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Deliberative Citizenship Initiative
Building Democracy, One Conversation at a Time
ANNOUNCEMENT:
Hear about the DCI’s research program during the Verna Miller Case Research and Creative Works Symposium on Friday, April 30th, from 9 to 10 am during the Community-Based Learning Virtual Poster Session. Click Here for Details.
Responding to Our Current Moment
Our contemporary public sphere is in crisis. We have deep concerns about our society, and yet we feel unheard and unrecognized. We want to understand the concerns of others, and yet we are anxious about interacting with those we disagree. Our civic life has thus become fragmented and incapable of fostering deep engagement on the issues that most animate and trouble us.
Simultaneously, our conception of citizenship has become infected by provincialism and pettiness. Instead of bringing us together around a shared sense of identity, it has been subsumed by divisive debates about “who counts” as citizens. Rather than extending citizenship as an uplifting set of fundamental political rights and responsibilities that we hold in common, we have reduced it to questions of geography, ethnicity, and immigration status.
Against this backdrop, Davidson College has initiated the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative, a campus- and community-wide project focused on the uses of deliberation as an alternative to the non-constructive cross talk that has come to dominate our public discourse.
Such deliberation welcomes rather than fears productive disagreement and good argument, which lie at the heart of intellectual and democratic life. It is based in the belief that any real, long-term progress on our society’s challenges requires public discourse that is animated by key deliberative dispositions, including open-mindedness, empathy, and an action orientation.
To learn more about the work of the Initiative, click on the image below or keep scrolling to see our latest blog posts and recent and upcoming events.
Latest Blog Posts

Our Housing Future: Deliberating with Realism and Idealism
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Developing Deliberative Empathy in a Totally New Society
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Virtual Guest Lecture Series with Debra Hawhee
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Reforming the Supreme Court
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The Best We Have to Offer
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Reforming the Supreme Court: An Expert Panel and Deliberative Forum
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Bridging Divides
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Communication is Key
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A Light in the Darkness
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D Teams: Building Skills and Bridges
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Events

Our Housing Future: Needs, Goals, and Solutions
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Spring Deliberative Speaker Series: Debra Hawhee
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Reforming the Supreme Court: An Expert Panel and Deliberative Forum
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