You have a unique and creative voice. Find your voice at BC.
Making yourself heard involves:
- Finding that voice
- Working on skills that make conversations less scary and more productive, even when people disagree
- Having more opportunities to practice those skills in conversations about complex issues
Through the Academic Citizenship program, BC is increasing conversations about a wide variety of issues. Engage in your education. Take advantage of an academic community filled with different perspectives. And prepare to be a better citizen of the global community.
Academic Citizenship includes three opportunities to increase conversation on campus – the Big Question, the Bridgewater Dialogue Club and the Annual Pedagogy Project.
Academic Citizenship Goals
- Interact with respect. Listen to those with different values and experiences. Show openness and mutual respect in the midst of disagreement.
- Examine various perspectives. Be able to articulate multiple viewpoints. Gather evidence. Seek clarification whenever possible.
- Practice critical reasoning. Use dialogue to gather and interrogate evidence. Identify unstated assumptions. Weigh competing points of view and decision-making.
- Articulate your own unique perspective. Cultivate your voice. Use that voice to express well-supported arguments.
The Big Question
An annual theme for speakers and activities throughout campus. With the Big Question, you can start a lot of new conversations. Start thinking about what you might ask!
The 2018-19 Big Question is: “How can we work together?”
Use your voice. Contribute to ongoing conversations. Participate in active listening. Encourage others to participate. Brainstorm solutions to collective problems.
Look for events and convocations relating to the Big Question throughout the year.
Past Big Questions:
- 2017-2018: “Can you hear me?”
- 2016-2017: “Where do we go from here?”
- 2015-2016: “Is it sustainable?“
- 2014-2015: “How do we decide?”
- 2013-2014: “What should change?”
- 2012-2013: “What is fair?”
The Big Question provides opportunities for discussions that might not otherwise take place, encouraging members of the campus community to engage each other in intellectual and civil discussion. Faculty, staff and students all work toward a deeper, more complex understanding of an issue, creating a more collaborative atmosphere.
Big Question Topic Submissions
Each academic year, the Big Question theme is selected by the Academic Citizenship Steering Committee. If you would like to submit your topic suggestion, please send an email with your name, idea and a brief description of your idea, what you envision it encompassing, and how you think it could be applied to many different situations or groups. Email Betsy Hayes or drop it off at the Academic Citizenship office in Flory Hall room 11.
The Bridgewater Dialogue Club
Engage in meaningful discussions across campus about difficult topics. Join the Dialogue Club.
- Practices and promotes dialogue as a tool for engaging contentious topics on campus
- Is designed to maximize the scope and impact of conversations on campus by offering dialogue design and facilitation skills to the community
- Creates space for new conversations
As a dialogue-trained student, you’ll engage the community in deeper, more reflective conversations on topics that matter. Encourage an alternative to debate. Become a leader on campus.
You’ll be prepared to have effective discussions in the workplace and in everyday life by building these skills.
Learn to reach across divides and differences – cultural, religious, gender, generational, political, and other types of differences in identity, beliefs or values.
Dialogue Club activities include:
- Discussions among club members, to practice facilitation and participation.
- Planning and implementing events to reach the entire campus and discuss relevant topics
- Serving as a resource to the campus by offering to facilitate discussions for other organizations
- Reaching beyond the campus to offer members’ skills to the local community
Faculty/Staff Fellows: Ac