U-M announced the Democracy & Debate Theme Semester this week, which will examine democratic engagement from a global perspective, free speech and the exchange of ideas, and what it means to be a member of a democratic society. It also integrates timely conversations about community issues and social movements. 

In this series of Michigan Minds, U-M faculty and staff explain the goals of the curriculum and how it will empower students to work toward a better society. They also dissect the Declaration of Independence’s intent and legacy and how the objectives of the Democracy & Debate Theme Semester dovetail with the foundational American document.

BUILDING CURRICULUM AROUND DEMOCRACY AND DEBATE 

Angela Dillard, the Richard A. Meisler Collegiate Professor of Afroamerican & African Studies and in the Residential College, outlines the goals of the curriculum and how the Democracy and Debate Theme Semester will incorporate discussions about current events and social movements. 

“This is Michigan at its best, and that means providing a platform and a framework to comfort the biggest, most pressing issues that will make or break our society,” Dillard says. 

DISCUSSING THE LEGACY OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

Greg Dowd, Interim Chair of American Culture and Helen Hornbeck Tanner Collegiate Professor, dives into the Declaration of Independence to examine its development, intent, and legacy.  

“The current movement reflects the spirit of the Declaration as it insists that the people have the power,” explains Dowd. 

PATHWAYS TO CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Danyelle Reynolds, Assistant Director for Student Learning and Leadership at the Ginsberg Center, explores the Pathways to Civic Engagement and Community Change—a framework that highlights six ways that members of the community can exercise power to create a just and inclusive society. 

“I really like the phase ‘habits of democracy’ because it shows that these are things that we have to continue exercising and doing in order to form the society that we want to see. It’s not something to take for granted,” Reynolds says.