What is the RRP?
The Race Relations Project is a multifaceted exploration of relationships between people of different cultural and ancestral groups. The two main pillars of the project are SOC 119 and the RRP conversations.
SOC 119 – The Course
This is a race and ethnic relations class of 725 students that has been offered at University Park since 1991. The class involves two 75 minute lecture periods and one 50 minute small group conversation weekly. Sam Richards delivers the lecture presentations while the groups are facilitated by undergraduate students who were formally enrolled in the course. Their training is supervised by Laurie Mulvey.
RRP – The Conversations
These are campus wide 90 minute, peer facilitated small groups where trained undergraduate students (former SOC 119 facilitators) help participants explore their personal stories, views, biases and roles in race relations using a version of the Socratic Method. These inquiry-based sessions are designed to discuss the true nature of race relations face to face in an ideologically neutral environment. The conversations are extremely popular with participants (85 percent rate them as valuable and worthwhile) and the number offered each year has grown from 140 to over 800 in just six years. Currently twenty facilitators work for the project, all Penn State undergraduate students.
RRP – The RRP Mission Statement
The mission of the RRP is to create an ideologically neutral environment for dialogue where individuals can voice their true concerns about race relations and begin to address these concerns in a productive and meaningful way.
Our Philosophy
Our guiding assumption is that the articulation of one’s viewpoint on an issue is the beginning of greater understanding and knowledge of that subject. And the experience of doing so with others in a group setting creates a kind of synergy that advances critical thinking as well as bridge building. You can read an article that outlines our philosophy in greater detail: “Thoughts on a Conversational Approach to Race Relations”
The History of the RRP
In the Spring of 2002, Sam Richards received a small seed grant from a private donor to expand the reach of his SOC 119 course (”Race and Ethnic Relations in America”). Six months later, with the co-direction of his colleague and wife, Laurie Mulvey, as well as the enthusiasm and courage of a handful of undergraduate facilitators, the Race Relations Project (RRP) conversations were born.
The original facilitators were selected to participate in this fledgling endeavor from a pool of SOC 119 teaching assistants who were recognized as the most skilled in encouraging dialogue. With limited experience but immense trust in a simple vision of the power of conversation, this group followed the leadership of Drs. Richards and Mulvey, successfully leading 135 discussions that first year. They facilitated dialogues on dorm floors, in fraternities and sororities, in meetings of student groups, as well as in a handful of university classes. It was a gutsy beginning, but positive attitudes and constructive work set the foundation for a rapidly-expanding project.
Now beginning its sixth year, the Race Relations Project Conversations have the support of faculty, administrators and colleges around campus. In fact, the bulk of the sessions are now course requirements either initiated by faculty or college administrators.
The RRP will host nearly 800 conversations for over 6,000 Penn State students in 2009-10. What Faculty and Students Need to Know About the Conversations.
