How and why do we argue? When is argument necessary, what forms does it take, and how do we judge whether it fails or succeeds?

These questions are pertinent to our efforts to talk across boundaries, whether national, cultural, political, or technological, and to our work as scholars and teachers, inevitably involved in provoking and managing disagreements in a range of contexts. To reflect on and explore these questions and model the conduct of arguments, the Global Cultures Institute hosts How We Argue, a series of conversations centred on areas of public life in which disagreements frequently arise.

Rather than merely talking around or about disagreement, each of these conversations focuses on a matter of contention. The purpose is not to stage a debate but to explore the ways in which arguments develop in response to particular topics and to reflect on what these arguments bring to light.