ENGAGING IN CIVIL DISCOURSE:
WHY IT MATTERS, AND HOW TO DO IT
 

 Two scholars in civility will present a framework for civil discourse, and offer perspective on how this unique form of civic participation can foster understanding and strengthen communities.  They will also guide us through a brief activity so we can experience the power of civil discourse – freely expressing ourselves in a spirit of mutual respect. 
 
Joan McGregor is a professor of philosophy and Director of the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics at Arizona State University.  McGregor researches and publishes in legal philosophy, bioethics, and social and political philosophy.  She is Principal Investigator on a grant entitled: Cultivating Civic, Moral, and Epistemic Virtues Among Undergraduates in Arizona’s Public Universities.  McGregor got her BA in philosophy at University of California Davis an MA and a PhD in philosophy at University of Arizona where she also studied law.  The Arizona Humanities Council picked her as Public Humanities Scholar in 2019.  She is an avid hiker and devoted environmentalist living happily for many years in the Cave Creek/Carefree area.
 
John Genette, President, Black Mountain Communications Inc., has facilitated hundreds of community dialogues.  He is co-founder of the Institute for Civil Dialogue, promoting civility in public and personal conversations, and co-author of Hot Topics, Cool Heads: A Handbook for Civil Dialogue.  He is also co-founder of The Storyscope Project, fostering inclusiveness through community story circles.  He holds an MA in Communication from ASU, where he served the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication as an Honorary Research Fellow, and completed a doctoral program in wisdom studies at the young age of 67.