Practical Civility

For most, the college experience comes at a time in life full of questions. From the excited “What now?” at that first moment alone on the dorm doorstep to exploring new social issues and ideas with classmates and friends, it’s an experience that spans generations.

But in today’s digital age, that experience can look much different. It’s easy to view some of society’s biggest questions as a series of comment threads and 280-character retorts that are judged more on sensationalism than substance—a habit that can bleed into “real-life” conversation in and out of the classroom.

For more than a decade, History Professor Robert Ingram has been creating a space for students to break that habit and develop a “practical civility” through OHIO’s Menard Family George Washington Forum (GWF) on American Ideas, Politics, and Institutions.

“Aristotle said virtue is a habit. I think civility is a virtue. To develop the habit of civility, you have to practice it,” says Dr. Ingram, founding director of GWF. “And the only way you can practice it is to be around people and ideas with whom you disagree.”

The Forum’s dedication to this practice caught the attention of the Menard Family, which this year generously committed more than $1.6 million to The Ohio University Foundation in support of GWF. The funding will add a History of Capitalism focus to the Forum and support a new professorship in economic history.

“A seminal part of the college experience is hearing from people who have a diversity of viewpoints and track record of creating value for others,” the Menard Family wrote in an open letter to the OHIO community. “At Menards, we want to give more students the opportunity to have that experience and to develop a lifelong love of learning as a result.”

This gift will also enhance existing GWF programming, including a guest speaker series, conferences, postdoctoral fellowships, and what Ingram calls the “bedrock” of GWF: undergraduate fellowships, complete with a capstone experience in London.

This year, ten students from eight majors meet two hours each week to discuss life’s big questions, using readings from Aristotle, Plato, St. Augustine and more as a springboard for conversation.

“The reading and the discussions that we have in George Washington Forum really help to challenge me and make me think harder about what I believe and why it is,” says Abi Scherer, a junior and second-year GWF fellow studying political science through the Honors Tutorial College.

For Ingram, that’s the goal. There aren’t “right answers” to these questions, and no one is there to score points. In fact, the whole experience doesn’t even come with a grade, an intentional aspect of the fellowship designed to push students into ambiguous waters, where a variety of views coexist.

“We’re all uncomfortable asking open-ended questions about the fundamental things we need to think about in order to live together in the ‘good life,’” Ingram says. “Most adults are already set in their ways, but for these students, this is one little moment in life where they can ask these questions freely to develop the habits of questioning, seeking, and genuine open-mindedness.”

Featured image: “The whole point of college is to learn other perspectives and not just be limited in your viewpoints,” says George Washington Forum fellow Abi Scherer, pictured conversing with former fellow Jameson Hern, BBA ’21, at the Front Room. Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02