Thinking out loud together: Why civil discourse matters on campus

In this talk, novelist and professor Randy Boyagoda, the University of Toronto’s Advisor on Civil Discourse, will discuss the importance of civil discourse at university as a way to overcome divides, conflicts, and extreme positions between members of the same academic community. Civil discourse, according to Professor Boyagoda, is a commitment to thinking out loud together with others in and beyond the classroom. Civil Discourse matters because it provides a way for people to recognize and reckon with difference and disagreement, and to see this as a way of increasing mutual understandings and also shared understandings of important issues and ideas. Ultimately, Civil Discourse matters because it contributes to the common good, advances knowledge, and supports the pursuit of truth.

Biography: Randy Boyagoda is the University of Toronto’s advisor on Civil Discourse. The author of seven books, including four novels, a novella, a critical biography, and a scholarly monograph, he is Professor of English at the University of Toronto, where he serves as Vice-Dean, Undergraduate in the Faculty of Arts and Science. He contributes essays, reviews, and opinions to a variety of publications including the New York Times, the Times Literary Supplement, and the Globe and Mail, while appearing frequently on CBC Radio. He served as President of PEN Canada from 2015-2017. He lives in Toronto with his wife and four daughters.

This event is hosted and moderated by Dr. Malinda Smith & Dr. Andrew Szeto.

Dr. Malinda S. Smith is the Vice Provost and Associate Vice-President Research (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) at the UCalgary. A political scientist, she is the coauthor, editor, or coeditor of numerous articles, chapters, and books, including The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities (2017); Nuances of Blackness in the Canadian Academy (2022); and Critical Concepts: An Introduction to Politics (2023). 

Dr. Smith serves on several national committees, including Statistics Canada’s Immigration and Ethnocultural Statistics Advisory Committee; Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s External EDI Advisory Board; and as Vice Chair of the Scarborough Charter Steering Committee. Dr. Smith has been recognized with numerous awards and honours including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Calgary Black Chambers (2023), a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) from Simon Fraser University (2021), the Susan S. Northcutt Award (2020) from the ISA’s Women’s Caucus, P.E. Trudeau Foundation Fellowship (2018), ISA-Canada Distinguished Scholar Award (2018-19), and the ‘Equity Award’ from the Canadian Association of University Teachers (2015).

Dr. Andrew Szeto (he/him) is the Director of the Mental Health Strategy and is responsible for guiding the implementation of the recently renewed University of Calgary’s Community Mental Health and Well-Being Strategy. He is also a Full Professor in the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Arts. Over the past 14 years, Dr. Szeto has focused on the development and evaluation of mental illness stigma reduction and mental health promotion programs, such as The Working Mind, The Inquiring Mind Post-Secondary, and The Inquiring Mind Youth. 

Dr. Szeto also conducts basic research that examines the stigma of mental illnesses through a social psychological lens, as well as with his transdisciplinary network of collaborators. In line with his strategy work, his more recent research has focused on mental health, well-being, and resilience of the post-secondary community. He is also a member of the Technical Committee that developed the Canadian Standards Association and Mental Health Commission of Canada’s National Standard for Post-Secondary Student Mental Health and Wellbeing. Dr. Szeto continues to publish academic articles on various topics related to mental health and well-being and the stigma of mental illness.