Section II: Bridge Building Dialogues

Bridge Building Dialogues Duration: 8 Weeks Course Description: This course prepares students to become facilitators of transformative dialogue across lines of difference. Drawing from humanistic and existential psychology, citizen therapy, depth-informed relational practices, and real-world dialogue initiatives, students will learn how to depolarize communities, navigate emotionally charged conversations, and build spaces of mutual recognition and repair. Through reading, podcast listening, and case-based reflection, participants will develop skills for cultivating healing dialogues within families, communities, and organizations. Learning Objectives By the end of this course, participants will be able to: 1. Understand polarization as a psychological and cultural phenomenon. 2. Facilitate relational, depth-informed dialogues across lines of political, cultural, or identity-based difference. 3. Apply sustained dialogue principles, reflective listening, and citizen therapist techniques in conflict transformation. 4. Reflect on the inner work required to bridge outer divides. 5. Develop a case-based project or community dialogue initiative based on course materials.