Philosophy Department and the Center for Cyber-Social Dynamics Co-Host Conference on Civility in Politics

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.

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. 

Civility and Politics in a Changing World 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. "Civility seems to be a lost art in this day and age, yet needed as a possible antidote to polarization," says Nancy Snow, professor of philosophy and one of the organizers. "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."

The conference will be held July 19-21 at the Apollo Auditorium in Nichols Hall on west campus. The Center for Cyber-Social Dynamics is one of six centers of research that make up the Institute for Information Sciences (I2S). Details, including speaker information, can be found on the I2S website.