Aidan Kestigian
Program Director
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Often discourse surrounding really current events is composed of arguments- forms of communication in which a speaker or writer tries to convince their audience to think, feel, or do something by giving reasons. Democratic governance relies on our ability to create, analyze, and evaluate arguments we encounter in the public sphere. This talk will introduce participants to a method and resources for teaching students how to argue about really current events, and in doing so, building their capacity for intellectual empathy-- the ability to listen, ask questions, and thoughtfully interpret arguments and claims, especially when they disagree.