Braver Seminars
Overview
Welcome to Braver Seminars, the newest addition to Braver U!
Braver Seminars are meant to provide adults with easier access to higher education on topics surrounding polarization. We strongly believe that opening a space for healthy discussion and learning can bring us one step closer to understanding each other better and depolarizing America.
Braver Seminars are seminar-based discussion groups led by professors, experts, and leaders in Braver Angels and beyond. Braver Angels will bring together a small group of individuals for an online seminar consisting of three 90-minute sessions over the course of three weeks. Seminar leaders will choose the topics they want to discuss!
We must all do our part to end the threat of polarization; doing so will bring us closer to that goal. Do your part and sign up for the courses today!*
*All students must be Braver Angels members
Fall 2023 Course Offerings
The Philosophy and Practice of Constructive Nonviolence
Nonviolence animated movements for change like civil rights in America, aspects of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and the movement for Indian independence, but nonviolence in such movements is often remembered in incomplete ways, as simply civil disobedience without violence. In fact, these movements had philosophical and constructive dimensions, aiming to build beloved communities across great differences while struggling against injustices. Developing constructive nonviolent dimensions has great relevance for our polarized and fractured world, teaching how to see the public talents and worth even of our enemies in order to build a common life. Using Martin Luther King’s writings and other resources, we will look at how to advance constructive nonviolence for our times.
Professors: Harry Boyte and Marie Ström
Date:
Session I: Monday, October 16th from 4-5:30 pm ET
Session II: Monday, October 23rd from 4-5:30 pm ET
Session III: Monday, October 30th from 4-5:30 pm ET
Our Polarized Politics Lessons from the Gilded Age
Professor: Richard Harris
Date:
Session I: Tuesday, October 17th from 4pm - 5:30pm ET
Session II: Tuesday, October 24th from 4pm - 5:30pm ET
Session III: Tuesday, October 31st from 4pm - 5:30pm ET
Self Made: Creating Our Identities, from Da Vinci to the Kardashians (NYC)
Professor: Tara Isabella Burton
Date:
Session I: Wednesday, October 4th from 12:00pm - 1:30pm ET
Session II: Friday, October 20th 12:00pm - 1:30pm ET
Session III: Friday, October 27th 12:00pm - 1:30pm ET