While staying silent can be easy, opening dialogue creates a more inclusive community and world. It is worth “shattering the silence.”

Developed in 2013, the Shattering the Silences series at Missouri State University facilitates healthy and informative discussions about diversity.

Two upcoming discussions will cover language surrounding people with disabilities and the political climate following mid-term elections.

“Attendees will take away an enhanced understanding of cultural consciousness. It will broaden their scope of what constitutes diversity, along with displaying and promoting the value of inclusion and diversity,” said Dr. Adena Young-Jones, university diversity fellow and associate professor of psychology.

She added that the series is a way for people to build and expand upon MSU’s public affairs mission.

Series lineup

• Words Matter: The Evolving Language of Disability
  • 5 p.m. Oct. 30., Plaster Student Union Ballroom East
  • Dr. Shannon Wooden, professor of English and coordinator of the disability studies program, will explain how widely accepted language can reflect a pervasive attitude toward people with disabilities and how person-first language is not the only correct method of communication. Wooden will also discuss how fear of using the wrong words may silence what should be insightful and productive conversations about disability.

• Unspoken Messages: Weighing the Winds of Change
  • 7 p.m. Nov. 29, Plaster Student Union, Room 315
  • Lyle Foster, MSU assistant professor of sociology and anthropology, will discuss mid-term election results and what that means for all sides as they move forward. He will pose the question, “Which way are the winds blowing?”

For more information, contact Young-Jones at 417-836-8914.