Democracy & Dialogues

Through the Democracy and Dialogues Initiative, UConn is working to increase democratic and civic capacity by supporting community dialogues on critical issues, providing moderator and facilitation training for dialogues and deliberations, and partnering with campus colleagues and local institutions to increase meaningful participation by all community members.


This initiative is part of Dodd Human Rights Impact Programs and supported by the Office of Global Affairs, the Office of the Provost, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Humanities Institute, UConn Extension, and the Division of Student Affairs’ Parent's Fund.

5 person panel discusses housing discrimination
A five-person panel, organized by Dr. Fiona Vernal (center), discusses housing discrimination. Participants include Joshua Serrano, Pastor AJ Johnson, Annette Sanderson, and Fernando Betancourt.

The Encounters Series

The Encounters Series is dedicated to fostering unexpected conversations around divisive issues and obscure knowledge. The program dives deeply into subjects that are of interest to the Greater Hartford community through facilitated, small-group dialogues followed by a question-and-answer style conversation with UConn faculty and community partners. Readings are provided beforehand to encourage informed and informal dialogue within conversations that often prove to be polarizing, and thus unproductive. Read more about The Encounters Series through Humanities for All.

Upcoming Events

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  • Feb
    27
    Encounters: Political Activism in 1860…and 2025
    Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
    6:00 PM

    Join us at the Connecticut Museum for an interactive event exploring the story of the Wide Awakes, a 19th-century youth-driven political movement, and reflecting on free speech, democracy, and civic engagement in our communities today.

  • Mar
    1
    Encounters: From Jubilee to Juneteenth
    Wadsworth Atheneum (Hartford)
    10:00 AM

    Join us for an Encounters Dialogue, a follow-up to the Pennington Lecture, which honors the legacy of Rev. Dr. James W. C. Pennington, a pioneering leader in the fight for racial equality and education.

Public Partnerships

Akomawt Educational Initiative
The Amistad Center for Art and Culture
Connecticut's Old State House
HartBeat Ensemble
Hartford Public Library
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

Engagement

Democracy & Dialogues Student Fellowship Program

The fellowship program is a University-wide partnership with participation from academic, service, outreach, and administrative units. Fellowship teams engage in a year-long shared learning process, develop projects that apply dialogue and deliberation to specific content areas and curricular settings, and make use of, and potentially contribute to, current research in practice.

Meet the DDI Fellows

Get Involved

Students, faculty, and community members may host or suggest a dialogue, or join one of our many trainings to become a facilitator or moderator for one of our upcoming dates.  See the events section above for our upcoming training sessions.

To host your own dialogue or request a consultation, fill out the form below to connect with our team.

News

Former members of Congress Fred Upton and Loretta Sanchez participate in a discussion with NBC CT anchor and reporter Amber Diaz.
At Visit to Dodd Center, Former Members of Congress Discuss Bridging Divides – and Issue a Call to Action

‘Today’s conversation is important, because it is a reminder of what our discourse can be’

Aerial image of the University of Connecticut during Fall 2023.
Metanoia 2024 Kick-Off on Wednesday, April 17

This year’s Metanoia will focus on ‘pathways to productive civil discourse’

The Dodd Center for Human Rights.
Dodd Impact Team Seeks ‘A More Perfect Union’ Through Community Conversation

History professor Brendan Kane and other UConn experts hosted statewide discussions on the nation’s founding documents, funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Connecticut Humanities Council

Art, Music Faculty Collaboration Illuminates ‘Paradox in Political Tribalism’

Following a divisive election, a multimedia collaboration asks searching questions about values and principles.

Our People

Leadership

Brendan Kane

Brendan Kane

Co-Director, Democracy & Dialogues Initiative
Professor, History & Literature, Cultures, & Languages

brendan.kane@uconn.edu

Nana Amos

Co-Director, Democracy & Dialogues Initiative
Director, Community Outreach & Engagement

nana.amos@uconn.edu

People

Saah Agyemang-Badu

Graduate Assistant

saah.agyemang-badu@uconn.edu

Nana Amos

Director of Community Outreach & Engagement, Co-Director, Democracy & Dialogue Initiative

nana.amos@uconn.edu

Brendan Kane

Brendan Kane

Co-Director, Democracy & Dialogues Initiative
Professor, History & Literature, Cultures, & Languages

brendan.kane@uconn.edu