Categories
Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Faculty News Religious Studies

Jill DeTemple is teaching local students and faculty nationwide how to effectively navigate hot-button topics

Dallas Morning News

Originally Posted: October 17, 2019

I don’t know about you, but the sorry state of what passes for debate these days — hair-trigger anger and social media carpet-bombing — beats me into believing that thoughtful discussion about life’s toughest stuff is dead and gone. Too often, I wind up feeling timid, tentative or just plain tired-head around hot-button issues.

That’s why I went back to college last week to look into what I had heard were powerful efforts by one professor and her students to revive civil discourse. I didn’t find a magic potion for what ails society, but I did come back with better ideas on how to reengage.

The timing couldn’t have been better, given the hotbed of political emotions brewing here this week with President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke both in the Dallas area Thursday for election rallies. READ MORE