Proposed Learning Exchanges
The heart of this conference will be its “learning exchanges,” highly interactive sessions that have been proposed by conference participants. It’s hard not to get intrigued if you skim the learning exchange descriptions (below) and see who has stepped up to lead them. They will not be your typical conference sessions (panel or paper presentations, and the like). We envision these learning exchanges as being about 2.5 hours, long enough for in-depth dialogue and collaboration.
Most of the sessions are set, but some still need leaders. If you are interested, find one that has one or two leaders and volunteer. (For a description of that role, please click here.) If you would like to be added to a session, contact Nancy Thomas (nancy.thomas@unh.edu) or Matt Leighninger (mattleighninger@earthlink.net). We're also trying to set aside some space at the conference for ideas that emerge when we’re together. But again, space is an issue, so you might want to try to get involved now.
We’re in the process of scheduling these sessions, and you can expect us to post a final schedule by the end of May. In the meantime, the learning exchanges will probably take place on Thursday, July 9 (a morning or afternoon block) or Friday, July 10 (also a morning or afternoon block). Most of the blocks will be 2.5 hours, but we may need to create one block that’s a little shorter so we can fit everything in. Sessions will be small, with about 25 people attending each.
We have plenty of room for breakfast roundtables for the Friday morning breakfast. To learn more, click here. If you are working on something specific that you’d like to share with the group, or you need feedback on an idea, or you want to discuss something with a small group (about 8 people), this is the ideal setting.
We welcome students at all of these sessions, these are great learning opportunities for students at all levels of their studies. We also want to hear from students – what works? How do young people want to get involved in public life? In addition to attending sessions, students will have an opportunity to meet as a group and share experiences. The first student meeting will be at the reception on Wednesday night (July 8). Right now, the schedule is informal, and if enough students join us, we’ll add more. For more information about the student role at this conference, contact Nancy Thomas
List in alphabetical order:
And justice for all: Just how serious are deliberative democracy practitioners and scholars about social, political, and economic justice?
The essential meaning of democracy is free and equal citizens with an equal opportunity to participate in the social and political structures that affect their lives. In order to invite more perspectives to the table, however, some dialogue and deliberation practitioners and scholars may have dropped “social justice” from their identified goals. Instead, they rely on “inclusion” as a process ground rule. Does this language and approach work? Could neutral language and processes inadvertently sustain privilege, inequality, and injustice in society? In this session, we’ll ask whether we should reclaim constitutional values of justice, equity and freedom – and specifically social justice – as a stated goal of this work.
- David Schoem, University of Michigan
Authentic youth civic engagement: What are the essential elements?
A number of local governments have created dynamic, inclusive processes for engaging young people in local policymaking and problem-solving. However, much of this experience and knowledge has not been tapped, synthesized, or adapted for use by other leaders (including youth leaders) working in other communities or at other levels of government. How should we be defining authentic youth civic engagement? What are the most promising strategies and approaches? How can governments, schools, universities, and other institutions assess and enhance their capacity to do this work?
- Leon Andrews, Institute for Youth, Education, and Families at the National League of Cities
- Cindy Carleson, Onsight-Insights
Beyond the timid university: Rethinking academic professionalism to renew the democratic potential of college campuses
40 years ago universities were integral to the growth and social impact of the democratic youth movement. By contrast, during the last eight years, and despite the intense political and ethical controversies facing the country, our campuses remained quiet. Why are universities no longer resources, platforms, spaces for democratic organization, for public work, and for wide-ranging critical political conversation? What is it about academic work today that diminishes the democratic potential of college campuses? What might be done to re-orient academic professionalism towards the civic activity flourishing outside the university? What motivates those academics who have broken free of mainstream professionalism to foster collaboration between their campuses and community organizations? More generally, what can the academy do to support democracy without raising the red flag of "indoctrination not education?"
- Elizabeth Coleman, Bennington College
- Al Dzur, Bowling Green State University
Campuses and communities: Better together
Deliberative democracy presents many opportunities for collaboration between universities, civic groups, local governments, school systems, and other institutions. What are the ways in which campuses and communities are working together? What are the keys to success, pitfalls to avoid, and areas that seem particularly fruitful for innovation?
- Deborah Gonzalez, University of Georgia
- Richard Guarasci, Wagner College
- Martha McCoy, Everyday Democracy
Centers and institutes: What they do and how to create and sustain one
Centers for civic engagement, public deliberation, collaborative governance, community mediation... These are only a few examples of the kinds of structures on campuses designed to serve as partners with local communities. What do they do, and more importantly, what do communities want them to do? What are some strategies for creating a center or institute as valuable partners in a community,? How can they address the challenges of limited resources, changing staff and students, the academic calendar, academic culture, unsupportive peers, and more?
- Windy Lawrence, University of Houston Downtown
Civic learning and democratic engagement among young people
Recent polls and studies reveal significant, evolving trends in student civic and political engagement. What are we learning about voting, volunteering, activism, and other measures of engagement among young people? Is what students learn about civics, government, and public life in schools and universities playing any role in these shifts? In this session, we’ll examine the statistics, discuss the changing assumptions and principles that guide civic learning, and consider their implications for research, teaching, and practice.
- Peter Levine, Tufts University and CIRCLE
Close the gap!
About 75% of the "jobs of the future" will require postsecondary education, yet only 50% of high school graduates actually go on to college. Worse, college enrollment and degree completion rates continue to be substantially lower for students from lower-income families than for students from higher-income families, and lower for Blacks and Hispanics than for Whites. College enrollment rates have increased over time for all groups, but continue to be about 30 percentage points higher for students from high- than low-income families. Many forces contribute to the achievement gap, including escalating tuition, increasing reliance of financial aid on loans and merit-based grants, and inadequate academic preparation. What should colleges and universities be doing to improve the transition to college for students from historically underrepresented groups? How can they address the stratification that results from admissions practices that favor the economically advantaged? What are communities doing to address the achievement gap? And how can communities and universities work together to increase equity and access to higher education? In this session, participants will get the facts and explore ways to address this growing problem.
Combining, mixing, and adapting deliberation models and methods
There are many different models and methods being used in this field, and it is not always clear which model is the best fit for a particular situation. Furthermore, most of these models end up being adapted to fit the needs and political context of the moment. How can we use what we know about deliberative projects on the ground to make better decisions about models and methods?
- Martin Carcasson, Colorado State University
- Jim Fishkin, Stanford University
- Sandy Heierbacher, National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation
- Joe Peters, Ascentum
Communication departments as hubs for teaching and learning deliberative democracy
Communication programs have always been dedicated to improving the quality of communication processes in all sorts of contexts. Augmenting courses in public speaking, argumentation and debate, small group communication, conflict resolution, intercultural communication, political communication, and rhetoric, some programs are adding courses such as "public deliberation," "communication & democracy," and "theories of deliberation and controversy." In this session, participants and practitioners will work to help further develop this relatively untapped resource. Martin Carcasson’s catalyst paper on teaching deliberative democracy in communication studies will serve as a conversation starter.
- Martin Carcasson, Colorado State University
- Windy Lawrence, University of Houston Downtown
Community organizing and deliberative democracy: How do they relate?
From the beginning, deliberation projects borrowed a number of tactics from the field of community organizing. Meanwhile, community organizing has evolved and diversified tremendously. The line between these two approaches to social change seems increasingly blurry. What are the similarities and differences? In what ways can they compliment each other and learn from one another?
- Mark Linder, City of Cupertino, California, and vice chair, Democratic Governance Panel of the National League of Cities
- Reemberto Rodriguez, NeighborWorks America
- Wendy Willis, Policy Consensus Initiative
Creative work, social justice, and deliberative democracy
How might social justice theater or public art advance education for democracy? How do the tools of deliberative democracy work alongside or as part of the creative process? This brief learning exchange will highlight three successful programs combining art, social justice and community engagement and create a space for all to share experiences, ideas and contacts.
- Barbara Schaffer Bacon, Animating Democracy
- Michele Holt-Shannon, University of New Hampshire
- Rebecca Sanborn Stone, Orton Foundation
The "dark side" of deliberative democracy
Do deliberative projects spread misinformation, encourage close-mindedness, and discourage political action? Are citizens actually capable of making fair, informed choices about policy? Is it realistic to think that decision makers will set aside power and authority based on the will of everyday people? These kinds of questions have been raised about the theory of deliberative democracy; are they valid criticisms of the practice? This session should allow for a candid exchange of these, and other, concerns so that practitioners and educators can learn, adapt, and respond.
- Alice Siu, Stanford University
Deliberative democracy and climate change
What is the status of local, state/provincial, federal, and global efforts to engage citizens in issues of climate change? What are the primary challenges, successes, and potential areas for innovation?
- Hans-Peter Meister, Meister Consultants Group
- Roopali Phadke, Macalester College
- Roger Stephenson, Clean Air-Cool Planet and the Carbon Challenge
Deliberative democracy in federal agencies
In the early months of the Obama Administration, how are federal agencies advancing their work in public participation? What re the most pressing challenges, and opportunities, and how can researchers and practitioners be supportive of these efforts?
- Roger Bernier, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Pat Bonner, Environmental Protection Agency
- Leanne Nurse, Environmental Protection Agency
Deliberative democracy, New Hampshire-style
Portsmouth Listens is one of the most dynamic examples of 'embedded' deliberative democracy to be found anywhere in the country. Hear from the leaders of this work about how they got started, what worked and what didn’t, and how they are growing state-wide, and help them think through ways that they can improve their efforts and continue to innovate.
- Jim Noucas, attorney and co-founder, Portsmouth Listens
- Mica Stark, University of New Hampshire
- John Tabor, the Portsmouth Herald and co-founder, Portsmouth Listens
A deliberative framing of (and for) leadership and change in universities
How can college and university leaders and change agents support the deliberative democracy agenda? How could such an agenda advance student learning, cultivate relationships with surrounding communities, and move toward more democratic practices of shared governance and collaborative decision making on campuses?
- Bruce Mallory, University of New Hampshire
- Sheila McNamee, University of New Hampshire
- Adam Weinberg, World Learning
Democracy matters: Faculty roles and rewards for engaged scholarship
The growth in academic civic engagement has brought the question of faculty roles and rewards to the fore. If higher education is to contribute to nurturing a robust democratic culture, what are the implications for faculty careers? How should colleges and universities nurture, assess, and reward public engagement in teaching and scholarship? How should we understand the connections or tensions between the democratic or civic commitments of faculty and their professional or disciplinary commitments? How do we define the goals of engaged scholarship and teaching? How should institutions evaluate its quality? This session will explore these questions and connect them to current efforts to create academic policies for hiring, evaluating, and rewarding engaged faculty.
- Tim Eatman, Syracuse University
- Julie Ellison, University of Michigan
- David Scobey, Bates College and Imagining America
Democracy, values, and cultural worldviews
How does deliberative democracy help participants manage fundamentally different cultural, ideological, or partisan values – and simultaneously face the question of whether our laws, policies, and public processes really emerge from the full range of cultural and ideological values expressed in our society? To what extent do distinctly Constitutional ideals – liberty, justice, the pursuit of happiness, the right to privacy – guide the work of a deliberative democracy, or do they? How do other values, such as community, generosity, and compassion, influence social change and public policy making? In an increasingly diverse and globally interdependent society, "values-based politics" can be both frustrating and motivating. How do practitioners and educators ensure that democracy is, indeed, a matter of principle?
- John Gastil, University of Washington
- Dave Josephs, Public Conversations Project
Economic growth and deliberative democracy: Making the connection
In the new Soul of the Community report, Gallup has shown a positive correlation between "community-citizen engagement" and economic growth in the 26 cities served by the Knight Foundation. Meanwhile, the new NLC Governing Our Economies report argues that democratic governance is a critical economic development asset. How can researchers continue to explore the links between democracy and economic vitality? How should practitioners and local leaders be using these findings to explain their work and craft new initiatives?
- Paula Ellis, Knight Foundation
- Melissa Assion Germanese, National League of Cities
- David Smith, National Conference on Citizenship
Embedding deliberative practices in local democracy
Part I: Defining and measuring embeddedness
What can we learn from the situations where democratic principles and strategies have been 'embedded' (or 'institutionalized,' or 'entrenched') in the way that a community operates? How do we define embeddedness, and what benchmarks can we use to measure it?- John Dedrick, Kettering Foundation
- Archon Fung, Harvard University
- Pat Scully, Everyday Democracy
- Terry Amsler, Collaborative Governance Initiative, League of California Cities
- Will Friedman, Public Agenda
- Gloria Rubio-Cortes, National Civic League
Embedding deliberative practices in national democracy
What would it look like to embed democratic principles and strategies in federal policymaking? How can the best practices being used in local democracy be scaled up to support public engagement in federal policymaking? What kinds of visions, roles, and assumptions are embodied in the new administration’s Open Government Directive (scheduled to be released in May), and how should practitioners and educators react? This session will focus on answering these questions and reviewing the latest developments in Washington. This session will focus in part on the Strengthening Our Nation’s Democracy report.
- Carolyn Lukensmeyer, AmericaSpeaks
- Pete Peterson, Pepperdine University and Common Sense California
Equipping the next generation of deliberative democracy workers and leaders
Governments, nonprofit organizations, and communities need employees and volunteers with the democratic skills and mindsets to engage productively in political discourse, a process of public reasoning, collaborative problem-solving, and conflict management. What kinds of interdisciplinary curricular and beyond-the-classroom learning experiences should colleges and universities be offering, and how can they provide them? If we were to develop programs in "democracy studies," what might they look like? ** This session will probably follow and draw from other sessions on curriculum.
- Carolyn Lukensmeyer, AmericaSpeaks
"Extending" cooperative extension: Promising developments in university-community collaboration
Cooperative extension programs were originally intended to provide education, research, and support to local people and communities, with a goal of increasing citizen capacity for self governance and local problem solving. How well do cooperative extension programs fulfill their original, democratic purposes? To what extent are they enabling collaboration between campuses and communities? In this session, we'll assess the latest developments and innovations and consider new possibilities for cooperative extension.
- Lynette Flage, North Dakota State University
Funding and fostering democracy: What have foundations learned about the field, and what do they want to know?
Some philanthropic organizations, from small community foundations to large national funders, have helped to seed and grow a more deliberative democracy. Most, however, are more reticent. Why are some funders committed to this work while others are not? What are some of their most common concerns? What questions do funders have about the way deliberative democracy has developed and where it seems to be heading? This session will build on the new Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) guide on "Funding and Fostering Local Democracy."
- Stuart Comstock-Gay, Vermont Community Foundation
- John Esterle, Whitman Institute
- Chris Gates, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
- Dick Ober, New Hampshire Foundation
The future of journalism in 21st Century democracy
The shifts in local democracy, the development of online media, and the economic realities facing media outlets today all portend great changes in the way journalists are educated and employed. How can we assess these factors and envision new roles for journalists in 21st Century democracy? David Ryfe’s catalyst paper* on journalism will help to set up this session.
- Jon Greenberg, New Hampshire Public Radio
- David Ryfe, University of Nevada at Reno
High impact learning practices
High impact learning structures such as those found in offices of student affairs, diversity and multiculturalism, the first-year experience, and community engagement facilitate student learning for democracy but such departments are often disconnected from each other and from traditional academic programs on campuses. By cultivating substantive and sustainable collaborations to educate students in democratic theory and deliberative practice (e.g., dialogue and deliberation models), there is potential to institutionalize such initiatives beyond a single department or office, engage more students in the democratic process, and encourage them to cultivate their skills in ways that promote a sense of social responsibility. Join us for a discussion focusing on what these learning structures can offer as partners and complements to academic disciplines and how can they work together to increase their effectiveness and their impact on the campus.
- Paul Alexander, Regis University
- Ande Diaz, Roger Williams University
- Joanna Dickert, Carnegie Mellon University
- Steve Gilchrist, Wells College
Higher education and the future of democratic civic engagement
In February 2008, a meeting at the Kettering Foundation explored developments in the area of civic engagement and the future of civic engagement in higher education. An interactive website accompanied the meeting and provides the foundation for a continued dialogue. We would like to continue the conversation and invite your participation. Participate virtually at (www.futureofengagement.wordpress.com) and in person at this Learning Exchange at the conference.
- Matthew Hartley, University of Pennsylvania
- John Saltmarsh, University of Massachusetts-Boston
How can federal agencies support local democracy? Lessons and opportunities
The pressures that have fostered deliberative democracy in communities are increasingly evident at the federal level – but there has been very little discussion about how federal agencies, local governments, and other institutions should work together, or complement one another, in their efforts to involve the public. A few federal agencies, such as the EPA, have learned a great deal about how to engage citizens in ways that strengthen local democracy as well as meeting the needs of federal policymakers. What are the most critical lessons, and how can we use them to promote local-federal collaboration in this work?
- Carmen Sirianni, Brandeis University
- Henry Topper, Environmental Protection Agency (retired)
The impact of the economic crisis: Perils and potential
The economic downturn has already had a major impact on campuses and communities: declining endowments, dwindling tax revenues, decreased alumni giving, less foundation support, higher student financial need, higher rates of poverty and unemployment. The crisis is sure to make it more difficult to find funding for civic initiatives. However, it may also create more opportunities, as universities and local governments realize that they need to engage the public in making difficult choices. What are the primary challenges and opportunities in this crisis, and how can deliberation advocates adapt to these changing conditions?
- Kristen Campbell, National Conference on Citizenship
- Pete Peterson, Pepperdine University and Common Sense California
Institutionalizing deliberative democracy on campus
One critique of the academy is that innovative programs or activities are often marginalized or linked to the hard work of one champion, and when the funding dries up or the champion moves on, the good work fades away. How can the champions of deliberative democracy on campus ensure that it outlasts them? How do we recognize a sustainable project – one that has been institutionalized across administrative units and academic departments? In this session, we'll consider approaches to deliberative practices that create the conditions for sustainable change.
- Robert Cavalier, Carnegie Mellon University
- Joanna Dickert, Carnegie Mellon University
Intergroup and intercultural dialogue, an international learning exchange
The Council of Europe's commitment to "intercultural dialogue" has been adopted by the Council's higher education division as a central goal of higher education collaboration and reform. In the US, programs in intergroup dialogue flourish. What models are commonly used in the US, what is the research showing about what students get out of intergroup dialogue experiences, and how does that compare to efforts abroad?
- David Schoem, University of Michigan
- Robert Stains, Public Conversations Project
The kind of scholarship democracy needs: New methodologies in which citizens help direct the goals and methods of research
One of the most valuable contributions scholars can play in strengthening democracy is helping society understand pressing social, civic, and ethical problems so that citizens can work to address them. Academics use many terms to describe this work: engaged, outreach, or applied scholarship, and participatory, collaborative, community-based, or action research. The more participatory, action forms of scholarship are particularly aligned with the principles and practices of a deliberative democracy. In this session, participants will explore these research methods and discuss what works best for communities, practitioners, scholars, and students. This session will draw from the Cunningham-McKinney catalyst paper on engaged scholarship.
- Hannah McKinney, Kalamazoo College and Vice Mayor, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Making the case for this work: Improving the way we collect, report, and explain outcomes
Despite all the research that has been done on public deliberation, and despite all the evaluations have been conducted by local projects, most of us struggle to concisely explain what kinds of outcomes can be expected from this work. This session will deal with the complexity of the question (there are many different kinds and levels of potential outcomes), and explore ways to make the collection and reporting of evaluations, case studies, and other data more effective.
- Tina Nabatchi, Syracuse University
- Margaret Camarena, Old Dominion University
Neighborhood democracy: Lessons from the past, possibilities for the future
Thirty years ago, a new democratic experiment began in a handful of American cities. In Portland, Oregon, Dayton, Ohio, St. Paul, Minnesota, and a number of other places, local governments created neighborhood council systems as a way of engaging citizens in public decision-making and problem-solving. What have we learned from this 'first wave' of neighborhood governance structures, and from the second wave that has followed in places like Los Angeles and Minneapolis? Do these systems hold promise as a way of embedding deliberative democracy in the social, cultural, and political life of communities? This session will build on the "Democratic Governance at the Neighborhood Level" meeting, held in November 2008, and the resulting report.
- Bonnie Mann, National League of Cities
- Reemberto Rodriguez, NeighborWorks America
New frontiers for assessment and measurement
Communities need to be able to build ongoing evaluation mechanisms into their deliberation and democratic governance work – to monitor engagement processes, track outcomes, strengthen accountability, and learn how to improve their efforts. What indicators should we be using, and what other kinds of tools exist – or might be developed – to meet these community needs?
- Vera Schattan Coehlo, CEBRAP (Brazil)
- Miriam Wyman, Practicum Unlimited
- Carolyne Abdullah, Everyday Democracy
Participatory Budgeting in Local Government
As city and county budgets shrink, more and more local officials are turning to citizens to provide input on cutting deficits and how best to spend remaining precious resources. Participatory budgeting examples range from large-scale big-picture input sessions to small groups acting as “mini city councils” to recommend trade-offs in line-item detail. What are the best ways to approach involving the public in budgeting decisions? How should local governments determine what questions should be asked of the public? Which civic engagement processes best fit which situations? What responsibilities do pol! icy makers take on when they ask the public? And how can these processes be embedded to ensure planning beyond the lean years?
- Malka Kopell, Community Focus
- Harris Sokoloff, University of Pennsylvania
Political theory or practice? How political science and government departments help strengthen democracy
The analysis of political life – whether it is how governments are structured, how and whether individuals participate in those governments, or more normative considerations about the best kind of government and the best kind of citizen – is what political scientists do. If we view democratic education as simply the creation or transference of knowledge about democratic politics, then the discipline is on track. However, if we think about political science as being the builder not just of knowledge but of democratic skills and habits – that is, if our work has an avowedly democratic purpose of helping to create citizens committed to and prepared to be engaged in democratic life – then it is hard to see the discipline as anywhere close to the center of that work. In fact, for much of the 20th century it developed as a social science discipline increasingly distanced from, and perhaps even contemptuous of, this work. In this session, we'll consider the purpose of political science and whether and how to increase the discipline's public relevance.
- Katy Harriger, Wake Forest University
Poverty, Citizen Action, and Deliberative Democracy
Across the country and around the world, low-income and marginalized communities have been experimenting with deliberative democracy to stimulate civic action and/or economic development. These efforts are sometimes done in partnership with colleges and universities, and they have been the subject of recent research. What are some of the key themes arising from this research? How can communities improve the effectiveness of democratic practices as a means to reducing poverty and revitalizing communities? How can highly disadvantaged people get involved? What role can colleges and universities play in this important and timely work?
- Jim Dubinsky, Virginia Tech
- Kari Fruechte, South Dakota State University
- Luz Santana, The Right Question
Preparing public school administrators: Fostering democratic leadership
American schools are designed to be uniquely democratic in character and purpose: they are open and free to all children. They are managed by local citizen boards, funded by the public and local communities, and supported by local parents. Public schools are viewed as one of the nation’s greatest assets for advancing social and economic equity and justice. Yet university programs continue to prepare new administrators for traditional roles that typically allow only limited interaction with their publics about issues peripheral to educating children and youth. How can schools of education, instead, explicitly help future education leaders value, understand, and use strategies of democratic deliberation in internal decision making and school management? How can they restore their relationship with the local community and restore their public character and purpose?
- Sue Mutchler, Texas Women’s University
Race and democracy: Latest twists in a long and winding road
Over the last two decades, racial progress and the evolution of democracy are wrapped up in one another, pulling each other and pushing forward together. In the aftermath of an historic presidential election, how has the dynamic changed? What new challenges and opportunities have emerged?
- David Campt
Reframing and reclaiming democracy
"Deliberative democracy" is just one of many different terms and labels ("public engagement," "civic participation," "citizen involvement," "democratic governance," and so on) being used to describe our work. The definitions of these terms are blurry and overlapping, and none of them seems very compelling. How can we develop and use language that explains, in a plain and powerful way, why this work is proliferating and why it matters?
- Paul Alexander, Regis University
- Steve Burkholder, former mayor, Lakewood, Colorado, and former chair, Democratic Governance Panel of the National League of Cities
- William Roper, Orton Foundation
- Ruth Wooden, Public Agenda
Renewing the research agenda
We have achieved some momentum in the field by regularly convening practitioners and academics to discuss our common research agenda: What do we know about this work? What do we need to find out next? This session will use the DDC report, Where is Democracy Headed? Research and Practice on Public Deliberation as a starting point for the discussion.
- Jim Fishkin, Stanford University
- Archon Fung, Harvard University
- Peter Levine, CIRCLE
Restorative, community justice: Democratic solutions to a justice system in crisis
Across the country, governments are experimenting with approaches to managing criminal offenses by engaging citizens in creating community standards and actively involving offenders and harmed parties to hold offenders accountable. Similarly campus judicial systems are experimenting with forms of restorative justice and community standards using democratic dialogue, broad student participation, conflict management techniques, and collaborative decision making. These processes ask, for example, who was harmed by the offense? What is the impact on the community? What can the offender do to repair the harm and rebuild trust? In this session, we'll consider how restorative justice and community standards are consistent with the principles and practices of just and deliberative democracy, both in a campus and community setting.
- Anne Lundquist, Wells College
Seeding democracy: Community colleges as community hubs for deliberative democracy
Rising tuition and fees are making university education out of reach for growing numbers of poor, middle, and working class students, so community colleges are viewed as the most accessible and equitable institutions in American higher education. At the same time, they face persistent challenges: decreasing public funding, transitory student populations, and pressure to educate for careers, usually to the exclusion of citizenship. How can our most democratic colleges – those where the faculty, students, and community are one-and-the-same –advance deliberative democracy in public life?
- Shelby J. Brown, Connecticut Community College System
- Doreen Larson, Holyoke Community College
Stakeholders, citizens, or both? The interplay between conflict resolution, collaborative governance, and deliberative democracy
Some colleges and universities offer programs in conflict resolution that work with stakeholders – governments and private and civic interests – to mediate conflict, address problems, and achieve solutions to public challenges. Others offer programs in “collaborative governance,” programs that provide support for governments seeking ways to improve inter-governmental collaboration. Enter deliberative democracy. How do citizen participation and deliberation affect these more established forms of decision and policy making? What can the field of deliberative democracy learn from the successes and failures of conflict resolution and collaborative governance educators and practitioners? And how are all of these fields evolving as they work to include ordinary citizens as stakeholders in addressing public problems?
- Heather Pincock, Syracuse University
- John Stephens, University of North Carolina
Student democratic leadership education
How do we prepare students, in both academic and co-curricular programs, for leadership work that promotes a deliberation democracy agenda? How do the terms "democratic" and "leadership" clash in the ways they are often presented in higher education? This exchange will illuminate both the complexities and the possibilities in student democratic leadership education in higher education today, learning from good program models, research, and shared stories of challenges and successes in this work.
- Kathleen Knight Abowitz, Miami University (Ohio)
- Marguerite S. Shaffer, Miami University (Ohio)
Students as catalysts for change
In the 2008 presidential election, students voted in record number and their vote had a significant impact on the outcome of the race. Across the country, students campaigned door-to-door, wrote blogs, and joined national movements to express their views. Excited by this renewed energy, academics, practitioners, and public officials are searching for ways to sustain it in and beyond the classroom. What was it about the last election that captured student attention? What do students suggest as programs and activities that would prepare them for continued political engagement? It's important to include students in conversations about the next generation of civic education.
- Maya Enista, Mobilize.org
- John Saltmarsh, University of Massachusetts Boston and the New England Resource Center for Higher Education
- Edward Zlotkowski, Bentley College
Teaching democracy in public administration (PA) schools
Some of the traditional employers of PA school graduates are looking for employees with the skills and mindset to engage citizens in more deliberative, democratic ways. How are PA programs responding to these new challenges? What kinds of "democratic skills" do graduates need? How should PA professors and administrators address these challenges and opportunities as they consider the future of their field? Matt Leighninger's catalyst paper* on public administration will help to set up this session.
Teaching teachers: Deliberative democracy in education programs
How can we engage with schools of education, which prepare future teachers and principals? Too often, educators are prepared to teach academic content and "manage" classrooms or school buildings, but are not prepared to understand schools as potential classrooms and laboratories of democratic life. Yet there are allies in education schools. How can we work with teacher education and educational leadership programs to prepare teachers and principals to advance civic education and deliberative democracy in engaging and effective ways? This session will draw from Sarah Stitzlein’s catalyst paper on teaching deliberative democracy in education programs.
- Kim Carter, Five Freedoms Forum
- Kathleen Knight Abowitz, Miami University (Ohio)
- Peter Levine, Tufts University and CIRCLE
- Sarah Stitzlein, University of New Hampshire
A tech-savvy citizenry: New media for public participation, policy deliberation, and social change
Facebook and other social networks. Online video. Twitter. Online neighborhood forums. Technology is already reshaping deliberative democracy. What are the most promising tools and resources now available, and where is the potential for future innovation? What technologies work best for local democracy, for national democracy, for community organizing, and so on? In this session, we’ll examine what’s hot, what’s tried and true, and what’s tried – and failed. We’ll also consider the kinds of skills citizens need – and students should acquire – in order to be active participants in a tech-savvy democracy.
- Joe Peters, Ascentum
- Brad Rourke, blog.bradrourke.com
- Michael Weiksner, e-thepeople.org
Tech ethics: The values questions raised in a digital democracy
Many attribute the dramatic increase in youth engagement to shifts in the way democracy worked in this past presidential election, particularly the Obama campaign’s more technological orientation. What does that mean for face-to-face democracy-building? Where are the digital divides – age, economic disparity, language – and how do we overcome them? Who controls information exchange? Are the technology advocates in sync with the deliberative democracy advocates? This session will examine timeless questions – who controls information, who participates in policy making, how do we ensure equal voice and opportunity, what happens when we skip the relationship-building aspect of strengthening public life – in a new, techno-democracy.
- John Barstow, Orton Foundation
- John Stephens, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
This just in: Colleges and universities as news sources
The newspaper industry seems threatened by economic collapse, and it's hard to sort facts from opinion (and even fiction) on the Internet. Could colleges and universities replace daily newspapers as providers of high-quality, up-to-date information? Many campuses already support substantive campus newspapers, polling services, and radio – could they complement this work by providing balanced, accurate, comprehensive news reports? Could they regularly bring together the campus community, citizens, scholars, and policy makers to analyze and consider local and national issues?
- Robert Hackett, Bonner Foundation
- Cynthia Simmons, University of Washington
Updating the legal framework for democratic governance
Most of the laws that govern citizen participation at the local, state, and federal levels are now over thirty years old; they may not uphold, and may even interfere with, the best principles and practices that have emerged in deliberative democracy. How should we work together to revisit and revise the legal framework for democratic governance?
- Lisa Bingham, Indiana University
- Cheryl Graeve, League of Women Voters of the USA
Using democratic strategies in the classroom
What can we do to make our classrooms more interactive and engaging? How do we manage dialogue that is culturally, politically, or ideologically charged?
- Stephen Brookfield, St. Thomas University
- John Dedrick, Kettering Foundation
- Katy Harriger, Wake Forest University
Part II: Assisting communities and exploring new frontiers
How can we help public officials, veteran deliberation practitioners, and other leaders who are trying to embed deliberative practices in their communities? What elements are missing from current examples of embeddedness, and what kinds of work offer the greatest potential for innovation?
