Finding Connection Through Disagreement
New residential program helps students listen, reflect and engage across differences
Â鶹´«Ã½ students are accustomed to pairing up for classroom discussions, but it came as a surprise one evening when they were instructed to take turns ranting for a full sixty seconds about a pet peeve.
That was just the setup. The punchline? Students then had to introduce their partners to the larger group by reframing the rant in exclusively positive terms. Gripes about people staring at phones through dinner became expressions of appreciation for savoring the company of friends and family. With empathy and enthusiasm (and occasional humor), students proclaimed the individual values underlying their partners’ complaints.
Welcome to the Residential Program in Enlightened Disagreement.
The “positive rant” exercise was led by Heather Barnes, a faculty member in the Kellogg School of Management. It was the culminating activity of “Yes And! Using Improv for More Effective Interactions,” the program’s kickoff session in October.
The Litowitz Center for Enlightened Disagreement and Division of Student Affairs partnered to create a pilot program introducing undergraduate students of all levels, backgrounds, and majors to the Litowitz Center’s mission of harnessing the power of disagreement for good. Over 220 students, spread across cohorts defined by Â鶹´«Ã½’s residential areas, signed up for the year-long program shortly after the announcement of the Litowitz Center’s naming gift and expanded mission.
Students joined the program for various reasons. Some were inspired by meaningful experiences they had on campus or elsewhere. Others were exasperated by the news or general discourse in public and private life. What seems to unite them is a hunger for a unique learning opportunity.
Through the pilot’s curated sessions from faculty and visiting scholars, students will become more comfortable engaging in conversations with others they disagree with and sharing their perspective with confidence. The program also is intended to help students listen more effectively so they can truly understand other perspectives and accurately articulate the substance of any differences of opinion they might have with others—even if they still disagree passionately.
November’s sessions build on October’s as students delve into the complex relationship between individual values and community conversations. With foundational skills covered in Fall Quarter, the program will pivot in Winter Quarter to direct engagement in moralized issues, including an evening with an created by Steve Franconeri, professor of psychology. Alongside their cohorts, students will learn and practice skills to have better disagreements wherever they go, whether in their residence hall, the classroom, or in life beyond Â鶹´«Ã½.
With this year’s program underway and at capacity, undergraduate students on the Evanston campus are invited to .