In times of contentious political and social issues, it can be challenging to connect across different identities, experiences, and perspectives.

The Our Common Ground (OCG) Symposium: Israel and Palestine leans into UVM’s institutional values to engage our students on difficult topics and advance higher education’s purpose to cultivate self-reflection, critical thinking, and cross-cultural understanding as a public good. This year’s fall symposium will explore the conflict in Israel and Palestine and how it impacts our campus climate.    

UVM will draw from its diverse community to engage in dialogue related to the conflict in Israel and Palestine. In addition to our guest keynote speaker, Dr. Simran Singh, the symposium will also include a faculty panel and facilitated breakout groups in which faculty and staff facilitators will continue conversations with our students about what they heard, what they would add, what they learned, what they don’t understand, and what more information they need.

Registration required. This event is open to UVM students, faculty and staff.  

Schedule:

10:00 am - 12:00 pm Welcome (Ira Allen Chapel) 

• Land Acknowledgement: Rev. Dr. James Ross 
• Opening Remarks: UVM Provost Dr. Patricia Prelock, UVM Vice Provost Dr. Amer Ahmed 
• Keynote Address: Dr. Simran Jeet Singh, Assistant Professor of Interreligious Histories at Union Theological Seminary, former Executive Director for the Aspen Institute’s Religion & Society Program and author of "The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life."

12:00 – 1:00 pm Break for Lunch (lunch not provided) 

1:00 – 2:00 Breakout Sessions: (Waterman Building) 

2:30 – 3:30 Faculty Panel: (Ira Allen Chapel) 

This faculty panel, comprised of scholars from Anthropology, Political Science, and Religion, will be explaining some of the larger processes that are part of the current conflict by focusing on the role played by states as institutional and political forms. In their brief remarks, they will be asking four different questions:

• How did we get to these states?   Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst, Associate Professor of Religion
• What is a state (and a non-state)?  Peter Henne, Associate Professor of Political Science
• How do people live inside and outside states?   Foroogh Farhang, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
• How do states govern religion (among other things)?  Thomas Borchert, Professor of Religion
   

3:45 – 4:45 Breakout Sessions: (Waterman Building)