INTERGROUP DIALOGUE PROGRAMS

Structured settings for intergroup dialogue are becoming increasingly common – on college campuses as well as among youth organizations, churches and neighborhood groups. Some, like the one featured in the film, are offered as a class; others are conducted as workshops or retreats or part of a residential learning experience.

These discussions are most productive when they are facilitated (either by trained peers or veteran instructors), have a clear purpose or objective, and are sustained or ongoing. Ideally, they allow for a combination of personal participation and “didactic” learning. Topics for intergroup dialogue are wide-ranging, but a common impetus is bringing people together for an honest, open exchange about difficult or controversial issues.

 

CAMPUS DIALOGUE PROGRAMS

The University of Michigan model for intergroup dialogue is perhaps the most well known and widely replicated. Each dialogue focuses on two groups that have historically had conflicts (e.g., African American/white, African American/Latino, women/men, LGBT/heterosexual) and is facilitated by a pair of trained peers:

• Program on Intergroup Relations at the University of Michigan
  http://www.umich.edu/~igrc/

The following schools have adopted the University of Michigan model:

• IDEA: Intergroup Dialogue Education and Action at the University of Washington
  http://depts.washington.edu/sswweb/idea/
• The Intergroup Relations Center at Arizona State University
  http://www.asu.edu/provost/intergroup/
• Occidental College Intergroup Relations Program
  http://departments.oxy.edu/dialogue/
• Words of Engagment Program at the University of Maryland
  http://www.ohrp.umd.edu/WE/index.html
• Program on Intergroup Relations, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  http://www.intergrouprelations.uiuc.edu/
• Social Justice Education program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst
  http://www.umass.edu/sje/
• Syracuse University Intergroup Dialogues
  http://cstl.syr.edu/intergroupdialogue/
• University of California, San Diego
  http://ugr8.ucsd.edu/sohr/igd.htm
• University of Texas, Austin
  http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~igdialog/

COMMUNITY AND YOUTH DIALOGUE PROGRAMS

National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation - provides resources, programs, and networking opportunities for a rapidly growing community of practice dedicated to solving group and societal problems through honest talk, quality thinking and collaborative action:
http://www.thataway.org/

Study Circles Resource Center - a national non-profit organization that provides training, advice and tools to community and neighborhood groups working towards problem solving and social change:
www.studycircles.org

National Conference for Community and Justice – sponsors youth programs nationwide that explore issues of identity, oppression and conflict resolution:
http://www.nccj.org/nccj/nccj.nsf/articleall/4597?opendocument&1#862

For more information and resources on intergroup dialogue, visit the Resources section of this site.