Working Group on Civil Discourse

Overview

In January 2024, the Provost appointed Professor Randy Boyagoda as the inaugural Provostial Advisor on Civil Discourse, to support the University in fostering an environment in which robust dialogue, academic curiosity, and civil engagement on difficult questions can thrive.

As part of his work, Professor Boyagoda was asked to chair a working group on civil discourse. The goal of this group is to contribute advice, suggestions, and insights towards strengthening a culture of civil discourse on campus, including the cultivation of dialogue across different points of view and the discussion of challenging subjects. The group will consider activities both in and beyond the classroom, and also within and across programs, departments, divisions, and the institution itself. Group members will also participate in consultations about civil discourse in a variety of settings and formats, involving diverse constituencies, including administrative staff.  

While the working group was formed following the events of October 7, 2023, its focus is much broader than the challenges to civil discourse that have arisen in response to the Israel-Hamas war or to any other particular contentious issue.

In addition to consultations, the working group:

  • will seek to elicit and develop a working definition of civil discourse in relation to University of Toronto activities;
  • will work to propose programming and other capacity-building activities that address and foster civil discourse at the University;
  • may participate in, engage with, and model civil discourse in programming that follows from the activities of the group and of the Provostial Advisor;
  • will make suggestions and proposals to sustain an environment that is conducive to civil discourse across research, scholarship, teaching and learning; and
  • will convey the results of the consultations, along with any working definitions, suggestions, guidelines, and recommendations, in a final report, to be delivered to the Provost by the end of June 2025.

Working Definition

Civil discourse at the University of Toronto:

  • refers to norms for people to engage in discussion as members of a shared academic community
  • seeks understanding, both about other points of view, and about difficult subjects marked by difference and disagreement
  • sustains a balance between advancing one’s own perspective and being open and curious about others, and likewise recognizing the inherent dignity of all members of an academic community
  • manifests in a commitment to increasing one’s capacity for empathy, imagination, reason, and dialogue
  • invites a willingness to take risks, make mistakes, and learn from those mistakes, while supporting others to do the same
  • depends on the recognition and affirmation of common standards to which discussion and inquiry are ordered, like the pursuit of truth, the advancement of knowledge, and the common good.

The following is offered for context on the working definition:
Many factors can make discussion and inquiry difficult. Some of these factors are welcome and familiar to academic communities, including the diversity of personal experiences, beliefs and methods, and worldviews of its members. But there are also more challenging obstacles to discussion and inquiry, like imbalances of power, misinformation and disinformation, and the polarizing, often personally-experienced effects of societal and geopolitical events. The existence of these factors and obstacles is undeniable and makes all the more important the University’s commitment to civil discourse, both inside and outside the classroom, and for the benefit of the entire academic community and for society at large.

Activities

Working Group Meetings

  • March 26, 2024
  • April 22, 2024
  • June 24, 2024
  • September 12, 2024
  • October 17, 2024
  • November 14, 2024
  • December 12, 2024

Consultations

Phase 1 (October 2024)

  • Targeted consultations with internal stakeholder groups of faculty and librarians, staff, and students (by invitation)
  • Online consultation form, open to all students, staff, faculty and librarians to offer feedback on their experience and thoughts on civil discourse at the University. The form closed on December 6, 2024.

Phase 2 (November/December 2024)

  • Open in-person consultations with the Provostial Advisor and members of the Working Group. These sessions were offered in increments throughout the day for faculty, librarians, staff and students at each campus to offer their feedback.
    • UTSC: Monday, November 4, 2024 (in-person) | 10 am – 4:30 pm
    • UTM: Wednesday, November 6, 2024 (in-person) | 10 am – 4:30 pm
    • St. George: Thursday, November 7, 2024 (in-person) | 10:30 am – 5 pm

  • Online (Zoom) 90-minute consultation sessions for staff, students, and faculty and librarians at each campus to discuss their thoughts on the issue of civil discourse at the University with the Provostial Advisor and members of the Working Group
    • UTSC: Monday, November 11, 2:30 – 4 pm
    • UTM: Monday, November 25, 10 – 11:30 am
    • St. George: Monday, December 2, 10 – 11:30 am

  • Online 60-minute consultation sessions for faculty members to discuss their thoughts on the issue of civil discourse at the University with the Provostial Advisor and members of the Working Group
    • UTSG: Monday, November 11, 10 – 11 am
    • UTM: Wednesday, November 27, 11 am – 12 pm
    • UTSC: Friday, December 6, 2 – 3 pm

This section will be updated with new activities as they occur or are planned.

Working Group Membership

A Call for Nominations was circulated in February 2024 for faculty members and students to serve on the Working Group on Civil Discourse. Given the high level of interest and the goal of broad representation, the number of members on the committee was increased from five faculty members and five students to seven faculty members and seven students.

Chair

  • Randy Boyagoda, Provostial Advisor on Civil Discourse; Vice-Dean, Undergraduate, Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty Members

  • Eyal Gruntman, Department of Biological Sciences, UTSC
  • James John, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts & Science
  • Nasim Niknafs, Faculty of Music
  • Gurpreet Rattan, Department of Philosophy, UTM
  • Alison Thompson, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
  • Brian Silverman, Rotman School of Management
  • Robert Wright, Daniels Faculty of Architecture and Landscape Design

Graduate Students

  • Haidy Giratallah, Temerty Faculty of Medicine
  • Noah Khan, OISE
  • Emmanuel Taiwo, UTSC

Undergraduate Students

  • Valentina Bravo, UTM
  • Hugh Considine, Faculty of Arts & Science
  • Lydia Dillenbeck, Faculty of Arts & Science
  • Sam Guevara, Faculty of Arts & Science

Senior Assessors

  • Joshua Barker, Dean, School of Graduate Studies
  • Sandy Welsh, Vice-Provost, Students (to May 31, 2024)
  • Dwayne Benjamin, Vice-Provost, Strategic Enrolment Management (from June 1, 2024)

The group is supported in its work by Alexis Archbold, Executive Director, Strategy, Programs & Operations in the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students, and Andrea Kwan, Senior Writer and Special Projects Officer in the Office of the Vice-President and Provost.

Related Documents & Resources