April 24, 2008
Posted in Conference sessions at 1:12 pm by Nancy Kranich
CALL FOR CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS
Beyond the Academy
June 10-11, 2008
Arlington Campus of George Mason University.
Meeting just outside the nation’s capital in the midst of a presidential campaign year, public scholars from across the country will discuss the ways in which their work is more than “academic,” how it helps strengthen democratic institutions and public life and can bring about civic change.
To be considered for the program, send a 450-550 word abstract by Monday, April 28 to nmcafee@gmu.edu with the subject line “public scholars.” Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Reclaiming the civic mission of the university
- The incentive structure of university scholarship
- The self-understanding of scholars and their relationship to the public
- How to be the public’s allies in democratic work
- What kind of research does a democratic public need?
- Organic vs. traditional scholarship: How does Milton matter?
- Assessing the engaged campus movement
- Independent scholars, the academy, and the public
- Advocacy versus Engagement
- The multiple ways communities, individuals and non-academic institutions contribute to public knowledge (e.g., film festivals, literary festivals, literacy initiatives)
For more information go to: http://beyondtheacademy.wordpress.com/
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
CO-CHAIRS: Noelle McAfee, George Mason University; Claire Snyder, George Mason University
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: David Cooper, Michigan State University; Maria Farland, Fordham University; Sharon Meagher, University of Scranton; Scott Peters, Cornell University; Mary Stanley, Independent Scholar; John Stuhr, Vanderbilt University; Nancy Thomas, The Democracy Imperative; Debi Witte, Kettering Foundation.
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April 18, 2008
Posted in Deliberative Dialogue at 11:37 am by Nancy Kranich
Paying for Health Care–National Issues Forum Issue Advisory
Excellent Care But Rising Costs: Is There a Better Balance?
A new issue book in the NIF series will be available later this spring for forums on the hard choices in health care. The book will look at some of the major concerns people have when they encounter the increasing costs of drugs, doctor fees, hospital visits, and insurance premiums. It will also look at some of the possible remedies being proposed to combat these costs. The purpose of the book is to stimulate serious public deliberation, not a discussion or debate. So each option for controlling costs will be balanced by an account of unwelcome consequences that might result.Attached is an Issue Advisory from the Kettering Foundation about the framework for this deliberative dialogue. For more information, visit the NIFI website at: www.nifi.org.
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April 15, 2008
Posted in Conference sessions at 4:16 pm by CarolynC
This was the title of the presentation Virginia Beach staff gave at the Transforming Local Government conference in 2007 on our Public Voices on Redevelopment project. You can look at the roles the public library played in researching and presenting background information and in hosting and moderating.
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Posted in Conference sessions at 4:14 pm by CarolynC
In February and March, I participated in Creating Aging-Friendly Communities, an online conference at http://www.icohere.com/agingfriendly/. One of the tracks was civic engagement and a couple of presenters were excellent!
The AdvantAge Initiative had a particularly useful paper on using focus groups, available at http://www.vnsny.org/advantage/tools/3a_Focus_Groups.pdf
Lara Birnback of Public Agenda, http://www.publicagenda.org/ talked about 10 Lessons of Successful Engagement. I have not found these on the Public Agenda site, but she sent them to me:
1. Begin by listening;
2. Attend to people’s concerns;
3. Reach beyond the usual suspects;
4. Frame issues for the public, not experts;
5. Provide the right type and amount of information at the right time.
6. Help people move beyond wishful thinking.
7. Expect obstacles and resistance.
8. Create multiple, varied opportunities for deliberation and dialogue;
9. Respond thoughtfully to the public’s involvement;
10. Build long term capacity as you go.
For these two alone the conference was worth my time. And while I am wortking on a senior services plan, this information is applicable to any age.
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April 14, 2008
Posted in Bibliography at 2:30 pm by CarolynC
Here are some interesting web 2.0 resources for civic engagement that I’ve run across this spring. The idea behind all three is to lure young people into civic engagement through Web2.0 tools.
Carolyn
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April 13, 2008
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:46 pm by Nancy Kranich
Case Foundation “Make It Your Own Awards” Online VotingLast fall, the Case Foundation launched an exciting initiative called the Make It Your Own Awards™. It invited inspired individuals from all walks of life to choose what matters most to them, decide what kind of community they want, and take action together. It received nearly 5,000 applications.
In keeping with the spirit of Make It Your Own, the foundation is inviting the online community to vote and decide which of these finalists will be its Final Four and receive an additional $25,000.
Help Decide Who Wins
The projects submitted by the Top 20 finalists represent fresh and innovative ideas for improving communities. The Case Foundation is committed to helping these dreams come true. In preparation for online voting, the Foundation is reaching out to organizations who share its desire to inspire people to connect with others, form solutions and take action together. It needs action oriented people to review their stories and decide who makes it to the Final Four.
5000 Dreams. 20 Finalists. Help Decide the Final Four.
The Case Foundation has announced the Top 20 Finalists in the Make It Your Own Awards. Now, it’s up to the online community to vote and decide which of these finalists will become the Final Four and receive an additional $25,000 to make their community dreams come true.
Beginning March 25th, to vote, visit http://miyo.casefoundation.org/vote.
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April 3, 2008
Posted in Publications of Interest at 10:25 am by Nancy Kranich
Turning Student Discontent Into Deliberation
By David D. Cooper
During the last few years, my interests as a writing teacher and American Studies scholar have turned to the relationship between rhetoric and democratic practices and, in particular, to how I might use deliberative democracy techniques — problem-solving strategies based on public consensus building rather than debate, partisanship, and polarization — for teaching writing and critical thinking. These disciplinary and pedagogical interests came bundled with closely related concerns about how to better involve my students in the life of the university and in the civic affairs of Michigan State University’s neighbor, the local state capitol. I wanted to find ways, in short, for students to develop their public voices. Deeper down, I was also looking to renew my energies as a teacher and ratchet up the relevance of the humanities classroom by trying to connect the usual and venerable fare of the humanities— principles, ideas, and critical reflection — to the crucible of lived community problems where ordinary citizens conduct the extraordinary work of democratic citizenship.
Read the full article at: http://insidehighered.com/views/2008/04/03/cooper
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