Encounters with dignity are learning moments that foster humanization and communal values, even in settings of radical difference. This article probes the potential of such learning, reviewing pedagogies of encounter and analyzing the values of dignity implicit in that work. Diving more deeply into the phenomenon of dignity, the authors analyze biographical and oral history narratives to discover the complex features of dignity encounters. They then interpret these features from the perspectives of Confucian and Christian traditions of learning, concluding with proposals for educational practices in communities faced with the wonders and challenges of radical difference.