Heterodox Conversations
Heterodox Conversations pair two scholarly experts with divergent viewpoints on a topic to showcase the power of academic dialogue and constructive disagreement in the shared pursuit of knowledge.
Heterodox Conversations™️, currently an exclusive offering for our Campus Community Network, are based on a premise that two scholars in different disciplines, with different methodologies, and different perspectives can have a productive and insightful conversation about a topic or question. These signature events:
demonstrate how viewpoint diversity and constructive disagreement improves critical inquiry into complex topics;
serve as a model of The HxA Way;
showcase how academic conversations can work in a style that distinctively differs from competitive debates or one-sided lectures; and
ignite intellectual curiosity and continued growth toward becoming critical and independent thinkers.
Our curated speaker pairs reflect deliberate efforts to ensure that these signature events spark curiosity in others. Speakers emphasize the process of academic inquiry and how it leads to a particular conclusion or perspective. This is not a debate. Instead, Heterodox Conversations™️ reveal the process of discovery, analysis, and reasoning that result in a conclusion.
Heterodox Conversations have three distinct sections, with the event lasting 75-90 minutes.
Speaker Presentations: Each speaker has 15 minutes to present their scholarship on the topic.
Speaker Conversation: Speakers engage in dialogue with each other about their work for 15 minutes.
Audience Conversation and Questions: The audience is invited to pose questions and comments for the speakers for 30-45 minutes. Audience members can determine questions individually or in groups.
Hosting a Heterodox Conversation
Our Heterodox Conversations organizer's guide provides a comprehensive overview for hosting our signature event at universities with HxA Campus Communities.
Learn more about planned Heterodox Conversations on campuses across the US this fall.
Over the past year, Heterodox Conversations have been hosted across the U.S. and Canada, engaging campus communities in thoughtful dialogue. In June 2025, a Heterodox Conversation was also featured on the main stage at our annual HxA Conference in New York City.
Intervention or Interference: The Role of Legislation in Reforming the Academy
In this Heterodox Conversation™, Mark Baurlein and Steven Brint discuss reforms, state interventions, and challenges facing American universities. Drawing from their extensive academic backgrounds, they explore critical questions about institutional governance, academic freedom, and the evolving role of universities in contemporary society.
Energy and the Environment: What's the Future?
What does the future of energy and the environment look like—and can we talk about it across ideological divides? In this Heterodox Conversation™ at Louisiana State University, economist Matt Burgess (University of Wyoming) and climate scientist Andrew Dessler (Texas A&M) come together to discuss the challenges and trade-offs in shaping energy policy for a changing world.
Hosted by Heterodox Academy, and co-sponsored by BridgeUSA and the Eric Voegelin Institute, this event highlights what’s possible when we prioritize viewpoint diversity and open inquiry on campus.
How Does EDI Relate to Merit?
The Wilfrid Laurier University Campus Community hosted Eric Kaufmann, Professor of Politics at The University of Buckingham and Director of the Centre for Heterodox Social Science, and Paolo Gaudiano, Adjunct Associate Professor at New York University Stern School of Business to discuss the relation of EDI and merit.
The Cultural Power of Symbols, Art and Pedagogy
The Laval University Campus Community hosted Alexandre Roccuzzo, Lecteur de l'Ecole d'Art de Riom, Ville de Riom, and Haywon Forgione, Cultural Mediator, Point Parole Beaux-Arts & CI, Région de Paris, to discuss the cultural power of symbols, art, and pedagogy.
What is the Proper Role of EDI in Canadian Universities?
The McGill University Campus Community hosted, Azim Shariff, Professor of Psychology, University of British Columbia, and Sophia Moreau, Professor of Law and Philosophy, University of Toronto, to discuss EDI in Canadian universities. This event was part of the HxCanada annual conference and had over 130 people in attendance.
Who Needs Safe Spaces and Trigger Warnings?
The SUNY-Cortland Campus Community hosted a Heterodox Conversation between two academics, Drs. Nafees Alam and Dylan Selterman, with differing views on the topics of safe spaces and trigger warnings in the higher ed context. Their conversation models the HxA Way of transforming disagreement into a constructive tool for generating knowledge and seeking truth.