OSHER 218 - Dialogue, Social Justice, and Inclusive Community

We live in a time characterized by a convergence of challenging conditions. Issues of racial, economic, and climate justice now seem increasingly visible and threatening. The COVID pandemic did not create these issues, but has accelerated them on both local and global levels. Dialogue is a practice that can help individuals and communities address social justice issues, form new cooperative relationships, co-create inclusive communities, and bridge the differences that divide us, including those of ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual preference, gender, and politics. We need such cooperative relationships now more than ever, if humans are going to work together to deal with the conditions that threaten us today, including pandemic disease, climate change, preparations for war, and deterioration of the ecosystems that support all life on earth. The purpose of this course is to provide students with a practical and holistic introduction to dialogue, which is a method of bridging differences that divide us and of building inclusive community. The course will be held in two six-week sessions. Instructor prefers only class members who have attended the first six-week session enroll for the second six-week session so as to continue group trust and rapport.