The Aggie Lyceum

About

In support of Texas A&M’s Citizenship and Service Initiative, the College of Arts and Sciences is leading a new program, The Aggie Lyceum. Open to all Texas A&M University students, the Aggie Lyceum is a non-profit, non-partisan civil discourse, media literacy and citizen engagement program that takes its name and inspiration from the Texas Lyceum and practices “civic friendship.” The Lyceum concept dates back thousands of years to ancient Greece, where leaders discussed critical issues of the day. The Lyceum will offer events and workshops throughout the year.

Overview: From Citizenship and Service Initiative Report:

“MISSION STATEMENT: Each student who graduates from Texas A&M University, through reflection on the Aggie Core Values, instruction, high-impact experiences and leadership opportunities, will be ready and willing to serve as contributing citizens of their communities, the State of Texas, and the United States.”

The College of Arts & Sciences: will help to lead the “skills” pillar:

“’Skills’ considered most critical for well-equipped citizenry are media literacy or the ability to critically evaluate information, and the ability to engage in civil discourse. Other skills – mediation as critical to civic leadership and influencing public policy – are higher levels skills some students may choose to pursue.”

Citizenship Skills: Recommendation 3.5: Launch the Aggie Lyceum

“Initially, this program would be a workshop and dialogue series that emphasizes civil discourse and media literacy. Based on existing capabilities, Aggie Lyceum will enable the “skills” pillar by also helping colleges integrate civil discourse and critically evaluating information into majors, and helping students actively engage in shaping their own approach to civil discourse.”

Lyceum Programs

Weekly Civic Conversations Weekly Civic Conversations

Our weekly moderated Civic Conversations will draw from the National Issues Forum Institute guidebooks to allow students to practice deliberation skills. Through attending Aggie Lyceum events, students will develop skills in holding respectful discussions and discourse on difficult topics and how to use and promote informed dialogue to overcome issues dividing, not uniting, individuals and humankind. Beginning September 22, then weekly on Mondays 2:30-4:30 PM, MSC 2404. Advance registration is required.

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Weekly “After the Conversation” KAMU program Weekly “After the Conversation” KAMU program

A weekly 30-minute moderated focus group with participants from that week’s Civic Conversation. This podcast will be produced by KAMU-FM, Texas A&M University’s public broadcasting station. They’ll ask participants to reflect on their deliberation experience, asking them questions about the topic of the week and about the deliberation process—questions like, “What was the most surprising fact you heard today?” “What was the best argument you heard against your position?”

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Workshop Wednesdays Workshop Wednesdays

Our weekly Workshop Wednesdays will offer a variety of workshops in which students will learn and practice skills related to civil discourse, media literacy, and engaged citizenship. We hope to hold up to five different workshops each Wednesday between 8:00 AM-5:00 PM (to be determined), MSC 2500. Advance registration is required.

Our Workshops will last about 45 minutes with about 20 minutes of each event devoted to learning a new citizenship skill and about 25 minutes devoted to practicing the new skill. Collectively students will learn a set of citizenship skills that they can take with them when they leave Texas A&M, enabling Aggies to be better citizen-leaders.

We will rotate among these workshop topics each week:

How to recognize cognitive biases and overcome them in your own thinking. (separate workshops on Sunk Cost, Motivated Reasoning, Confirmation Bias, etc.). Workshop Leader: Dr. Joshua Hicks, Psychology.

How to be a better consumer of news and information by learning to think like a news editor. Workshop Leader: Mariano Castillo, Communication and Journalism.

How to map out the arguments in any public controversy. Workshop Leader: Dr. Mark Hlavacik or Dr. Jennifer Mercieca, Communication and Journalism.

How to read like a lawyer. Workshop Leader: Dr. David Koepsell, Philosophy.

How to diagram arguments so you can evaluate them more clearly. Workshop Leader: Dr. Jennifer Mercieca, Communication and Journalism.

How to think about judgments and decisions via the Trolley Problem. Workshop Leader: Dr. Dwayne Raymond, Philosophy.

Active Listening. Workshop Leader: Miranda Walichowski, Educational Psychology.

Aggie Core Values as a toolkit for enhancing your resilience. Workshop Leader: Dr. Andrew Christjoy, Communication and Journalism and Hollingsworth Center for Ethical Leadership.

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Workshop Wednesdays
Our weekly Workshop Wednesdays will offer a variety of workshops in which students will learn and practice skills related to civil discourse, media literacy, and engaged citizenship. We hope to hold up to five different workshops each Wednesday between 8:00 AM-5:00 PM (to be determined), MSC 2500. Advance registration is required.

Our Workshops will last about 45 minutes with about 20 minutes of each event devoted to learning a new citizenship skill and about 25 minutes devoted to practicing the new skill. Collectively students will learn a set of citizenship skills that they can take with them when they leave Texas A&M, enabling Aggies to be better citizen-leaders.

We will rotate among these workshop topics each week:
- How to recognize cognitive biases and overcome them in your own thinking. (separate workshops on Sunk Cost, Motivated Reasoning, Confirmation Bias, etc.). Workshop Leader: Dr. Joshua Hicks, Psychology.
- How to be a better consumer of news and information by learning to think like a news editor. Workshop Leader: Mariano Castillo, Communication and Journalism.
- How to map out the arguments in any public controversy. Workshop Leader: Dr. Mark Hlavacik or Dr. Jennifer Mercieca, Communication and Journalism.
- How to read like a lawyer. Workshop Leader: Dr. David Koepsell, Philosophy.
- How to diagram arguments so you can evaluate them more clearly. Workshop Leader: Dr. Jennifer Mercieca, Communication and Journalism.
- How to think about judgments and decisions via the Trolley Problem. Workshop Leader: Dr. Dwayne Raymond, Philosophy.
- Active Listening. Workshop Leader: Miranda Walichowski, Educational Psychology.
- Aggie Core Values as a toolkit for enhancing your resilience. Workshop Leader: Dr. Andrew Christjoy, Communication and Journalism and Hollingsworth Center for Ethical Leadership.