On September 19, the Center for Faith and Inquiry (CFI) hosted a faculty panel to introduce the theme for the 2024-25 school year: “Ready to Listen, Learning to Talk.” The panel consisted of Scott Hwang, the Associate Dean of Student Engagement, Kenann McKenzie-DeFranza, a professor of education, Gregory Deddo, an art professor, and Ruth Melkonian-Hoover, a professor of political science. Each of them presented for a few minutes on different aspects of dialogue, for example, how to go about a respectful dialogue, why it’s important, and what can be gained from it.
The goal of this year’s theme is to equip the students and faculty of Gordon College with the proper tools to talk about truth with love, genuine curiosity, and humility. Disagreement is unavoidable, but CFI hopes to teach students and faculty how to approach disagreements with the love of Christ and a desire for truth that is greater than the desire to be right.
As Professor McKenzie-DeFranza said, the purpose of dialogue is to create self-awareness, empathy, and trust to create deeper connections. She stressed the importance of understanding and honoring human dignity endowed to every person by our Creator. Intergroup dialogue means talking about human experiences to increase understanding among people with differing values.
The presentations also discussed the importance of making dialogue a sacrificial encounter in which individuals are willing to strip themselves of their pre-conceptions and open their minds to the possibility of genuine discovery. Professor Deddo said that “if we are confident that we belong to the Lord, who is the source of all that is good and true and beautiful, then we can be free to encounter the other through listening and seeing so that we can mutually grow and thrive together.” The pursuit of truth should not be the journey of an individual but rather a collaboration of a community seeking to learn from one another. Seeking truth together makes for a much fuller and more detailed picture of the Word.
Professor Melkonian-Hoover brought up a new angle to the panel; she agreed with the rest of the faculty on the importance of listening well, but also spoke about the importance of respectful disagreement. It is perfectly fine to leave a dialogue with the same stance you entered it with, as long as you took the time to listen to the people who disagreed without judgment. Melkonian-Hoover also said that on the contrary to the increasingly popular conception of debate as forceful and meant only for poking holes in the argument of one’s opponent, debate is “a way to test further and refine ideas.” Proper debate, meaning a debate that is pursuing truth, seeks the best of both sides of an argument, rather than the best of one’s own and the weakest of the opposing side. Whether debate or dialogue, both must be approached with humility, confidence to share your own views, a readiness to listen, and a willingness to be uncomfortable.
This introductory panel points Gordon College forward to the rest of the academic school year where both students and faculty will become increasingly equipped to address difficult disagreements that they may encounter.
What can you look forward to? The next CFI event will be on October 3, entitled “Listening with St. Benedict” and brought to Gordon College by Lauren Whitnah in Jenks Gregory Auditorium at 4:30pm.
Leave a Reply