Berkeley Changemaker: Openness to Opposing Views LIVE Session

Presenters:

Laura Hassner and Jennifer Johnson-Hanks

Session Description: 

Being open to opposing views is an essential skill for communicating and collaborating with others to empower our collective future. It is hard to do, especially in our increasingly polarized world. It is also a skill that can be taught.

Since Fall 2025, over 5,000 have registered for our Berkeley Changemaker: Openness to Opposing Views course, an asynchronous and fully-online, self-paced course that includes contributions from two dozen campus-spanning Berkeley faculty. This course emphasizes the Berkeley Changemaker themes of critical thinking, effective communication, and productive collaboration. It is the first course in Berkeley's history to be available simultaneously to our faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

This course is structured in 4 parts as follows:

  • Part I - WHY is being open to opposing views important?

  • Part II - WHAT gets in the way and hinders our ability to be open to other’s views?

  • Part III - HOW can we strengthen our capacity to be open to others’ viewpoints? How might we find joy and delight in these conversations? How might we recover when things get off track?

  • Part IV Advanced Topics - What does being open to opposing views look like in disciplines across campus? How do academics practice this skill?

Thanks to faculty and staff demand, and in partnership with People & Culture, this non-credit course will be available on the UC Learning Center platform in April 2026. (We have the capability to make it available to all non-UCB colleagues who are attending the NOW conference at no charge as well.) Links to the course will be added to the materials section below when available.

Our staff learners have requested a "live" synchronous opportunity to meet some of the contributing faculty and discuss the themes of the course. We warmly invite you to join us during the NOW conference for an  "office hour" with our faculty for learners who have taken the course and want to deepen their learning.

For more information about the course, please visit Berkeley Changemaker: Openness to Opposing Views

Learning Outcomes:

  • Deepen your learning from the asynchronous Openness to Opposing Views course by engaging in a "live" session on the course themes.

  • Build community by interacting with your fellow learners.

  • Have an opportunity to get your questions answered by the course faculty.

Optional: Participants are invited to submit a question in advance if there is a topic you hope the faculty will address.

Materials:

Topics