College Debates & Discourse Alliance

Attention University of North Carolina at Pembroke faculty! Are you looking to add innovative practices in your classes but don't know where to begin? Do you find it difficult to get students interested in learning and growing their understanding of key content in your areas? Are you just hoping to spark interest, see a lightbulb, and generate curiosity? If you answered YES, please connect with me to plan a civil discourse and dialogue in your class this spring! As a faculty fellow of the College Debates & Discourse Alliance, I would be happy to help with planning an in-class debate from the beginning to end! All parts of this process are student-led, from the selection of a debate topic to debate resolution planning to the actual debate itself. See below for pictures from recent on-campus debates! Check out https://lnkd.in/gphtFpst for more information about in-class debates - done a better way. These debates are nothing like you have ever seen. I promise! If you are interested in getting your students excited to learn AND thrive in a diverse society, let's schedule a time to meet: melanie.escue@uncp.edu

The pleasure was ours, Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. We hope to collaborate again in the near future.

I had an agreeable experience being on the "When We Disagree Podcast." Michael Lee is a nice host with a cool thematic idea and has brought on some fascinating guests in this series. It's an honor to represent the College Debates & Discourse Alliance Braver Angels BridgeUSA and American Council of Trustees and Alumni and our work in campus #freespeech and #civildiscourse.

One of our great Alliance partners, BridgeUSA, has been doing amazing work around the country this year. Its CEO Manu Meel, COO Ross Irwin, and others recently attended the Obama Foundation’s Democracy Forum to highlight the necessity of open minds and dialogue in a democratic society. 👏👏👏 We look forward to further elevating viewpoint diversity and changing the national conversation with them in 2025. 🤝 American Council of Trustees and Alumni Braver Angels

On December 11, CD&D director and co-founder Doug Sprei appeared on "When We Disagree" with Michael Lee to discuss free expression, viewpoint diversity, and the hundreds of debates we have conducted since 2018, including some memorable, transformative moments. You can listen to the episode here (or wherever you listen to podcasts): https://lnkd.in/eSDuA2Mc

Precisely what we strive to teach and model in our programming! Intellectual humility is one of the key variables we are studying as part of our two-year research project funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eN5gsKSG

Enjoyed this insightful conversation between our Braver Angels friend April Chatham-Carpenter of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Michael Lee of the College of Charleston.

"Demand for such campus [civil discourse] programs has risen since the first Trump administration, according to the College Debates & Discourse Alliance, a group that organizes debates about contentious issues like abortion and cancel culture. "Lately, some students have chosen to talk about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said Doug Sprei, director of the alliance. "The evidence that these programs work is mainly anecdotal, but a research project is finding that participants become more open to people they disagree with, Mr. Sprei said. 'There’s so much demand for it we can hardly keep up,' he said." Thanks for the mention, Anemona Hartocollis The New York Times. While certainly challenging, this work is nonetheless vital, and the demand for it is very real. In Fall 2024 alone, our team conducted 100+ debates and workshops engaging 5,000+ students, and we look forward to collaborating with more students and faculty in 2025. Learn more about the CD&D Alliance here: https://lnkd.in/gah56Yey Learn more about our two-year research project, generously funded by the John Templeton Foundation and coming to a close this month, here: https://lnkd.in/eN5gsKSG Braver Angels American Council of Trustees and Alumni BridgeUSA