TDI is a national network of multidisciplinary scholars, campus leaders, and civic leaders in the fields of democratic dialogue, public deliberation, and democracy-building.


Our mission is to strengthen public life and advance deliberative democracy in and through higher education.


Upcoming Events

TDI Pre-Conference Workshop
TDI will be convening a day long pre-conference workshop at the National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation in Austin, TX. Learn more and register today, "Deliberative Democracy and Higher Education: A Workshop on Innovative Democratic Education and Leadership."

TDI Workshop on Inclusive Excellence
TDI will be convening a pre-conference workshop on Oct. 16 (2-5 pm) at AAC&U's national conference on Diversity, Learning & Inclusive Excellence. To learn more about the conference and the TDI workshop, see here.

2009 TDI National Conference
Save the date! TDI will be hosting a national conference at the University of New Hampshire from July 9-11, 2009. Wonderful time of year to visit New Hampshire, so bring the family and make a vacation out of it. More details coming soon.

Make a Note of This

A Primer on Public Engagement
Public Agenda just released a Primer in Public Engagement that explains how public engagement helps create civic capacity for public problem solving.
More »

New John Gastil Book!
Prof. John Gastil has written a new book, Political Communication and Deliberation, and has developed a companion instructor website to assist other professors in using this new text in their courses. More »

New Kettering Foundation Book
Deliberation & the Work of Higher Education, describes how deliberative dialogue - in both the classroom and on campus - can promote learning and problem solving. More »

Civic Engagement at the Center
AAC&U recently released this new monograph which highlights developmental models for students' civic learning and socially responsible leadership implemented at 77 campuses. More »

Noelle McAfee's New Book
TDI Member and George Mason University Professor Noelle McAfee's new book, Democracy and the Political Unconscious is rich in theoretical insights, but it is also grounded in the practical problems of those who are trying to create more decent and democratic societies. More »

New Book Explores Democracy & Freedom
In Deliberative Freedom, Christian F. Rostbøll takes the first sustained look at the relationship between deliberative democratic theory and the topic of freedom. More »

TDI Member Opportunities

Contribute to the Syllabi Repository
TDI is embarking on an ambitious project to develop a deliberative democracy syllabi repository. Learn how you can contribute! More »