Persuasion and Listening in an Era of Polarization
Opening Up: A Conflict Transformation Podcast
Release Date: 12/20/2023
Mediator and Teacher: Julian Portilla
Opening Up: A Conflict Transformation Podcast
In this episode, we feature a conversation with international mediator . For the past three years, Julian has been one of the instructors of our successful Winter Term class at the college, “Conflict Transformation Skills.” A graduate of Vassar College and George Mason University, Julian works with international organizations and local communities on environmental and social issues. He previously served as director of the Master’s in Mediation program at the Woodbury Institute at Champlain College. As a practitioner and teacher, Julian discusses both the personal and professional...
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From Post-Conflict Reconstruction to Democratic Dialogues
Opening Up: A Conflict Transformation Podcast
In this episode, we talk international post-conflict reconstruction, foreign aid, and domestic public policy dialogue with Dr. Naazneen Barma, a member of the External Advisory Board of the CT Collaborative. Barma is the founding Director of the at the University of Denver (DU) and is a professor in political science at DU. She has worked at the World Bank, taught at the Naval Postgraduate School, and was a co-founder of , which brings scholarly research to global public policy. We mention two of Naaz’s publications in our conversation: The Peacebuilding Puzzle: Political...
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Practicing Negotiation: Tools for Skill-Building
Opening Up: A Conflict Transformation Podcast
In this episode, we bring you a panel discussion with two practiced negotiators. In January, the CT Collaborative and MiddCORE each planned to bring an expert in to help build student skills - and so we decided to put our two visitors in conversation with one another. Morgan Gaskin Thomas is Managing Director and Americas Lead for Accenture’s Resolution Excellence Center. She has previously served as an adjunct professor at South Texas College of Law. She has her undergraduate degree in philosophy from Southern Methodist University and her JD from Cornell. Sarah Federman is associate...
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Conflict Past and Present: History, Memory, and the U.S. Civil War
Opening Up: A Conflict Transformation Podcast
Today’s podcast features historian Connor Williams, Middlebury Class of 2008.5. We explore the role of history and memory around the US Civil War and the way in which historical narratives inform our ability to tackle contemporary conflicts. Connor shares his experiences in community dialogues across the United States and lessons for engaging in discussions about controversial issues. Connor Williams is a scholar, teacher, and advocate of American and African American history. In 2021 and 2022, Williams served as the Lead Historian for the United States Congress’ “Naming...
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Fiction as a Pathway to explore History and Conflict
Opening Up: A Conflict Transformation Podcast
In this episode, we bring you a talk from Ava Homa, the first Kurdish woman writer to publish a novel in English. In September 2024, Homa spoke at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies at Monterey. Professor Sharad Joshi provides an introduction. Homa is an acclaimed author, speaker, activist, and faculty member at California State University, Monterey Bay. Her debut novel, Daughters of Smoke and Fire (HarperCollins & Abrams, 2020), was featured in Roxane Gay's , the Unplugged Book Box, and International. Learn more here: This event was co-sponsored by...
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Support and Challenge: Higher Ed's role in fostering constructive conflict skills
Opening Up: A Conflict Transformation Podcast
In this episode, Teyonce Allison ’25 talks with Professor Jonathan Miller-Lane. Professor Miller-Lane, known affectionately as “JML,” teaches education studies at Middlebury and is a facilitator in the Engaged Listening Project, a professional development program for faculty and staff. Prof. Miller-Lane discusses his upbringing in various countries as son of a foreign service officer and how that shaped his understanding of culture, hospitality, race, and conflict. The discussion explores the role of higher education in supporting and preparing students. They discuss lessons from...
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Protest, Conflict, and Lessons from Interfaith Dialogue
Opening Up: A Conflict Transformation Podcast
At the end of 2024, we mark the end of Laurie Patton's tenure as president of Middlebury by sharing her reflections on conflict transformation, protest, and higher education. In September, President Patton sat down with Eboo Patel, president of Interfaith America, as part of their programing on Teaching Interfaith Understanding. Their conversation was posted to Interfaith America's podcast and we reshare the episode here with permission. Patel and Patton discuss how Middlebury’s campus culture evolved in the years since 2017, when political scientist Charles Murray’s visit was met...
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Structured Dialogue & Higher Education
Opening Up: A Conflict Transformation Podcast
In this episode, Sarah Stroup talks with Meg Griffiths, director of programs at Essential Partners (formerly the Public Conversations Project). Founded in 1989, Essential Partners (EP) uses a reflective structured dialogue approach to help people communicate across deep differences in identities and values in order “to address communities’ most pressing challenges.” Meg Griffiths and her colleagues at EP have been leading professional development workshops at Middlebury since January 2019 as part of Middlebury’s Engaged Listening Project. She has over 15 years of professional...
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Embodiment and Improvisation: from Dance to Conflict Transformation
Opening Up: A Conflict Transformation Podcast
Today, we bring you a conversation with Susan Sgorbati, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Action at Bennington College. In conversation with Lida Winfield, the undergraduate pillar head of the CT Collaborative and dance professor, Susan shares insights from her journey as a dance artist and educator, and how the principles of dance improvisation inform her work in conflict mediation and social justice. They explore how embodied practices, active listening, and improvisational skills can foster collaboration and create transformative change in both artistic and social...
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Beth Berila - Building Compassionate Communities with Mindfulnesss
Opening Up: A Conflict Transformation Podcast
info_outlineAddressing social and political conflicts seems particularly challenging in an era of high polarization. Yet under certain conditions, perspective taking and story telling may shift exclusionary attitudes and policy preferences.
In this episode of our podcast, we are sharing audio from a campus talk in October 2023 on persuasion by Professor Joshua Kalla of Yale University. Kalla's research explores political persuasion, prejudice reduction, and decision-making among voters and political elites. Kalla (PhD, UC Berkeley) is Associate Professor of Political Science at Yale University with a secondary appointment as Assistant Professor of Statistics and Data Science.
See the full talk and others in our library here: https://www.middlebury.edu/ct-video-collection
Learn more about Professor Kalla here: https://politicalscience.yale.edu/people/joshua-kalla