The Civility Initiative at the College of Charleston is sharing its complete list of fall 2026 activities, aimed at fostering healthy dialogue in relationships, media and politics.
"At the Civility Initiative, we are actively equipping our community with the tools to navigate healthy conflict in our lives, our relationships, our schools, our organizations, our media, and our politics. From our hands-on fellowships to conversations with national thought leaders, this fall’s programming reflects our deep commitment to teaching the actual skills of constructive disagreement,” says Mike Lee, Civility Initiative director. “We believe that learning how to engage critically across all these spheres is the most urgent educational imperative of our time,” he adds.
Activities kicked off earlier this month, when the initiative hosted Ross Douthat of The New York Times and 60 Minutes for a conversation on bridging societal divides through civil discourse.
On September 30, the Civility Initiative will host Daryl Davis and The Prohuman Foundation's annual symposium. Daryl Davis is internationally famous for his unprecedented and courageous approach to combating racism and creating connections across social divisions. More specifically, he engaged hundreds of members of the Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups in respectful, one-on-one dialogue. Over the course of his decades-long activism, his commitment to empathetic listening has inspired more than 200 individuals to renounce their hateful ideologies and hand over their robes. His transformative approach to dismantling hate through conversation is chronicled in his acclaimed book, Klan-destine Relationships, the award-winning PBS documentary Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America, and a viral TEDx talk, cementing his legacy as a powerful advocate for bridging our deepest cultural divides. The symposium will focus on Davis’ work specifically and how the Civility Initiative at the College of Charleston integrates constructive dialogue and healthy conflict across campus.
3:15 - 4:15 p.m. Panel Discussion on Compassion, Mercy and Forgiveness After Tragedies. Reverend Sharon Risher, author of For Such a Time as This: Hope and Forgiveness after the Charleston Massacre, and Jennifer Berry Hawes, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Grace Will Lead Us Home: The Charleston Church Massacre and the Hard, Inspiring Journey to Forgiveness. This event will take place in the Tate Center, Room 202.
6:00 p.m. The Charleston Library Society will host a Q and A session with Daryl Davis, interviewed by Mike Lee, Civility Initiative director. Tickets for the 6:00 p.m. evening keynote, are available through the Charleston Library Society.
Other upcoming events include:
September 24, 7:00 p.m. School of Natural & Environmental Sciences Auditorium Room 129
Constitution Day Lecture features Lee Drutman, a fellow at the New America Foundation, a prominent advocate for proportional representation as a response to the dangers that partisan gerrymandering and polarization pose to democracy. He will break down the "two-party doom loop" and offer solutions to protect democratic institutions.
October 8, 3:30 p.m. Simons Center, Room 380
Documentary Screening: Your Attention Please. Following its critically acclaimed world premiere at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival and its upcoming release on Apple TV, director Sara Robin will introduce her documentary and lead a post-screening Q&A examining the real-world consequences of social media. This will be a “phone-free” event, in partnership with the College of Charleston's Unplug Week.
October 19, 5:00 p.m. Robert Scott Small Building, Room 235
Bless This Mess: Moments of Surprising Cooperation in American Religious History, is a talk from author Brook Wilensky-Lanford. The talk will focus in on three often-overlooked moments in American religious history where radically different groups cooperated for a shared end: the Virginia Baptist preachers and Enlightenment Deists who together created the First Amendment in the 1780s, the Charleston Black churches and Union soldiers who celebrated the First Memorial Day ceremony in 1865, and the surprising influence of Allan Ginsberg on the Southern Baptist Convention in 1968.
October 22, 3:30 p.m. Tate Center, Room 315
Academic Freedom Fireside Chat with Brian Soucek, a law professor and author who argues that campuses must actively stand up for their core values rather than retreating into silence.
October 29, 4:30 p.m. Craig Hall Auditorium
The Impact of Social Media on Our Democracy, is an engaging panel that brings together world-class experts Rebekah Tromble (Northeastern), Katherine Searles (USC), and Ryan Milner (College of Charleston) to examine the profound impact of digital platforms on modern democratic processes. By analyzing the intersection of online discourse, algorithmic influence, and political polarization, they will provide critical insights into how social media is reshaping democracy.
View the fall 2026 calendar of events.
Learn more about the Civility Initiative’s director, Mike Lee, and listen to his podcast, When We Disagree.