Sustained Dialogue

Barefoot Dialogue is a vulnerability-based model of structured conversations, sustained over time, with peers who openly engage, seek meaning over agreement, and enhance their capacity to thrive in human and land relating across difference and within shared identities.

Curious? See our Fall Dialogue Invitation!

Barefoot's student dialogue groups meet every other week over a homemade dinner, over the course of the semester.

Here's what past participants have to say...

"Now I feel like I have new tools."

"A place to hold space for our fears, uncertainties, thoughts, and fears without the ... pressure of being held to every word."

“This beautiful space of quiet and emotion where I am able to give myself permission to just exist and feel. There is also something beautiful about also knowing that you are part of providing that space for others as well.”

“It’s hard for me—even with my closest friends—to have these conversations in my daily life.”

“The structure and social expectations in conversations were unlike any that I have participated in. I was impressed by everyone’s ability to adhere to the expectations.”

“Barefoot, since the beginning of this school year, has been a place for me to breathe. … Barefoot made me feel, for the first time since I had gotten to Oberlin, that I was inherently at home in myself.”

“It's an intense self-examination, but I also always end up laughing at some point during the dialogue. It's a chance to hold everything, at once, and not be conflicted over it all. Instead, to just sit with it.”

“Over time, the allowance of silence stuck with me. I appreciated this sentiment and was able to recognize that the reason I wanted the silence to be filled was stemming from anxiety."

Enroll now!