9th Annual Civil Discourse Symposium: November 7-9, 2022
Sharing Our Stories: Moving from Division to Hope
This year’s Padnos/Sarosik Civil Discourse Symposium is a three-day event that will culminate with an interactive keynote address from John Noltner, A Peace of My Mind's founder, photographer, and storyteller, on Wednesday, November 9 from 6:00-8:30 p.m. in the Eberhard Center on the Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus. Noltner’s presentation is open to the public and will include sharing images and quotes from his conversations with members of the Grand Valley and Grand Rapids communities about their hopes for our country, as well as material from Lessons on the Road to Peace, a multi-media project featuring conversations with ordinary Americans he met during his 40,000-mile drive across the country. Other highlights of the symposium include a curated photography exhibit, a photography studio experience for students, faculty/staff, and community members, and a studio workshop with Seeds of Promise, a community organization partner of the Center for this special event.
For more information about the symposium and to RSVP, please visit the FALL 2022 SYMPOSIUM page.
The Padnos/Sarosik Center for Civil Discourse, Kaufman Interfaith Institute, Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, and WGVU Public Media are pleased to partner for Talking Together: Strengthening our Communities through Conversation, a dialogue initiative aimed at interrupting polarization and investing in the principles of civil discourse and respectful conversation. Each month will feature at least one structured activity for students, staff, faculty, and community members to engage in conversation with one other across differences in perspective, identity, and life experiences. Learn more and view the event schedule.
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From left to right: Jeff Kelly Lowenstein (Endowed Professor 2020-2022), Jack Mangala (Endowed Professor 2016-2017), Lisa Perhamus (Director, Endowed Professor 2014-2015), and Elizabeth Arnold (Endowed Professor 2018-2019)
Click on the links below to learn about our past Symposium events.
2014: Civil Discourse for Civic Engagement
2015: East and West Together: Intersections of Re-Imaging the Future of Michigan
2016: Welcoming Immigrants and Refugees: Community Engagement and Transformation
2017: Immigrants and Refugees: Celebrating Our Diversity
2018: Civil Conversations on Climate Change
2019: Civil Discourse Cafe: Complicated Conversations
2021: Hijacking the American Conversation with Andrew Marantz
2022 Winter: Bridging Divides: Encouraging Dialogue with Radical Empathy
