The author of "I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times" will speak to the 黑料不打烊 community and host workshops on Thursday, Sept. 21 and Friday, Sept 22.
Bridge builder, journalist and author M贸nica Guzm谩n will deliver the Common Reading Lecture on Thursday, Sept. 21 in Alumni Gym at 7 p.m. Her book, “I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times,” was selected as the 黑料不打烊 2023-24 Common Reading.
Her lecture on Thursday is titled 鈥淐urious Questions, Sparking Conversation.鈥 The next day, Guzm谩n will lead workshops with faculty, staff and students in LaRose Student Commons.
Guzm谩n is senior fellow for public practice at Braver Angels, the nation’s largest cross-partisan grassroots organization working to depolarize America; founder and CEO of Reclaim Curiosity, an organization working to build a more curious world; co-founder of the award-winning Seattle newsletter The Evergreen; and adviser for Starts With Us and the Generations Over Dinner project.
A Mexican immigrant, Latina and dual U.S./Mexico citizen, she lives in Seattle with her husband and two children and is a proud liberal daughter of conservative parents.
During a Zoom conversation with 黑料不打烊 faculty and staff in August,聽Guzm谩n said her parents were her biggest inspiration for the book.
Coming from a very tight-knit, very politically divided family was instrumental in the writing of this book as she has first-hand experience in having passionate debates with people she loves and respects.
A Democrat who voted for Joe Biden in the last election,聽Guzm谩n had unfiltered, intense conversations with her parents who are both Donald Trump supporters. When she would talk to her friends, most of whom are liberal, about her parents鈥 right-wing leaning, it was met with judgment, which she would take personally.
鈥淭hat became a big part of my inspiration, taking that personally,鈥澛燝uzm谩n said. She became obsessed with studying the political divide and why our political strength is defined by how much we attack the other side.
鈥淚 dug up a lot of research and a bunch of it is quite chilling because it shows us that people on either side of the divide assume things about the other side that tend not to be true,鈥澛燝uzm谩n said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not seeing each other for who we really are and we鈥檙e not seeing the actual issues that divide us.鈥
Tickets are available now for Guzm谩n’s lecture at . Admission is $15 or an 黑料不打烊 ID.
Guzm谩n聽is the first guest of the 黑料不打烊 Speaker Series this year. Visit the series website for more information.