark community and beyond, and we continued to emphasize the practice of listening during two Day of Listening and Conversation Cafe events. By using the tools and practices of dialogue, we engaged with one another in ways that aimed to be both honest and meaningful, at times when the issues were personal and often difficult. We continue to learn from each event as to what helps and/or hinders dialogue between us, and look to incorporate what we've learned into future programing both within the Difficult Dialogues program, and in programs throughout the university.
In each event, our aim was to create a consciuous space in which those who attended would be able to:
be open to uncertainty
think together / listen together
ask real questions
hear something new
respect the coherence of others’ views
Visual Dialogues Exhibition | March 12 - April 20
A a visual reflection of the theme of Difficult Dialogues, this exhibition featured the work of artists “whose goal is to create...art to inspire self-reflection, thought, and human connection [Illegal Art].” Included in the exhibiton were works by Stephen DiRado, Michael Dowling, Steve Hollinger, Illegal Art, Steve Locke, James Montford, Sarina Khan Reddy, Elaine Spatz-Rabinowitz, and Thomas Starr. In addition, Illegal Art, as well as artists, James Montford, and Michael Dowling (with Medicine Wheel Productions) came to campus to engage with the Clark community through interactive performance projects.
LEARN MORE
see the interactive gallery tour here
visit Illegal Art's website
The State of Our Democracy | February 2007
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Beyond Partisan.org | Feb 8
  
Drawing on their collective experience both as students at Wesleyan University and as politically-minded young adults frustrated with the current state of civic discourse, Rob Weinstock, David Tutor, Adam Gomolin, Bill Ferrell, and Nate Byer set out to create an accessible platform from which all Americans are able to voice their opinions. The website Beyondpartisan.org was the result of their efforts. It is designed to empower the user and to encourage an exchange of ideas across (often polarizing) political divides, in order to find the common ground from which we can more easily engage with one another in dialogue.
The creators described their site this way: The Beyond Partisan process begins with an issue-article, a brief and accessible piece focusing on a single policy area. In turn, it asks for your voice and invites your commentary. Your contributions are invited as full-length opinion pieces, as personal messages to your fellow citizens: this is the editorial page for every American. We must as citizens reflect upon our discussion and draw from it the shared values upon which we can move forward. This is not the partisan tirade of lone-gunmen bloggers; this is a return to the egalitarian foundation of America’s birth through the means of modern technology.
As recent college graduates, they offered an inspiring example to the Clark students who attended the event. As students themselves, they were able to identify a problem and together form a real-life solution – one which offers something new and valuable to the American political discourse.
LEARN MORE
visit BeyondPartisan.org
Why We Fight | Feb 13
  
I went to Why We Fight and thought it was really good. After the film,
I wound up having a half-hour discussion in the laundry room with a friend.
It wasn't my intention going down to get my laundry to talk to anyone about
the movie but I was really fired up about it and so was she. That's the cool
part of events like this, you see friends afterwards and it becomes an
opportunity to talk. – Megan Mateer '10
On February 13th 2007, Documentary filmmaker Eugene Jarecki screened his film, Why We Fight, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and has gained critical acclaim in its candid exploration of the influence of the American military industrial complex on U.S. foreign policy. Jarecki depicts U.S. military history from World War II to the Iraq War to reveal the political, economic and ideological forces that propel America to war. Personal stories are interlaced with the commentary of academics, politicians, and Pentagon officials to give an eye-opening picture of America at war. A NYPD retired policeman who lost his son in 9/11, a Vietnamese refugee who manufactures bombs, a new Army recruit, and Iraqi victims are among those sharing their views on why we fight.
Following the screening, Jarecki shared insights into the film as well as his ideas about the State of Our Democracy. He encouraged us all question our assumptions – especially as it concerns our current involvement in Iraq – and to become active participants in our own lives and in our role as citizens. Civic engagement and participation, he argued, allows us to think more deeply about all issuses that affect us as Americans.
LEARN MORE
see video of Eugene Jarecki's talk
at Clark University
visit the Why We Fight website
How to Change the World: Self and Society in American Transcendentalism | Feb 20
 Philip F. Gura, William S. Newman Distinguished Professor of American Literature and Culture, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, spoke as part of the State of Our Democracy symposium, about the role of American transcendentalists. Epitomized for most people by Emerson and Thoreau, as America’s first public intellectuals, they were interested not only in literature but in a wide spectrum of reform. Although we often associate them with an ethic of radical individualism, many argued instead for commitment to community rather than to self. Contentious debates within the movement about how to realize the promise of American democracy explain much about Transcendentalism’s development and raise anew the questions of how best to effect radical social reform.
LEARN MORE
visit Philip Gura's Homepage at UNC Chapel Hill
read about Philip Gura's latest book: American Transcendentalism: A History
Day of Listening | February 21
The Day of Listening highlights listening as an essential element of effective dialogue. Each hour-long session is about taking a moment to pause, to really listen to each other and to explore the relationship of listening to dialogue. This session was focused on the current symposium topic, The State of Our Democracy, and addressed the role of dialogue and listening in our current political climate. It also gave us a chance to reflect on issues that had been raised in our symposium events thus far.
Hacking Democracy | March 1
 
Electronic voting machines count about 87% of the votes cast in America today. But are they reliable? Are they safe from tampering? From a current congressional hearing to persistent media reports that suggest misuse of data and even outright fraud, concerns over the integrity of electronic voting are growing by the day. Hacking Democracy is a timely, cautionary documentary that exposes the gaping holes in the security of America's electronic voting system. Ultimately, the film shows that the top-secret computerized systems counting the votes in America's public elections are not only fallible, but also vulnerable to undetectable hacking, from local school board contests to the presidential race. With the electronic voting machines of three companies - Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia - collectively responsible for around 80 percent of America's votes today, the stakes for democracy are high.
That's all any of us are asking, is that people
see the problems with the machines, and that
there is a debate about how we can fix this
before it's too late. – Sarah Teale, producer Hacking Democracy
The HBO documentary Hacking Democracy gives us an introduction into the complex problem of elecronic voting machine use in the United States. On March 1st, the Clark community gathered to watch the film and to participate in an open dialogue with a panel of speakers who helped us think more deeply about this issue and how it relates to the current State of Our Democracy. The panel, consisting of election integrity activist Nancy Tobi (Chair of Democracy for New Hampshire), Anthony Stevens (NH Assistant Secretary of State), Brian Cook (Professor of History, Clark University), and Zo Tobi ('08), brought diverse opinions about how the malfunction/misuse of electronic voting machies can compromise our voice as citizens, and thus have the potential to undermine our democracy.
LEARN MORE
visit the Hacking Democracy website
visit the Democracy for New Hampshire website
Race and Ethnicity | March/April 2007
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Facing the Truth: A Reconciliation Effort in Northern Ireland | February 27
In early March 2006, the BBC aired Facing the Truth, a three part television series that brought victims and perpetrators of the conflict in Northern Ireland together for dialogue. Archbishop Desmond Tutu facilitated the encounters along with Lesley Bilinda whose husband was killed in the Rwandan genocide, and Donna Hicks, former Deputy Director of the Program on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution at Harvard University and currently an Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Donna Hicks facilitated a discussion with the CLark community following the airing of one of the programs.
Who Framed Bilingual Education? | March 13
'Because language is so deeply a cultural phenomenon and resource for creating and maintaining identities, when language becomes a battle ground – as it has in the field of bilingual education – we know that something larger than clarity of communication is at issue.' Fern Johnson
In 2002, Colorado voters said “NO” and Massachusetts voters said “YES” to discontinuing “bilingual education.” Fern Johnson, Professor of English, considered how the press framed the issue in each state in our first Race and Ethnicity event of the Spring semester. She argued that the public has been ill-informed about this significant language policy issue, and that monolingual language ideology prevails in the U.S.
Broken Promises, Broken Dreams | March 14
 
Alice Rothchild is an obstetrician-gynecologist who has worked in the health care reform and women’s movements for many years. Since 1997, she has focused much of her energy on understanding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and was at Clark on March 14th to read from her forthcoming book Broken Promises, Broken Dreams. Through first-hand narratives with Israeli and Palestinian women, she invites the reader to engage in a different kind of conversation, grounded in empathy and forgiveness and coupled with an appreciation of the urgent need for political action.
LEARN MORE
visit Alice Rothchild's website
What Makes Me White? | March 29
  
from L to R: Odile Ferly; Aimee Sands; a student asks a question after the film
On March 29th, the Clark community explored how white people form their own racial identity and how they deal with white privilege after viewing the thought-provoking film, What Makes Me White, by Aimee Sands. This was the first public screening of the film which includes readings and interviews that span diverse economic levels of the white community, from a resident in an affluent suburb to white and black students in Boston’s METCO program. By exploring the dynamics of racial socialization among whites, Sands’ film encourages the audience to consider the roots of racism. A question and answer session with the filmmaker and a multi-racial panel followed – panelists included: Winston Napier, Franklin Frazier Chair and Associate Professor of English; Miriam Chion, Assistant Professor of Community Development and Planning; Betsy Huang, Assistant Professor of English; Odile Ferly, Assistant Professor of French, Foreign Languages & Literatures; and Anne Ellen Geller, Director of the Writing Center and Writing Program.
Periracism | April 5
 In Notes on the State of Virginia, first published in 1782, Thomas Jefferson waxed at once poetic and scientific about the biological differences between the races. Difference was of course more than skin deep for Jefferson, but like so many of his time, he was fascinated by the external geography of the other, by what his eyes beheld, especially what he called “this unfortunate difference of colour,” “the first difference which strikes us.” In this talk, drawn from a book in progress, Ann duCille, Professor of English and African American Studies at Wesleyan University, argued that racialized thinking about color, quality, and character hasn’t changed as much since the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as polite society would like to believe. Moreover, this ever-present racism—what she defined in this talk as “periracism”—often masquerades as social grace, civility, and liberalism.
Coming Alive to this Moment: Introduction to Zen Practice
 Zen Buddhist practice provides a deceptively simple structure that allows us to become more deeply aware of what is occurring in this moment. Rather than looking outside ourselves, or trying to understand life through thinking and analyzing, we discover the aliveness that is already present. In this three-hour participatory workshop we will used guided meditation exercises, mindful dialogue and group inquiry to experience the living Zen tradition as it is taught by two American Zen teachers. David Dayan Rynick Sensei and Melissa Myozen Blacker Sensei, who have been practicing Zen since 1981, guide the Worcester Zen Community. Following the workshop, we hald a three-hour retreat that allowed participants to experience an extended period of formal Zen meditation. The morning included sitting and walking meditation as well as a traditional Zen talk and opportunities for individual meetings with the teachers, ending with a time for group discussion.
LEARN MORE
Attend the Fall 07 semester's weekly meditation sessions begininng Thursday, September 13th 8:30am | Dana Commons, second floor lounge
Day of Listening | April 11
The Day of Listening highlights listening as an essential element of effective dialogue. Each hour-long session is about taking a moment to pause, to really listen to each other and to explore the relationship of listening to dialogue. This session was focused on the current symposium topic, Race and Ethnicity, and addressed the role of dialogue and listening. It also gave us a chance to reflect on issues that had been raised in our symposium events thus far.
Race is the Place | April 12
 On April 12th, Difficult Dialogues screened the film Race is the Place for the Clark community. A video performance documentary with a bold, lyrical, and often poetical montage of performances by established artists and up-and-coming young talent from minority communities who use words—spoken, sung or chanted—to get their message across. Each segment explores racism and its continued survival in this country, and each finds new and innovative ways to engage audiences and challenge them to think beyond our traditional conceptions. Artists include Piri Thomas, Amiri Baraka, Mayda del Valle, Michael Franti, Faith Ringgold, Michael Ray Charles, Culture Clash, Beau Sia, Andy Bumatai and more...
Following the film, we held a Conversation Cafe with students in which we were able to listen to others and to share our own thoughts surrounding Race and Ethnicity. It was a chance for us to talk together openly, to find out where our views differed, where we agreed and to see what we could learn from eachother through dialogue.
LEARN MORE
visit the Race is the Place website
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