NCA Preconference on tough issues discussion/debate

As you are making plans to register for the upcoming NCA convention, we would like to invite you to an exciting preconference, entitled, “Bridging Freedom and Inquiry: Taking on Tough Issues in the Classroom and Beyond,” held at NCA on Wednesday, November 15 from 8 a.m. – noon. 

This preconference will bring together scholar-teachers who are doing the pragmatic work of bridging divides in their classrooms and communities, using a public discourse and deliberation model. It features opportunities to network with other scholars in this space, as well as to hear practical suggestions on how to bring this into classrooms and universities in teaching, debate, and community-engaged work. This pre-conference uses a panel discussion format, with topics including best practices in teaching across differences, how to incorporate community-engaged learning in our classes to bridge differences, and using grants to fund debate and civil discourse work on college and university campuses.   

This preconference is for people interested in the public dialogue, discourse, debate, and deliberation space in one way or another, who would like to intentionally network with others and build their capacities to bring bridge-building work into their classrooms and communities, for the purposes of tackling wicked problems in our society today which impact freedom.

For more information, contact April Chatham-Carpenter (axchathamca@ualr.edu), Justin Eckstein (ecksteja@plu.edu), or Jennifer Keohane (jkeohane@ubalt.edu).