From barriers to bridges: Investigating contemplative approaches to social justice

Fostering meaningful dialogue about social inequities is a key contemporary social challenge. Despite participants’ best intentions, all too often conversations about social inequities are as likely to reinforce stereotypes and foster acrimony, as they are to facilitate mutual understanding and promote progress towards social justice. We have developed a training program called the Critical Conversations Project that brings university students together to have facilitated dialogues about social inequity. Drawing on contemplative practices, the program provides students with training in reflecting on power differentials as they play themselves out in our day to day experiences. Students also receive explicit training and support in managing the stress involved in these conversations and taking care of themselves while remaining engaged in the exchange. Students will be randomly assigned to diverse course formats to see which formats best promote increased awareness of social oppression and increased prosocial behavior.