{"id":68802,"date":"2026-03-17T10:19:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T14:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=68802"},"modified":"2026-03-18T14:16:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T18:16:31","slug":"disagreement-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/disagreement-course\/","title":{"rendered":"Agree to Disagree: Course Promotes Discussion of Thorny Issues"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">Led by the dean of Arts &amp; Sciences, the new class addresses such topics as immigration and the merits of capitalism<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Editor\u2019s note: This story was adapted from <\/em><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.cornell.edu\/stories\/2026\/03\/course-introduces-students-constructive-disagreement\"><em>a feature<\/em><\/a><em> in the<\/em> Cornell Chronicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By <strong>Kathy Hovis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">At the end of every one of his Wednesday evening classes, <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/as.cornell.edu\/people\/peter-loewen\">Peter John Loewen<\/a> asks students two questions: How many of you changed your mind about this topic? How many of you are less certain about your opinions after listening to this disagreement?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many hands flit up after each question\u2014and Loewen says his own opinions have shifted a bit as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Titled \u201cDisagreement\u201d (GOVT 1109), <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/classes.cornell.edu\/browse\/roster\/SP26\/class\/GOVT\/1109\">the class<\/a> brings speakers together each week for a discussion about one of today\u2019s most contentious issues: immigration and family size, for example; or the merits of democracy, capitalism, and progressivism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Students watch as New York Times columnist Ross Douthat debates Cornell professor of philosophy Kate Manne on the issue of declining fertility rates as part of the Disagreement class taught by Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts &amp; Sciences and professor of government in Uris Hall on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. (Ryan Young \/ Cornell University)\" class=\"wp-image-68801\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-608x342.jpg 608w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-304x171.jpg 304w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-152x85.jpg 152w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-1184x666.jpg 1184w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-592x333.jpg 592w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-296x166.jpg 296w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-1264x711.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-632x356.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-316x178.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_RY_0481.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"rkv-image-credit\">ryan young \/ cornell university<\/figcaption><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The seven-week course is open to students from all years, majors, and colleges.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Students prepare for the discussions with related readings, and writing assignments include a final project requiring them to disagree with a classmate and reflect on the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new class\u2014which Loewen developed with government postdoc Davide Napoli\u2014runs for seven weeks, with its first incarnation wrapping up in mid-March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It meets a deep need, Loewen says: for students to be able to confront and move through disagreements at work, at home, in their communities, and in society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignwide is-style-solid-color\"><blockquote><p>Writing assignments include a final project requiring students to disagree with a classmate and reflect on the process.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor many people, one of the greatest experiences they have at the University is exploring what they believe and coming to understand that others believe differently and see the world through different lenses,\u201d says Loewen, a government professor and the dean of Arts &amp; Sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo, at a time when society is very polarized, when disagreement seems fraught and difficult, we shouldn\u2019t run away from it, but take seriously our responsibility of introducing students to constructive disagreement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Evan Liberman \u201926, a government and French major, took the class to prepare for disagreements he\u2019ll inevitably encounter during his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPeople are very shy [in work environments] to express disagreement and they struggle to do so in a way that comes off as respectful,\u201d he says. \u201cIn this class, I learned from the techniques the speakers used to disagree respectfully and have the opposing party understand that you really do mean good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts &amp; Sciences and professor of government, moderates the class Disagreement (GOVT 1109) in Uris G01 Feb. 11, 2026. Ross Douthat, New York Times opinion columnist, and Kate Manne, professor of philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences, were the guests for this week.\" class=\"wp-image-68800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-608x342.jpg 608w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-304x171.jpg 304w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-152x85.jpg 152w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-1184x666.jpg 1184w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-592x333.jpg 592w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-296x166.jpg 296w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-1264x711.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-632x356.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-316x178.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/2026_1051_JK_003-N.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"rkv-image-credit\">jason koski \/ cornell university<\/figcaption><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Loewen leads the discussions between visiting speakers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Marco Martini \u201927, an ILR student and Air Force ROTC cadet, says he signed up because he hopes to be an intelligence officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI believe disagreement in the intelligence community is critically important,\u201d he says. \u201cYou need to have people in the room who can talk with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One disagreement featured author and professor Michael Eric Dyson of Vanderbilt and Musa al-Gharbi of Stony Brook University, who discussed progressivism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another put Ross Douthat, a conservative columnist for the <em>New York Times<\/em>, and <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/philosophy.cornell.edu\/kate-manne\">Kate Manne<\/a>, a Cornell philosophy professor and author of the book <em>Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny<\/em>, in conversation about falling birth rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(That discussion can be <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Ef8I66D6gs0\">viewed here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p> At a time when society is very polarized, when disagreement seems fraught and difficult, we shouldn\u2019t run away from it, but take seriously our responsibility of introducing students to constructive disagreement.<\/p>\n<cite><strong>Peter John Loewen<\/strong>, dean of Arts &amp; Sciences<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Each week, the 120 students also meet in 14 smaller discussion sections. The class, which will also be offered in fall 2026, is open to students from any college, year, and major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis class makes me feel like a student again. Seeing people who have thought a lot about things disagree about them\u2014it has challenged my own views,\u201d Loewen says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne of the missions of the College of Arts &amp; Sciences is to create humans who are ready to go into the world more tolerant, more pluralistic, more curious about other people. We need to make our students ready, and even eager, to wrestle with uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Top: <em>Philosophy professor Kate Manne<\/em> (right) debates with Ross Douthat, a conservative columnist for the <\/em>New York Times<em>. (Ryan Young \/ Cornell University)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Published March 17, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Led by the dean of Arts &amp; Sciences, the new class addresses such topics as immigration and the merits of capitalism<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":68799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[227],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-68802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-beyond"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Agree to Disagree: Course Promotes Discussion of Thorny Issues - Cornellians | Cornell University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Led by the dean of Arts &amp; 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