Psu 3.0: Scandal and insight through the experience of dialogue.
Open Access
Author:
George, Salim Shane-omar
Area of Honors:
Philosophy
Degree:
Bachelor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Vincent M Colapietro, Thesis Supervisor Vincent M Colapietro, Thesis Honors Advisor Christopher P Long, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
WinC Dialogue Socratic Method Scandal
Abstract:
In the fall of 2012 I facilitated fifteen dialogues with Penn State students about the Jerry Sandusky scandal. These were entitled “PSU 3.0” under the premise that while action has been taken to address the situation, not much of it has been influenced by Penn State students; how they think the university should respond and how they themselves have responded. In this paper, I outline some of the content from these dialogues through the framework of the ways in which students expressed self-understanding, understanding of others (or outsiders), and understanding of the events and aftermath of the scandal. I draw connections between the process of dialogue and the ways in which it contributed to this process of group understanding. I then conclude by raising questions based on themes from the conversations and examining the value of dialogue especially as it relates to the experiences and opinions that were shared by students in this process.
