A new course being offered in spring 2026 will give students the chance to consider some of the most polarizing issues in our world today – and get more comfortable having uncomfortable conversations about them.
The class, Disagreement, will be taught by Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and professor of government; Davide Napoli, a Klarman Postdoctoral Fellow in A&S and an expert on ancient Athenian debate; and a group of leading professors from across the College.
The course will have space for 270 students. Loewen said the class will be engaging and encouraged students from an array of majors across the university to enroll.
“The ability to confront and move through disagreement is a skill that effective scholars and effective citizens need to cultivate, and it’s a skill that often seems missing in our country today,” Loewen said. “It’s at the heart of a healthy university, a healthy democracy and any healthy relationship.”
The one-credit class will bring leading public thinkers to campus for live discussions each Wednesday for seven weeks, considering questions such as:
- Is democracy the best form of government?
- Has progressivism been a force for good?
- Is a shrinking population a threat to society?
- Should universities serve the public good?
- Has capitalism been a positive force?
Some of the featured speakers will include: Ross Douthat, New York Times opinion columnist; Kate Manne, Cornell professor of philosophy (A&S); John Cassidy, New Yorker staff writer; and Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University.
Students will meet after each live session to discuss the topics, also considering them in smaller 15-student seminar groups during the week led by faculty and postdoctoral researchers from across the College. They’ll also complete writing assignments that engage with the questions from their own disciplinary perspective.
“The College of Arts & Sciences is committed to the public good. As part of this, we want to give our students opportunities to engage with challenging and important contemporary debates,” Loewen said. “We need their perspectives and their participation to solve society’s biggest problems. So, we look forward to them learning to jump right into these problems.”
The course is made possible through the generous support of donors Pamela Reis, Russell Weiner ’90, Andrea Tessler ’85, Derek ’91 & Elisa ’93 Winokur, Jill Oberlander ’88 MPA ’23 and Larry Penn.
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