Click here to read the full proposal. 

Summary.  The project encompasses three major activities:

1.  Faculty Fellows program.  In May 2006, a cadre of 30 selected faculty leaders representing both universities convened for an intensive summer development program of effective cross-cultural strategies for encountering controversy.  The curriculum included explorations of issues concerning academic freedom, contrapower harassment, multicultural ways of knowing, and a wide variety of strategies and techniques for effective civil discourse.

2.  Practicing Civil Discourse.  The second activity includes multiple events organized around common controversies and themes, all taking place during the 2006-07 academic year.  The two universities jointly designated Books of the Year to serve as catalysts for guided explorations on common topics.  The Fall 2006 book was The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Ann Fadiman.  The Spring 2007 book is The Tortilla Curtain, by T.C. Boyle.   Both books explore issues of multiculturalism, immigration, and assimilation.  Other related activities include public forums, guest speakers, art programs and performances, and faculty development workshops on controversies and themes in common with this project.  The Faculty Fellows are acting as field practitioners and leaders, putting the various strategies to work in the classroom and in these other university events.  

3.  Handbook of Best Practices.  During the summer and fall of 2007, faculty experiences, curricula, and materials will be compiled in a handbook of best practices for distribution to the faculties of both universities and to selected universities nationwide.

Project Goals: 
The project was designed to address the increasing polarization of our society and the need for faculty to deal more effectively with breakdowns in civil discourse.  At one extreme are voices that are too forceful and may overrun the complexities of other people, cultures, and traditions.  At the other extreme are voices that are not forceful enough, whether by personal or cultural inclination or because they’ve been intimidated into silence.  This project hopes to bridge that gap, fostering a greater understanding of the religious and cultural complexity of our community, a greater willingness to engage in open discussions without attacking one another, and more meetings in the gray areas between absolute positions.  The overall goal is to improve the learning climates on both campuses, making them more inclusive of minority voices and ways of knowing and safer places for learning and the free exchange of ideas.

Early Outcomes (January 2007)

The five APU faculty as a group report that participation in this project has strengthened their relationships to each other and deepened their teaching practices.

Notable successes have been achieved in individual classrooms, as demonstrated by student comments like "this is the way all education should be."

UAA has designated funding for another summer intensive in May 2007 to train a new group of faculty members in effective strategies and techniques.

The universities will jointly designate a Book of the Year for 2007-08 on the theme of "religion and politics."