Dialogue is a central imperative to cultivating leadership and engaging in problem-solving. We have seen how miscommunications and a lack of dialogue can erode relationships and organizations. Conversely, dialogue can provide constructive opportunities to understand why decisions are being made and the varying perspectives people may hold. Dialogue is a lever that can be used to create change in stubborn situations. In this increasingly digital age, the role of dialogue is even more important and complex.
This course will explore the foundations of dialogue. We will define and explore what dialogue is and what it means to be in conversation with others in a variety of contexts. We will discover how dialogue is central to leadership, building and maintaining cohesive relationships, and sustaining communities of learners that connect effectively to one another. This course will engage philosophical, theoretical, and practical approaches to dialogue.
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Differentiate between discussion, debate, and dialogue, understanding which tools are useful to use in different settings
- Practice using dialogic skills to engage in communication
- Organize and prepare an effective dialogue
- Describe dialogue as a leadership strategy
- Select dialogic tools to employ for specific settings
*Academic credit is defined by the University of Pennsylvania as a course unit (c.u.). A course unit (c.u.) is a general measure of academic work over a period of time, typically a term (semester or summer). A c.u. (or a fraction of a c.u.) represents different types of academic work across different types of academic programs and is the basic unit of progress toward a degree. One c.u. is usually converted to a four-semester-hour course.
Instructor
- Vice Dean for Academic Excellence and Engagement, School of Arts and Sciences
As Vice Dean for Academic Excellence and Engagement, Brighid Dwyer, PhD, provides leadership in pursuit of the School’s core commitments to achieving and maintaining excellence. She has twenty years of experience as a practitioner, scholar, and professor. Before joining Penn in 2021, she served as… Read more
