Overall Series Description:

The Building Bridges Across Difference: A Dialogue for Every Day series equips faculty, staff, and students with practical tools to foster connection and understanding across differences in today’s polarized climate. Grounded in the Center for Social Justice Dialogue's commitment to shared power and inclusive practices, this series provides strategies to build trust, navigate challenging and emotionally charged moments, and create environments that encourage community and mutual respect. By embracing intergroup dialogue practices daily, participants will enhance their ability to inspire critical self-reflection, cultural storytelling, generous listening, and loving accountability.

All sessions will take place on Wednesdays from 11:45 - 1:00 pm and will be held VIRTUALLY.

If you have accessibility needs, please email csjdialogue@umbc.edu.

Session Descriptions:

1. Pivoting Perspective: Fostering Curiosity and Wonder, March 11

RSVP: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/csjd/events/151832
We all carry perspectives shaped by the stories, systems, and communities that raised us, but those perspectives are never set in stone. In this session, we will explore how loving accountability can serve as a catalyst for curiosity, inviting us to pause, question, and reframe the assumptions we hold about ourselves and others. Participants will practice perspective shifting as an act of care toward others and ourselves, and discover how wonder can open doors that judgment tends to close.

2. Justice v. Just Us: Exploring Coalition Building, April 8

RSVP: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/csjd/events/151835
Moving from personal perspective shifts to collective action, this session asks a fundamental question: what does it look like when we move from protecting our own circle to building something bigger? In this session, we will explore what genuine coalition building requires, including the willingness to be uncomfortable, to be accountable, and to stay in relationship even when it is hard. Participants will examine how loving accountability serves as the foundation for justice work that is sustainable, inclusive, and rooted in shared humanity rather than shared identity alone.

Overall Series Description:

The Building Bridges Across Difference: A Dialogue for Every Day series equips faculty, staff, and students with practical tools to foster connection and understanding across differences in today’s polarized climate. Grounded in the Center for Social Justice Dialogue's commitment to shared power and inclusive practices, this series provides strategies to build trust, navigate challenging and emotionally charged moments, and create environments that encourage community and mutual respect. By embracing intergroup dialogue practices daily, participants will enhance their ability to inspire critical self-reflection, cultural storytelling, generous listening, and loving accountability.

All sessions will take place on Wednesdays from 11:30 - 1:30 pm and will be held VIRTUALLY.

If you have accessibility needs, please email csjdialogue@umbc.edu.

Session Descriptions:

1. Exploring Socialization and Liberation, 9/17

RSVP: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/csjd/events/143931
From childhood to the workplace, we are influenced by powerful cultural and institutional messages that shape our understanding of who we are and how we relate to others. In this session, we’ll engage the Cycles of Socialization and Liberation to examine how these messages shape our perspectives and behaviors. Participants will reflect on their own socialization and explore ways to move toward more equitable and liberatory practices.

2. Understanding Identity in Community, 10/15

RSVP: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/csjd/events/143932
Each of us brings a unique set of identities to our roles on campus, some are visible, while others are less so. This session uses an identity chart activity to explore how our identities influence our experiences, relationships, and sense of belonging at UMBC. Together, we’ll build a shared understanding of power, privilege, and difference, and explore what each of us can do about it at UMBC.

Overall Series Description:

The Building Bridges Across Difference: A Dialogue for Every Day series equips faculty, staff, and students with practical tools to foster connection and understanding across differences in today’s polarized climate. Grounded in the Center for Social Justice Dialogue's commitment to shared power and inclusive practices, this series provides strategies to build trust, navigate challenging and emotionally charged moments, and create environments that encourage community and mutual respect. By embracing intergroup dialogue practices daily, participants will enhance their ability to inspire critical self-reflection, cultural storytelling, generous listening, and loving accountability.

Both sessions take place from 11:30am - 1:30pm and will be held in ITE 237. Bring your own lunch!

If you have accessibility needs, please email csjdialogue@umbc.edu.

Session Descriptions:

1. Exploring Your Role in Social Change • 3/25

RSVP: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/csjd/events/140997
This session focuses on identifying entry points into social change and allyship work. Participants will explore tools and practices that help them “see” themselves as part of a larger ecosystem of social change. Protests, voting, and other more obvious forms of advocacy are great, but they are not the only way. This session will help participants link their existing skills and passions to a wide array of practices and approaches to social change and allyship.

2. Loving Accountability: Practicing Grace and Forgiveness • 4/29

RSVP: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/csjd/events/140998
In this session, participants will explore loving accountability, a competency for dialogic community building, which is about centering humanity and prioritizing relationships as we call in and redress harm. This session will emphasize the importance of grace and forgiveness in the accountability process, drawing on the work of Kazu Haga and other works rooted in Kingian nonviolence. Participants will have the opportunity to practice tools connected to loving accountability like calling in harm and offering apologies.

This series is open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.

Overall Series Description:

The Building Bridges Across Difference: A Dialogue for Every Day series equips faculty, staff, and students with practical tools to foster connection and understanding across differences in today’s polarized climate. Grounded in the Center for Social Justice Dialogue's commitment to shared power and inclusive practices, this series provides strategies to build trust, navigate challenging and emotionally charged moments, and create environments that encourage community and mutual respect. By embracing intergroup dialogue practices daily, participants will enhance their ability to inspire critical self-reflection, cultural storytelling, generous listening, and loving accountability.

All sessions will take place on Wednesdays from 11:30 - 1:30 pm and will be held VIRTUALLY.

If you have accessibility needs, please email csjdialogue@umbc.edu.

Session Descriptions:

1. Setting the Tone - Dr. Ciara Christian + Caleb Ruck

RSVP: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/csjd/events/137090
This session focuses on laying the groundwork for a dialogic community environment. Participants will explore strategies to establish trust, build relationships across difference, and create inclusive norms. Drawing on principles of circle pedagogy and shared power, attendees will learn how to set intentions that invite curiosity and co-create a sense of belonging amongst diverse groups.

2. Navigating Hot Moments - Dr. Jasmine Lee + Dr. Ciara Christian

RSVP: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/csjd/events/137091
University campuses are spaces where challenging conversations can arise unexpectedly. In this session, participants will develop tools to navigate "hot moments"—those intense or emotionally charged situations—while maintaining a commitment to inclusion and shared learning. Through case studies and interactive practice, attendees will strengthen their ability to hold space for difficult dialogues and navigate identity-based differences with empathy, clarity, and compassion.