In our society, divided by inequality and ideology, many demand civil discourse to solve the problem of incivility. This course challenges our assumptions about incivility and “civil discourse.” Course themes may include how ideals of civility connect to language and emotion; how the normalization of civility connects to colonialism, imperialism, and globalization; whether movements employing ‘uncivil’ practices (suffrage, labor, civil rights, feminist, LGBTQ, disability rights, Occupy, Black Lives Matter) reject civility as an ideal and/or challenge us to think more deeply about truly “civil discourse.” Students read texts from disciplines such as literature, philosophy, political science, anthropology, technology studies, gender studies, and sociology; engage in collaborative projects; visits to Congress, Belmont-Paul National Monument, National Museum of African American Culture; and observe or participate in a protest action in Washington, DC.