Program for
Public Discourse
Upcoming Events
Debating Public Policy Series: Debating the Minimum Wage
Click here to register
For our inaugural Debating Public Policy Series event, the UNC Program for Public Discourse invites two UNC faculty members to debate the advantages and disadvantages of President Biden’s recent proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $15.Dr. Luca Flabbi of the UNC Department of Economics will argue in favor.
Dr. Paige Ouimet of UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School will argue against.
The debate is moderated by Kevin Marinelli, executive director of the UNC Program for Public Discourse.
Date: April 19, 2021
Times: 05:00 pm – 06:30 pm
Audience: Public Event
Venue: Online
Luca Flabbi, Ph.D a 2004 graduate of New York University, is a labor economist interested in gender differentials and discrimination, bargaining in the labor market and in the household, search models estimation.
Paige Ouimet, Ph.D. has several research projects looking at income inequality and the role of firms. She also has researched ESOP (employee share ownership plans) and employee stock options and their impact on labor productivity, wages and turnover. Her research agenda is concentrated at the juncture of finance and labor economics. She is interested in in how decisions studied in finance impact employee stakeholders – specifically how those effects are reflected in firm performance and, hence, corporate finance decisions.
Event Moderator
Kevin Marinelli, Ph.D. serves as executive director of the Program for Public Discourse and teaches in the Department of Communication. He teaches courses in rhetorical studies, and his scholarship centers on public argument. Currently, he is investigating practices of rhetorical citizenship.
UNC Faculty Symposium on Deliberative Pedagogy
Communication Beyond Carolina, (10 - 11 a.m.):
This panel will provide an overview of the Communication Beyond Carolina component of the news IDEAs in Action curriculum. In addition to hearing from the Office of Undergraduate Curricula's Curriculum Director, this panel includes the chair of the General Education Oversight Committee, and an expert in communicating science to a lay audience who also teaches courses aligned with the Communication Beyond Carolina learning outcomes.
This panel will provide an overview of the Communication Beyond Carolina component of the news IDEAs in Action curriculum. In addition to hearing from the Office of Undergraduate Curricula's Curriculum Director, this panel includes the chair of the General Education Oversight Committee, and an expert in communicating science to a lay audience who also teaches courses aligned with the Communication Beyond Carolina learning outcomes.
- Dr. Charlotte Boettiger, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience
- Nick Siedentop, Office of Undergraduate Curricula
- Dr. Erika Wise, Department of Geography
Facilitating & Evaluating Public Discourse, (11 a.m. - noon):
This panel will provide a range of strategies and techniques for facilitating and evaluating students' capacity to engage in discourse. Drawing from experiences within and beyond the college classroom, panelists will offer tips and reflections for how best to generate meaningful discussion and deliberation, as well as how to evaluate students' participation.
This panel will provide a range of strategies and techniques for facilitating and evaluating students' capacity to engage in discourse. Drawing from experiences within and beyond the college classroom, panelists will offer tips and reflections for how best to generate meaningful discussion and deliberation, as well as how to evaluate students' participation.
- Dr. Kelly Hogan, Office of Instructional Innovation; Department of Biology
- Dr. Lloyd Kramer, Carolina Public Humanities; Department of History
- Dr. Michael Vazquez, Parr Center for Ethics; Department of Philosophy
Engaging Race and Racism in the Classroom, (1 - 2 p.m.):
This panel will provide strategies and techniques for engaging with topics related to race and racism within a course. With a focus on cultivating students' skills in discussing race and racism, panelists will offer tips and reflections for how best to generate productive deliberation on race and racism, while attending to the ways in which race and racism shapes the classroom experience.
This panel will provide strategies and techniques for engaging with topics related to race and racism within a course. With a focus on cultivating students' skills in discussing race and racism, panelists will offer tips and reflections for how best to generate productive deliberation on race and racism, while attending to the ways in which race and racism shapes the classroom experience.
- Dr. Travis Alrbitton, Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; School of Social Work
- Dr. Sibby Anderson-Thompkins, Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Dr. Emily Boehm, Center for Faculty Excellence
Student Perspectives on Dialogue and Debate, (2 - 3 p.m.):
This panel will offer students' own reflections on dialogue and debate at UNC. Highlighting their experiences within two different programs that each include a focus on the skills of deliberation and debate, the student panelists will share their key take-aways and what they think instructors should know when designing such class-based experiences. The students will be joined by faculty with whom they work in these two programs, who will also share their reflections on teaching dialogue, debate, and the skills of public discourse.
This panel will offer students' own reflections on dialogue and debate at UNC. Highlighting their experiences within two different programs that each include a focus on the skills of deliberation and debate, the student panelists will share their key take-aways and what they think instructors should know when designing such class-based experiences. The students will be joined by faculty with whom they work in these two programs, who will also share their reflections on teaching dialogue, debate, and the skills of public discourse.
- Dr. Christian Lundberg, Department of Communication
- Students from the Chancellor's Science Scholars
- Dr. Kevin Marinelli, Department of Communication; UNC Program for Public Discourse
- Students from the Agora Fellows
Student Opportunities
We connect our students directly with our speakers through classroom visits and offer UNC-CH students the chance to involve themselves in the PPD as Agora Fellows:
Agora Fellows
Faculty Outreach
We invite all faculty schedule faculty consultations, participate in our seminars and workshops, or to join us as a Faculty Affiliate.
Go To Faculty Outreach
Events
We seek to offer the broader UNC community and general public perspectives on important issues that they may not otherwise get on campus.