University Provides Details on Day of ‘Reflective Conversation’

On Saturday, the University of Virginia will offer a day of events displaying its commitment to mutual respect and inclusion.

Faculty and staff members will facilitate discussions on constitutional rights and citizenship; community dynamics and polarization; local history; and other related topics, all focused around the overarching theme of peaceable democracy. 

The discussions are free and open to the public.

Examples include:

• “Enfranchising Citizens in the United States: A Short History,” led by Professor of History Brian Balogh and University of Richmond President Emeritus Ed Ayers;
• “The Importance of Public Space for Perpetuating or Reducing Social Inequity,” led by Associate Professor of Public Policy and Psychology Sophie Trawalter;
• “What’s Right About Conservatives Today,” led by William Antholis, director of the Miller Center for Public Affairs;
• “Brave Space,” led by Valencia Harvey, assistant director of the Virginia College Advising Corps;
• “Freedom of Speech and Assembly: What's Protected and What's Not,” led by School of Law Professor Douglas Laycock, and
• “Race and Education,” led by Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology Natalia Palacios.

UVA President Teresa A. Sullivan announced the University’s desire to coordinate the discussions in an email to the University community on Aug. 4.

Sullivan said she hopes the series of University seminars open a door to a community-wide conversation on the critical issues facing our community and our nation.

“The events allow us to do what a public university does best: engage in open, critical, reflective conversation, always in pursuit of the common good. Session topics range from jazz to political theory and everything in between,” Sullivan said.

The discussions – which are scheduled to be 25 minutes or 55 minutes in length – will begin at 11 a.m. and will be held in three University libraries: Alderman, Clemons, and the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections auditorium. A complete list of the seminars, including times and locations, is available online.