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“Once you move from seeing your opponent as wrong to evil, it’s hard to walk back that line.”
Professor John Inazu
The newly established Etz Family Institute for Civic Leadership & Dialogue marked a significant milestone with its inaugural public event, Learning to Disagree Across the Culture Wars. Nearly 400 guests from the Knox and Galesburg communities attended the event to engage in a dialogue between two renowned experts in civil discourse: John Corvino, Dean of the Irvin D. Reid Honors College at Wayne State University, and John Inazu, Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion at Washington University in St. Louis.
Both emphasized the importance of engaging with differing viewpoints through humility and curiosity, rather than resorting to labeling opposing views as “evil.”
This inaugural event set the stage for the Institute’s future endeavors, highlighting Knox’s commitment to fostering civic leadership and respectful discourse. Through ongoing programming, the Institute will continue to create opportunities for students and faculty to engage with differing viewpoints, collaborate, and debate solutions to pressing local and global challenges.