APSU launches Peayple’s Dialogue series to promote free expression
By: Ethan Steinquest October 7, 2024
Dr. Christopher Clarke, APSU’s assistant vice president for Community Belonging and Success, gives introductory remarks during the inaugural Peayple’s Dialogue. | Photo by Sean McCully
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University (APSU) kicked off a groundbreaking conversational series, The Peayple’s Dialogue, on Oct. 2 with guest speaker Dr. Tom Ginsberg, an esteemed professor of international law and political science and the founder of the University of Chicago’s Forum on Free Inquiry and Expression.
The Peayple’s Dialogue was designed to engage the entire campus community in conversations that promote free expression and civil discourse. It was created through a partnership between APSU’s Division of Student Affairs, Office of Institutional Culture, Student Government Association, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and Center for Advancement of Faculty Excellence.
“We want to bring the community together [to create] inclusive environments where we are respected and our values are shared,” Assistant Vice President for Community Belonging and Success Dr. Christopher Clarke said. “We ultimately want to get a space where we can have opportunities to explore topics that get us closer to mutual understanding.”
The Peayple’s Dialogue series is built around evidence-based frameworks anchored by three key elements: active and engaged learning, innovative and structured interaction, and facilitated learning environments. This allows the community to discuss pressing social issues while learning more about the resources available to serve diverse campus populations.
In his address, Ginsburg emphasized the importance of initiatives like the Peayple’s Dialogue and said the University of Chicago has a longstanding policy of not weighing in on divisive topics to promote similar conversations.
“The university community is a plural community with people from all kinds of different backgrounds and knowledge positions, and that makes us better,” he said. “In order to get inquiry, you need diversity of perspective, social diversity, and free expression. When you put those two things together - diversity and free expression - then you can get somewhere on problems.”
Ginsberg said universities are well-positioned to teach people how to talk about issues productively because of the diversity on a college campus. He added that despite the polarization in the U.S., Americans have more common ground than they may realize.
Students engage with one another during the inaugural Peayple’s Dialogue, a conversational series aimed at promoting free expression and civility. | Photo by Sean McCully
“Practicing free expression is an area where we can all get better,” he said. “It’s like moving a muscle, except you’re exercising how to have a dialogue with someone whom you disagree with. And there’s research that shows people actually like it more than they think they would … they end up enjoying those conversations, finding points of agreement, and bracketing points of disagreement.”
Following his talk, Ginsberg engaged with audience members in a Q&A session covering topics from third parties and alternative voting systems to civility during election seasons.
Future events in the Peayple’s Dialogue series aim to dive deeper into specific issues, fostering the kinds of challenging yet rewarding conversations Ginsberg advocates for.
“We often like to skirt around difficult conversations as humans because we’re uncomfortable with those things,” Associate Vice President for Campus Engagement Dr. Lindsey Gilmore said. “But when we do that, we lose the power of our own voices and the collective voices within our communities. It’s imperative that we remember to recognize the power of our voices and that we do everything we can to ensure we create spaces within which [they] can be heard.”
For more information on the Peayple’s Dialogue series, visit www.apsu.edu/student-affairs/community-belonging/peayples-dialogue. You can also contact Dr. Christopher Clarke (931-221-6544, clarkec@apsu.edu) or Dr. Lindsey Gilmore (931-221-7001, gilmorel@apsu.edu).