Bridge Building as a Civic Muscle
Lisa-Marie Napoli, Director of Political and Civic Engagement at Indiana University Bloomington & Campus Compact Bridge Building Fellow
An excerpt from “Bridge Building as a Civic Muscle,” a recent blog post by Lisa-Marie Napoli.
At the heart of civic learning and democratic engagement, in a multi-faceted, pluralistic society, lies the need for community members to work across differences (aka bridge building). Skills in conflict management, conflict resolution, facilitation, and similar areas beckon for attention as key aspects of communication to bridge these differences. Being a bridge builder in this way - in an era of upheaval, stark polarization, and trauma - is no small task. To many, it can be a daunting and intimidating process and, at the same time, a great and worthy challenge to figure out how to build these skills (as some call civic muscle) and intentionally apply them for positive change.
Even with the explosion of political vitriol experienced in 2016, the silver lining is that it was met with a flurry of constructive responses and positive actions. We do not always see this because it is something that does not often make the news. However, amazing people were able to tap into opportunities for financial and structural resources. From this, a plethora of organizations, programs, and resources began to emerge at a new level and in a new way tailored to the needs of those in higher education struggling with the tensions between civic learning, conflict management, and democratic engagement. We cannot forget that this work was already happening long before by a smaller subset of people and organizations, but now we have the great fortune to find an overwhelming number of ways where people can share ideas and find support. Because this work can realistically feel heavy as we “step in the middle” of the murkiness of conflict divisiveness, we need to tread lightly. We need to explore these issues, the resources, and our community / organizational needs lightly but seriously with curiosity and commitment to action. We need to show support for ourselves and others, and enact courage to seek support, ask questions, and connect with each other openly and generously on the journey to addressing the deeply dividing issues of our time. Read more →
Bridge Building In Action
These campuses and their partners illustrate different approaches to bridge building and dialogue that create powerful impact in communities.
Nine Boston-Area campuses partner for Dialogue & Action in an Age of Divides series
Initiated by the presidents and organized by the provosts of Northeastern, Harvard, MIT, UMass, Brandeis, Tufts, Boston University, Boston College, and Wellesley, the Dialogue and Action in an Age of Divides series will focus on modeling constructive dialogue around difficult issues. More →
Dartmouth College develops community-focused dialogue initiative
The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College recently launched The Crucial Conversations Project, which aims to improve participants’ ability to navigate and lead difficult conversations by facilitating conversations and skills that bridge political and personal divides.More →
Winston-Salem State University and Wake Forest University partner for event to discuss bridging the gap in equity
The two neighboring universities partnered for an event commemorating the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. to discuss bridging divides that can be caused by racial inequities and how to find common ground among audiences with different life experiences.More →
University of Pittsburgh faculty members—One Jewish, One Muslim—organize Pitt Community United in Compassion event
Ongoing work focuses on the importance of compassion, building understanding, and forming community during times of campus conflict.More →
Tarrant County College partners with Unify America to share perspectives across differences and strengthen their civic muscles
Students—total strangers from different schools with different political leanings, geographical locations, or backgrounds—were matched into a one-on-one guided video conversation to talk about pressing issues and goals for the country.More →
Take action: Dialogue & bridge building
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In the full blog post from Lisa-Marie Napoli, find an extensive list of resources—including examples of campuses and organizations doing essential work in dialogue and bridge building. Some key resources include:
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Facilitate dialogue work in the classroom using the free-to-access toolkit from Nick Longo, Practicing Democracy: A Toolkit for Educating Civic Professionals.
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Revisit last year’s webinar focused on advancing democracy through virtual deliberative dialogues. While this session focused mainly on implementing this work at community colleges, this work is applicable at all institution types!
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Check out Campus Compact’s Dialogue Resources for Higher Education knowledge hub to find more dialogue and bridge building resources
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