The Intergroup Dialogue Program at Syracuse University is deeply involved in the nexus of theory, research, and practice important for intergroup dialogue. Faculty, teaching, and research staff are familiar with and active in various expressions of social justice education. Collectively and individually, we are committed to research that develops an understanding of critical learning processes and change through education.
Intergroup dialogue academic courses (SOC 230, WGS 230, CFE 230, CRS 230) were first developed as part of Syracuse University’s participation in the Multi-University Intergroup Dialogue Research Project. The project brought dialogue faculty and researchers, program leadership, and graduate students together across campuses to develop best practices in intergroup dialogue, including the development and implementation of a shared curriculum. At the center of this collaboration is a research study that examines the educational benefits of student learning through intergroup dialogue.
Our program offerings extend from this development base and have included sections on intergroup dialogue that focus on race and ethnicity; gender and sexuality; class; and faith based identities. The program’s newest offerings include two co-curricular dialogues, “Dialogue with the Land, Dialogue with Each Other” in partnership with The Native Student Program and “Transformative Dialogue for Student Leaders” in partnership with the College of Law. The program has also offered an advanced dialogue course focused on community organizing as collaborative leadership, as well as a regularly scheduled graduate course on “Inequality and Intergroup Relations in Education.”
Our program faculty, facilitators, researchers, and staff are affiliated with the interdisciplinary academic department Cultural Foundations of Education and the School of Education. The IGD Program’s main undergraduate course is cross-listed through four departments and three colleges at Syracuse University including Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies (College of Arts & Sciences), Cultural Foundations of Education (School of Education), and Communications & Rhetorical Studies (College of Visual and Performing Arts). This course (SOC 230, WGS 230) meets the critical reflections requirement in the College of Arts and Sciences and may also meet an elective for the minor in Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies through course petition.