Civic Reflection Dialogue: How the Arts & Humanities Provoke Public Conversations

Pam Blevins Hinkle, School of Liberal Arts

Erin Kelley, School of Liberal Arts

LaShawnda Crowe Storm, School of Liberal Arts

Spirit & Place--which uses the arts, humanities, and religion as civic tools--will provide an overview of the Civic Reflection Dialogue (CRD) facilitation strategy, how it was used to create critical community conversations on race, how volunteer-community facilitators have continued to use CRD in other community settings, how Spirit & Place is using CRD to explore other important community issues, and how our collaborative process and skills training builds community capacity. Spirit & Place began using the Civic Reflection Dialogue (CRD) method as part of a new series called Powerful Conversations on Race (piloted in 2018). Created by the Center for Civic Reflection (now housed at Salisbury University) CRD is a group facilitation strategy that uses arts and humanities sources to create a shared experience for community members, generating conversation about values, beliefs and, civic commitments. In our pilot project, 21 community facilitators were trained in CRD. These facilitators have continued to use CRD in their own community work, and CRD techniques are being used by Spirit & Place in other public initiatives, including the re-launch and expansion of Powerful Conversations on Race, The Corona Dialogues, among others. Spirit & Place will also be offering CRD training sessions on how to use these facilitation techniques for race-centered conversations.



Spirit & Place Bringle Showcase Poster 2021-FINAL.pdf