The Peggy Ryan Williams Difficult Dialogues Symposium explores complex and controversial subjects to engage audiences in civil and respectful dialogue by bringing to campus a speaker or speakers who will present important topics that are challenging and thought-provoking. The symposium is named in honor of IC President Emerita Peggy Ryan Williams, who has been an advocate for open discourse and a staunch defender of academic freedom and active, open inquiry.
This year's event features a lecture presentation by The Very Reverend Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, titled "The Soul of the Nation at a Time of White Nationalism."
The Very Reverend Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas is currently Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School and Professor of Theology at Union Theological Seminary. She also serves as the Canon Theologian at the Washington National Cathedral. She is the author of many articles and five books, including Sexuality and the Black Church: A Womanist Perspective and Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God.