Conversation & Controversy
Conversation & Controversy exposes students to empathetic listening techniques that can be applied to many interpersonal relationships and emphasizes the ways in which rival communities can locate common ground, engage in dialogue, and learn from one another.
I created Conversation & Controversy in response to the current political milieu and the pressures K-12 teachers may face when discussing controversial issues during class time.
Syllabus:
Lecture Samples:
The Illusion of Explanatory Depth.pptxThe Art of Empathetic Listening.pptxMoral Foundations Theory.pptxAssignment Sample:
Debate Prep Instructions.docxThe following experiences and sources were used in the development of the course:
May 2012 - October 2015 Harrisburg, PA
Research Assistant to Eric Epstein, former visiting assistant professor of humanities at Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg, Pennsylvania House of Representatives Democratic candidate, 30+-year environmental/political activist, and chair of Three Mile Island Alert, a nuclear energy watchdog group. Responsibilities included publishing state- and local-level policy research initiatives via Epstein’s Rock the Capital, a Harrisburg-based nonpartisan voter education organization.
COURSE-SPECIFIC RESEARCH
Books on Education:
Claire & Holden. The Challenge of Teaching Controversial Issues
Graff & Birkenstein. They Say / I Say
Lukianoff. Unlearning Liberty
Lukianoff & Haidt. The Coddling of the American Mind
Bloom. The Closing of the American Mind
Twenge. iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood
Twenge. The Narcissism Epidemic
Goodlad. What Schools are for (2nd Ed.)
Mitchell, Crowson & Shipps. Shaping Education Policy
Smith. Alternative Schools
Chenoweth. It's Being Done: Academic Success in Unexpected Schools
Levine & Cureton. When Hope and Fear Collide
Kohn. Punished by Rewards
Tyack & Cuban. Tinkering Toward Utopia
Books on Communication:
Benson. Why Are We Yelling?
Stone, Patton & Heen. Difficult Conversations
Patterson, Grenny, McMillan & Switzler. Crucial Conversations
Goulston. Talking to "Crazy"
Boghossian & Lindsay. How to Have Impossible Conversations
Cloud & Townsend. How to Have that Difficult Conversation
Mortensen. Maximum Influence
Covey. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Graff & Birkenstein. They Say / I Say
Heinrichs. Thank You for Arguing
Rosenberg. Nonviolent Communication
Taibbi. Hate, Inc.
Atkins. Skewed
Books on Politics:
Smith & Berg. Parodoxes of Group Life
Haidt. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Bevins. Failure by Design: The Story Behind America's Broken Economy
Glasbeek. Wealthy by Stealth
Roland. Privatization
Albert. Parecon
Johnson. The Sorrows of Empire
Chomsky. Understanding Power
Todd. After the Empire
Paul. The Revolution
Hume. The United Nations, Iran, and Iraq
Levitt. Freakonomics
Beck. Arguing with Idiots
Sklar. Chaos or Community: Seeking Solutions, Not Scapegoats for Bad Economics
Sklar, Mykyta, & Wefald. Raise the Floor: Wages and Policies that Work for All of Us
Tuschman. Our Political Nature
Appiah. Cosmopolitanism
Gairdner. The Great Divide
Klein. Why We're Polarized
Green, Palmquist & Schickler. Partisan Hearts & Minds
Sowell. A Conflict of Visions
Berger. Extremism
Ronson. So You've Been Publicly Shamed
Gutfeld. The Joy of Hate
Founders of March for Our Lives. Glimmer of Hope
Briggs. How America Got Its Guns
Lakoff. The Political Mind
Westen. The Political Brain
Rosling. Factfulness
Murray. Coming Apart
Trueman. The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
Sheehan. The Pentagon Papers
Domhoff. Who Rules America? Power, Politics & Social Change
Chang. 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism
Stiglitz. Globalization & Its Discontents
Carey. Taking the Risk out of Democracy: Corporate Propaganda Versus Freedom and Liberty
Meyer. Rationally Right: An Explanation of the Conservative Paradigm
Singer. The Expanding Circle: Ethics, Evolution, and Moral Progress
Zinn. The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy
Lieberman. Macroeconomics: Principles & Applications
Zinn. A People's History of the United States
Berlin. The Crooked Timber of Humanity
Kick. You Are Being Lied to
Joyce. The Evolution of Morality
Kendi. How to be an Antiracist
Saad. Me and White Supremacy
Goodman. Promoting Diversity and Social Justice
Tatum. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
Newkirk. Diversity, Inc.
West. Race Matters
Stevenson. Just Mercy: A Story of Love and Redemption
DiAngelo. White Fragility
Eberhardt. Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do
Buck. Acting White
Banks. Is Marriage for White People? How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone
Delpit. Other People's Children
Allport. The Nature of Prejudice
Williams. Self-Portrait in Black & White
Sander & Taylor, Jr. Mismatch: How Affirmative Action Hurts Students It's Intended to Help, and Why University Won't Admit It
Xu. An Inconvenient Minority
Michaels. The Trouble with Diversity
MacDonald. The Diversity Delusion
Bruce. The Victims' Revolution
Pluckrose & Lindsay. Cynical Theories
Trueman. The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
Williams. Losing My Cool
Steele. White Guilt
McWhorter. Losing the Race
Riley. Please Stop Helping Us
Coleman. Black Victim to Black Victor
D'Souza. The End of Racism
Pincourt. Counter Wokecraft
Washington. Up from Slavery
Du Bois. The Autobiography of W.E.B Du Bois
Kozol. The Shame of a Nation
Emerald. The Power of TED: The Empowerment Dynamic
Kors & Silvergate. The Shadow University
Snyder. Undoctrinate
Irving. Waking Up White
Examples of articles/videos available upon request.