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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March 31, 2008
Posted in Publications of Interest, Uncategorized at 9:29 pm by Nancy Kranich
Public Agenda’s Center for Advances in Public Engagement has released an interesting report on “framing” in democratic politics. “Reframing Framing,” authored by Center director Will Friedman, argues that, ”The current infatuation with framing is concerned virtually exclusively with the power politics of parties and interest groups, and the winning or losing of their respective battles.” Instead, the report asks, “What if we asked instead about the relationship of framing to fostering citizenship and enabling democratic deliberation and dialogue? What if we were to reframe framing to focus less on how it can help one side or another win the political game and more on what it means, and can mean, for strengthening the democratic process?” In the report, Dr. Friedman delineates “Framing-to-Persuade vs. Framing-for-Deliberation” and tackles honest vs. dishonest framing.
Read the full report here: http://www.publicagenda.org/pubengage/pdfs/reframing_framing.pdf
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March 25, 2008
Posted in Publications of Interest at 10:31 am by Nancy Kranich
The New Public Square
How an unheralded network of organizations is making room for diverse voices and true public space in a digital era.
Ford Reports
2007, Volume 37, No. 2
THE PUBLIC SQUARE IN A DIGITAL AGE
http://www.fordfound.org/impact/fordreports/publicsquare
Ear-budded Americans listen to podcasts on virtually any imaginable topic and text message friends and colleagues about everything from grocery lists to leveraged buyouts. This constant connection and limitless expanse of fact and opinion would seem to be the perfect incubator for democratic involvement and participation. Yet as the media sector reinvents itself, there are real questions about how citizens learn about the issues affecting their lives, make choices, and take part in the governance of a continuously changing media environment where enormous sums of money and power are at stake. Over the past five years, the Ford Foundation has renewed its longstanding commitment to the media field. Our objective is to ensure that diverse voices are heard and that citizens have access to media that enrich the way we practice democracy.
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