In a nation and political climate where models of communication and respect for another's ideas are difficult to find, the authors take seriously their charge to support educational practices that prepare students to critically engage in a free and democratic society. As part of a summer high school outreach program, they sought to develop a practice of discussion-based pedagogy based on inquiry and research that would empower students to find their voices in the academic setting by preparing them to express themselves in literary response and well-reasoned debate. This study was inspired by the authors' involvement in an innovative university program, Emerging Scholars. As an outreach program that draws students from five underserved high schools to a university in the Southeastern United States, the stated mission of the Emerging Scholars program is to "[increase] the number of college graduates that come from economically disadvantaged areas and first generation families" (Emerging Scholars).