Amir Rafiei, a third-year transfer student majoring in statistics at the University of California, Berkeley, recently reflected on how his approach to collaboration has changed after participating in a new course designed to help students engage with opposing viewpoints. Previously, Rafiei noticed that disagreements during filmmaking projects sometimes led him to stop listening and even leave projects. After completing the summer class, he reported a shift in mindset.

“My mindset has slowly shifted,” Rafiei said. “I personally thought taking the course Openness to Opposing Views would open up my mind about collaborating with others and being open to other ideas. It definitely did.”

The asynchronous online course is part of the Berkeley Changemaker program and launched this summer. Students can enroll for one credit, while faculty, staff, and alumni have access to a no-credit version at no cost. Nearly 500 people have enrolled so far, with more expected in the fall.

Laura Hassner, who codesigned the course with Jennifer Johnson-Hanks—executive dean of the College of Letters and Science—said that such an offering could only take place at Berkeley. “Our Berkeley Changemakers have been asking for a class that would help them navigate charged conversations inside and outside of our classrooms,” Hassner said. “Thanks to our donors, we’re able to offer this course to our entire community. It’s our hope that everyone has the opportunity to get better at constructive disagreement.”

The curriculum features lectures from over 20 scholars across 14 departments as well as talks by campus leaders including a Nobel laureate and the provost.

Rafiei shared specific techniques he learned: “I think there are two types of questions to ask. One is for telling the speaking partner that I’m listening to them. For instance, saying, ‘Is that right?’ or ‘Is that true?’ Another type of question is to try to gain information from the partner, such as trying to understand where they’re coming from and how they have come to have such ideas or trying to work with them on a solution for the problem.”

He added that empathy and self-awareness are now central when facing emotionally charged discussions: “This class taught me to stay grounded using empathy and deep breathing. I now recognize my emotions as distractions, not as signals to argue.”

Rafiei also noted changes in his habits beyond academics: “Now I see whenever I’m feeling either anger, sadness or anxiety, I first try to stay in the moment by deep breathing... if I notice that the partner feels like I’m not listening... I would ask all the questions, ‘Is that true?’ or ‘Is that right?’”

He explained further adjustments: “It used to be that whenever a person was disagreeing with me... I’d cut them off. Now I try... so that I can hear their full, complete thoughts before asking a question or providing an answer.”

Exposure during the course also prompted Rafiei to seek out diverse news sources rather than relying solely on familiar perspectives—a response influenced by Professor Oliver O’Reilly’s lecture about social media algorithms creating echo chambers.

“Absolutely,” Rafiei said regarding whether he seeks out different perspectives now. “I now seek out perspectives different from mine and read news from around the world. This class showed me the importance of breaking out of my information bubble... algorithms like social media are designed to lock users... in echo chambers.”

Rafiei concluded: “True wisdom comes from being open to different perspectives. Most issues aren’t black-and-white... Still, on some topics it’s important to stand firm in your beliefs.” He cited Professor Dacher Keltner’s lecture about fighting for certain core ideas as particularly resonant.

Registration details for future offerings can be found on the Berkeley Changemaker website.