Fall Symposium Day Oct. 12 addresses civil discourse

Civil Discourse is the topic of Augustana's Fall Symposium Day Oct. 12, and presenters will include PEN America, an organization that works to protect free expression, and alumni, faculty and students from many disciplines.

Once a semester, the college devotes a full day to an alternative approach for learning and opens the process to the entire campus community.

This fall's theme is a follow-up to this year's Augie Reads selection, "Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption," an attorney's memoir of his career defending disadvantaged clients. 

Presentations run from 9:15 a.m-2:15 p.m. at various locations on campus. All sessions are open to the public.

The day's 18 presentations will include a variety of approaches to the theme:

• Haley DeGreve ‘20, co-founder of The Gray Matters Collective, will speak on mental health as an issue as essential as physical health, and how conversation around it should empower people to get the help they need.

• Deborah Dakin, assistant professor of music, will explore civil discussion as the ability to listen with openness and patience.

• Dominique DeBois Gilliard will draw on his experiences teaching in prison and speak  about advocating for criminal justice reform, replacing models of retribution with restoration.

• Others will discuss YouTube Debate as public scholarship, how dining together promotes dialogue, and the experience of reading "Just Mercy" in prison.

The day will conclude with a free documentary film, open to the public. "Powerlands" investigates the displacement of Indigenous people and the devastation of the environment caused by chemical companies.