Dear members of the College community,
I am writing to announce a new event series in the College of Arts and Sciences: Dialogue for Understanding: College Conversations in Difficult Times.
These events are being hosted by several units across the College, as well as the Dean’s Office itself, as we seek to help our community — students, faculty and staff — broaden our understanding of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and offer opportunities for dialogue to explore the many complex and interwoven issues involved.
Dialogue for Understanding: College Conversations in Difficult Times will tap our faculty’s deep expertise to provide context and insight on relevant topics such as antisemitism, Islamophobia, genocide, foreign policy and free speech. Importantly, the events in the series will also allow members of our community to participate in rich yet difficult conversations that foreground exchange, reflection and understanding across difference and among community.
Beyond the Feb. 21 panel discussion sponsored by the Program for Public Discourse, specifics for each event are still under development. We have created a web page that will be updated as dates, speakers and other details become available. And note that our departments, centers and institutes will be hosting additional events beyond these.
I urge students, faculty and staff to take advantage of these events to learn and reflect.
Events:
- Feb. 21: The Politics of Israel and Palestine. Hosted by the Program for Public Discourse. UNC political science faculty members Jeff Spinner-Halev and Navin Bapat discuss the politics conflict between Israel and Palestine as part of the Abbey Speaker Series.
- Early March: Faculty Community Conversation on Israel/Palestine. Hosted by the department of religious studies.
- Late March/Early April: Historical Insights on Key Concepts in the Competing Narratives on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Hosted by the department of history.
- Late March/Early April: Free Speech and Universities: What’s the Legal Perspective? Hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office.
- April 15-19: Community Photovoice: Student Reflections on Campus Climate and the Middle East. A public exhibit of work by undergraduate students participating in the spring project. (Hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office.)
Sincerely,
Jim
James W.C. White
Craver Family Dean
College of Arts and Sciences