Introduction to Breaking the Bennington Bubble
A project dedicated to promoting free speech at Bennington College
Welcome!!
My name is Paige (she/her pronouns) and I am currently a junior at Bennington College. I am a Society, Culture, and Thought student focusing on philosophy, gender studies, and public action; I also take a fair amount of classes in CAPA.
This semester, I am a Campus Scholar for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). FIRE is a non-profit, non-partisan civil liberties group with the guiding mission to protect the freedom of speech (historically on college campuses, now in broader American society). I have been hired to promote free speech values at Bennington through the completion of my designed project.
My project, Breaking the Bennington Bubble, is composed of three major parts. The central theme of the project is on the value of free speech and the danger echo chambers pose to college campuses (especially one as small as Bennington).
The main event is a Socratic seminar/community dialogue with the essential question, “Is Bennington an echo chamber?” We will discuss additional themes of free speech, censorship, safe spaces, and cancel culture. There are relevant readings provided for those who are interested, but participants are welcome to attend the event with only their thoughts and personal experience. The dialogue will take place in the CAPA Symposium on Friday, April 26th from 12:30pm to 4:30pm (don’t worry, it’s a Plan day). All community members (students, faculty, admin and staff) are invited to attend, and food will be provided at the end until 5pm :)
A preliminary dialogue will be held on Sunday, March 17th from 2:30pm 4:30pm that will serve two functions. It will first provide facilitator training for those interested in volunteering as discussion facilitators for the main conference (or those simply interested in learning how to moderate difficult conversations). Then it will be an opportunity for participants to see those moderating skills in action by having a dialogue on the topic, “Imagining Bennington’s Free Speech Principles” This mini-conference is a chance for more student voices to be included in the formation of the College’s policy on free expression. Snacks will also be provided :)
Currently outside of the Commons Elevator next to the Dining Hall is the Breaking the Bennington Bubble Chalk Talk project. This is a designated space for talking about free speech; I will post a short essay on a related theme alongside a general question for community members to engage with. Markers are attached to a large sheet of paper on the wall for individuals to write comments and responses to my essay and question just as one would do for a Chalk Talk in the classroom.
The purpose of this website is to be a landing page for those wanting more information about the Breaking the Bennington Bubble project. It will also serve as a digital record of the Chalk Talk essays and a resource hub for readings that will prime your thinking prior to the main Breaking the Bennington Bubble dialogue.
Follow the project’s Instagram for updates at @breakingbtonbubble and email paigecolby@bennington.edu with any questions!