Greetings!
Civil discourse. The phrase assumes the desire to dialogue, to converse, to talk WITH each other rather than AT each other. Conversations on issues that divide us are hard work, and are very rare.
I believe we can learn to listen for the purpose of learning our neighbor's position, of hearing our neighbor's experience. A first step to learning to listen is facing risks and fears. What are the risks of really listening and honestly sharing? What do we fear losing if we engage in honest, open dialogue with those with whom we disagree? What are we risking by not learning how to listen to and talk with each other?
Here is an opportunity to learn more about civil discourse. |
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From South Carolina to Washington D.C.:
Seeking Civility
in America's Political Discourse
Speaker: Kathleen Parker
Buchheit Family Lecture Series
University of South Carolina
7:00 PM
November 19, 2009
Belk Auditorium
Darla Moore School of Business
Kathleen Parker, a syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group, is slated to be the speaker for the University of South Carolina's Buchheit Family Lecture Series on Nov. 19.
The 2009 lecture, titled "From South Carolina to Washington D.C.: Seeking Civility in America's Political Discourse," will take place at 7 p.m. in the Belk Auditorium of the Darla Moore School of Business. It is free and open to the public. The lecture will focus on the state of America's political discourse and the first year of Barack Obama's presidency.
Parker is the most widely distributed columnist in the country; her twice-weekly column is published in 425 newspapers. She writes on politics, gender and culture in America. Parker has taught journalism and writing at USC and is writer-in-residence at the Buckley School of Public Speaking in Camden.
The Buchheit Family Lecture Series was created in 2000 in honor of the late Phil Buchheit, former president and chairman of Mid-South Management Co. and the former publisher of the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
For more information on the lecture series, contact Elaine Taylor at 803-777-7118 or send e-mail to taylorem@mailbox.sc.edu.
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