Workshop: University of Chicago Forum For Free Inquiry & Expression

Free Expression and the Conditions for Transforming Disagreement for Better Collective Decision Making 

What it is: A workshop on how to harness disagreement and tension as catalysts for sharper thinking, stronger decisions, and more effective collective action. Free expression and healthy disagreement are essential to robust thinking and sound decision-making. Yet too often, default approaches to conflict create division, stagnation, and reductive thinking. This workshop will develop your understanding of the role of free expression and equip you to lean into disagreement, name tensions clearly, and use them to energize collaboration, problem-solving, and impact. 

What you’ll learn:

• Understand the foundations of free expression and why it matters.
• Identify unproductive modes of disagreement and transform them into productive engagement that advances your mission.
• Lean into tensions and conflict to catalyze collective thinking.
• Leverage disagreement to move from stagnation to action and strengthen collaborative decision-making
• Apply adaptable models and concrete practices for fostering constructive disagreement within your organization and with stakeholders. 

Facilitators: Leila Brammer, Director of Curriculum, University of Chicago 

About Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression: The Chicago Forum promotes the understanding, practice, and advancement of free and open discourse at the University of Chicago and beyond.