Civility and Politics in a Changing World

July 19-21
Apollo Auditorium
Nichols Hall
University of Kansas

KU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Center for Cyber-Social Dynamics, along with Monash University via the Research Talent Accelerator Fellowship program, are teaming up to host an in-person conference on KU's campus this summer, bringing together a group of both international and US-based university faculty for several days of discussions centered on the state of civility in contemporary politics.

Conference Overview

The idea of civility often features prominently in public debate—or, rather, allegations of incivility do. Civility is generally considered an essential public virtue, and yet many are concerned that it is gradually disappearing. Politics, it is often argued, has become increasingly less civil and characterized by heated interactions and ‘wars of words’ (Bejan 2017, 1). This state of affairs is only worsened by growing levels of political polarization along partisan lines. Demands for civility are advanced from all sides, but disagreement remains on what civility entails, and how it can best be promoted in the political arena.

This conference aims to address these challenges by providing a forum for interdisciplinary debate on civility and incivility in contemporary politics and, in the longer term, to establish an international network of scholars working in this field. Participation is encouraged and open to anyone interested in engagement as we explore this important and timely topic. For more information, including speaker bios, tap the RSVP button below.

Civility seems to be a lost art in this day and age, yet needed as a possible antidote to polarization. This conference will bring together researchers from a variety of disciplines and countries to conduct focused discussions on what civility is, how to achieve it, and why it’s important.

Nancy Snow

Professor of Philosophy

Speakers

Matteo Bonotti
Monash University, Australia

Kate Kenski
University of Arizona

Ashley Muddiman
University of Kansas

Tomáš Petráček
Charles University, Prague

Petr Spelda
Charles University, Prague

Vít Střítecký
Charles University, Prague

Emily Sydnor
Syracuse University

John Symons
University of Kansas

Robert B. Talisse
Vanderbilt University

Suzanne Whitten
Queen's University, Belfast

Steven T. Zech
Monash University, Australia

Andrei Bespalov
Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona

Ankit Kumar Jha
Indian School of Democracy, India

Jonathan Seglow
Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

Christian Golden
Georgetown University

Joo Choi
University of Oxford, UK

Helena Drescher Kluth
University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Christopher Koliba
The University of Kansas

Ravi Thakral
University of Nevada

Amy Pason
University of Nevada

Kevin Timpe
Calvin University,

Transportation Map

For all correspondence regarding this event, including additional inquiries, please direct your communcation to the conference organizers: Matteo Bonotti (Monash University, matteo.bonotti@monash.edu); Nancy E. Snow (University of Kansas, nsnow@ku.edu) and John Symons (University of Kansas, johnsymons@ku.edu)

Additional event details will be posted on this page leading up to the event.

This event will be held at Nichols Hall on the University of Kansas main campus. 2335 Irving Hill Road, Lawrence, KS, 66045.

Public transportation tips:

If coming from The Oread hotel (main campus) take the number 42 bus from Watson Library to West District or take the number 43 bus from The Oread to Daisy Hill. View details.

If coming from downtown Lawrence take the number 4 bus to main campus then proceed with the directions above.

Civility and Politics in a Changing World

Conference Overview

Speakers

Day 1 July 19

List

Day 2 July 20

List

Day 3 July 21

List