Real Talk Race Dialogue: Improving Intergroup Relations through Dialogue is an experiential workshop which will engage participants in the practice of dialogue as a method of improving cooperation and understanding among and between people of different social identities.
This workshop serves as an introduction to Transformational Intergroup Dialogue, an intergroup dialogue approach based on Transformational Social Therapy and the Michigan Model of Intergroup Dialogue. TID helps individuals better understand the impact of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, (dis)ability, age and class on individuals and groups through face-to-face, interactive exchanges, and relationship building exercises. TID provides a framework for participants to explore society’s most important social issues through dialogue by helping them to explore their fears, mistrust and, even, hopes in diverse environments through constructive conflict and collective problem-solving.
The workshop will be intentionally interactive, participant-centered, and emotionally and intellectually engaging. Participants will explore how their social identities influence significant choices and outcomes related to their personal and professional lives. While diversity dialogues may be seen as difficult or uncomfortable for some, the workshop will provide a valuable opportunity for participants to develop the skills to wrestle with some very challenging topics with greater confidence and competency.
The ultimate goal of the workshop is to assist participants in discovering their individual obstacles to effectively leading, teaching, managing and facilitating diverse groups. While some professionals may be comfortable with diversity-oriented content, many struggle with how to include “resistant” participants or to facilitate exchanges on emotionally-charged topics. Transformational Intergroup Dialogue provides an effective method of engaging all participants in meaningful and substantive ways to foster constructive intergroup engagement with Real Talk. In order to participate in the workshop, advance registration is required. There are a limited number of spots available for this workshop so register as soon as possible.
FACILITATORS:
Tchet Dereic Dorman has facilitated hundreds of dialogues, taught scores of classes, and led hundreds of workshops over the past 20 years collectively. Some of the trainings he has facilitated include, Can We Talk? Teaching About Race and Diversity at Albright College, Westmoreland Community College, and Cabrini College; Intergroup Dialogue Facilitator Training at Harrisburg Area Community College, Anne Arundel Community College; Bloomsburg University, Saint Joseph’s University, Juniata College, Western Carolina University, and the University of Wisconsin at Platteville; Leading and Teaching without Fear: Embracing Diversity through Constructive Conflict at the 22nd Annual Conference of the National Association for Multicultural Education; Empowering Educators to Engage Diversity: Promoting Academic Excellence for All Students at Friends’ Central School; Real Talk: Engaging Gender and Race through Transformational Intergroup Dialogue at the 17th Annual Conference of the Pennsylvania Chapter of NAME at Keystone College; and Walking Our Talk: Professional Development for Facilitating Dialogue on Race and Diversity at the Network for Academic Renewal Conference of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. He has a Ph.D. and M.A. from Temple University in Afrocology/African American Studies, and a B.A. from Oberlin College.
Kate Garrity is the Director of Library Services for Friends Free Library at Germantown Friends School. She has facilitated dialogues for both students and adults and believes that librarianship is social justice in action. Kate has a BA from Penn State University and MLS from the University of Pittsburgh.
Kathleen Paulmier is the Director of Community Involvement at Germantown Friends School. She has been training in intergroup dialogue for fours years and has facilitated Transformational Intergroup Dialogue for faculty and staff at GFS for the past two years, as well as provided workshops on intergroup dialogue at the Chestnut Hill Monthly Meeting and Germantown Monthly Meeting. She leads efforts at GFS to provide opportunities for students to have meaningful interactions with the people, places, and resources which make up the neighborhood of Germantown and the city at large. Kathy is a 1983 graduate of Stanford University where she majored in Human Biology and played field hockey and lived in Japan for four years, teaching English as a Second Language.
