What Is a Brave Space?
A community space where different points on a journey of learning and growing are supported and engaged.
Community members engage in critical dialogue through conscious questioning and active listening. While all are expected to make their best effort to be respectful, there is an understanding that someone may say something that results in unintentional offense and hurt feelings for those around. A primary assumption of brave space is that everyone speaks with the positive intent of seeking greater knowledge and understanding. The Women’s, Gender, & Equity Center at UMBC is regarded as a brave space where all members of the UMBC community are welcome, and where people with different life experiences and ideas are encouraged to learn from one another. This is not a comprehensive list of guidelines, but rather a roadmap to keep in mind when using this space to help keep it a place where all members of the UMBC community can come to learn, grow, and be.
“I enter… with the assumption that we must build ‘community’ in order to create a climate of openness and intellectual rigor. Rather than focusing on issues of safety, I think that a feeling of community creates a sense that there is shared commitment and a common good that binds us. What we all ideally share is the desire to learn– to receive actively knowledge that enhances our intellectual development and our capacity to live more fully in the world.”
-bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as a Practice of Freedom (1994)
A Brave Space requires…
- Vulnerability
- Confidentiality
- Accountability
…so I will continue to…
- Challenge Myself
- Respect Others
- Cultivate Community Space
…by following the Brave Space Guidelines and asking myself:
- Am I listening to others?
- Am I learning from others?
- Is this my story to share?
- Am I challenging my own assumptions?
- Am I performing self-reflection?
- Am I speaking up when something feels wrong?
- Am I apologizing in a genuine way?
- Am I practicing compassion and generosity?
- Am I making room for myself and others to make mistakes and learn from them?
- Am I present within the group? Am I giving my full attention to the discussion and those present?
- Am I allowing myself to be heard?
- Am I taking up too much space? Not enough?
- Are my words or actions encouraging others to share? (Does my body language/tone/volume make others feel like their contributions are important to me and to the discussion?)
- Am I taking care of myself?