Civil Discourse
Civil discourse refers to the conversations real people have together — whether in person, online, through news, and so on — about the important issues affecting our communities, laws and civic life. In short, civil discourse involves all the ways we work together to decide who we are as a people and how we’ll live together.
For example, during our nation’s founding Alexander Hamilton and James Madison wrote a series of public letters to one another — published in the newspaper — in which they debated the extent of presidential authority. Although Hamilton wrote under the pen-name “Pacificus,” and Madison wrote under the name “Helvidius,” their published letters are a clear example of civil discourse as they publicly debated a key aspect of US democracy.
The GRACE Project focuses on educating students and developing curriculum that prepares the next generation of civic leaders and bolsters civil discourse in the United States. Rooted in the rhetorical tradition, the GRACE Program emphasizes argumentation and virtue within a liberal arts education.
GRACE Project
Dr. Sarah Kornfield
Martha Miller Center
257 Columbia Avenue
Holland, MI 49423
616.395.7596