In the second part of our two-part event, the Program for Public Discourse is joined by academic experts for a discussion about the intersecting forces that influence how and whether partisans can have productive conversations in a polarized political climate.

We’ll ask where we are as a state and nation and what we must do to improve the quality of our discourse and democratic processes.

Additionally, we hope to provide students with academic insights into how they might consider the 2020 elections’ influence on the shape of their civic lives moving forward.

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Dr. Travis Albritton is a clinical associate professor and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work. He currently chairs the School of Social Work’s Diversity Committee and serves on the University’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. His research interests include educational equity in K-12 education, academic achievement among Black males, and closing educational opportunity gaps for children of all ages.

Dr. Susan Bickford is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science. Her research focuses on ancient Greek political thought, feminist political theory, and the impact of conflict and inequality on the practice of citizenship. She has published articles in several scholarly journals and authored the book The Dissonance of Democracy: Listening, Conflict, and Citizenship.

Dr. Marc Hetherington is a Raymond H. Dawson Distinguished Bicentennial Professor of Political Science at UNC-Chapel Hill. His focus is on the American electorate and the polarization of public opinion. Previously, he taught at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, Vanderbilt University, and Bowdoin College. Hetherington has published several books and over a dozen articles in academic journals.

Dr. Christian Lundberg is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is also Co-Director of the University Program in Cultural Studies. His teaching interests include theories of the public and public discourse, public speaking, rhetorical theory, debate and deliberation, critical theory, and cultural studies.

Kevin Marinelli is the executive director of the Program for Public Discourse and an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at UNC. He is a rhetorical scholar who previously served as director of the Speaking Center at Davidson College for three years before joining the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to teach rhetoric in 2019. He has also taught at Young Harris College, the University of Georgia and San Jose State University. He holds a Ph.D. in speech-communication from the University of Georgia and an M.A. in the same subject from San Jose State. He also holds bachelor’s degrees in both communication studies and political science from the College of Charleston.