Opinion: What ‘civic dialogue’ programs leave out

John Tomasi January 06, 2026 1 min read

Opinion: What ‘civic dialogue’ programs leave out

John Tomasi
Deseret News

A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education describes the current trend on college campuses of starting “civil dialogue” programs. These programs are designed to help students engage with diverse ideas in more constructive ways. This effort is commendable but the question is: Will these programs work?

Even as campuses embrace civil dialogue, there is a danger that some university leaders are quietly redefining “open inquiry.” And they are doing so in a way that makes campus dialogue more narrow and less intellectually demanding than it ought to be.

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