Deliberative Citizenship Initiative

Building Democracy One Conversation at a Time

Graham Bullock

A Look Back: Eric Liu, Citizen University CEO, Visits Campus

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Speaker talking to audience at Davidson College Lilly Gallery.

On February 6, The Bonner Scholars Program and the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative co-sponsored two events featuring Citizen University CEO Eric Liu. The first was a public lecture by Mr. Liu in the Lilly Gallery that was attended by over 100 online (via Zoom and YouTube) and in-person guests. The theme of his talk was “From Isolation to Community: A Commitment to Rehumanize and Revive our Democracy.”

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After his keynote address, Liu led a smaller interactive conversation exploring the key insights from the Better Arguments Project, a national civic initiative that he helped create to “bridge divides – not by papering over those divides but by helping people have better arguments.” During his visit, Liu was also able to meet and talk with several Davidson students, faculty, staff, and community members about their work and questions related to deliberation and building a healthier democracy.

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Overall, it was an action-packed and engaging visit that touched on a range of important topics that are highly relevant to both life on campus and in our broader society. Liu provided us with a key set of ideas and a hopeful sense of optimism that despite the challenges we face, we can connect with one another despite and even because of our differences, as we work together to rehumanize and re-energize our democracy.

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A Look Back: The DCI’s Spring Forum on Social Media

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Image of Social Media: How should we engage and/or regulate it, if at all.

In the Spring of 2023, Davidson College’s Deliberative Citizenship Initiative, Digital Studies, Political Science, and Psychology Departments, and Jay Hurt Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship hosted a Deliberative Forum on “Social Media: How Should We Engage and/or Regulate it, If at All?” This Deliberative Forum enabled participants to actively engage with this important issue, first by hearing from an online panel of experts with diverse perspectives on the topic, and then by actively deliberating with one another in facilitated small group discussions (either in person or virtually) on how best to engage with and regulate social media (if at all). We have just released the recording of the panel portion of the forum and you can view it now below. Also included below are the event’s deliberation guide and flyer for your reference. Enjoy!

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“Let’s Deliberate!” The DCI’s Partnership Program

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Is there a difficult or contentious issue of public concern that your organization, program, department, office, or business would like to have a conversation about, but you are hesitant because you don’t know how it would go? Do you see the value of such a discussion but are not sure how to organize it effectively?

If so, the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative (DCI) may be able to help through its Deliberation Partnership Program, Let’s Deliberate! Every year, the DCI’s Fellows organize their own deliberation projects on topics that are of interest to them and others in our community. They could assist you in designing and facilitating a conversation on a topic that members of your group are interested in discussing. These Fellows are Davidson students who have gone through intensive deliberation facilitation training and have served as facilitators of the DCI’s Deliberative “D” Teams and Deliberative Forums.

If you are interested in exploring this option with one of our Fellows or other collaboration opportunities, please email dci@davidson.edu with your ideas. You are welcome to share some information about your group or organization and what topic of public concern that you would like to discuss. While we cannot guarantee that we will be able to match you with one of our Fellows, we will make our best efforts to do so.

To learn more about the DCI’s LET’S DELIBERATE Deliberative Citizenship Partnership opportunities, check out this page.

Upcoming Deliberative Forum on The Challenge for Democracy

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DCI and Political Science Department The Challenge for Democracy Event flyer.

Democracies have faced numerous threats, both internal and external, in recent years. Scholars and policymakers have expressed serious concerns about democratic backsliding, democratic deficits, and growing levels of authoritarianism around the world. Davidson College’s Deliberative Citizenship Initiative and Political Science Department invite you to explore these issues during an upcoming Deliberative Forum on “The Challenge for Democracy.” The forum will examine the pivotal question of how far the United States and other democratic nations should go in defending and promoting democracy globally. It will be held on Thursday, October 19 from 7 pm – 9 pm in Davidson College’s Lilly Gallery and online.

This Deliberative Forum will enable participants to actively engage with these important issues, first by listening to a panel of experts with diverse perspectives discuss the topic, and then by actively deliberating with one another in facilitated small group discussions (either in person or virtually) on how best to address the problems facing democracy (if at all). This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from experts, listen to the viewpoints of others, and share your own ideas about this challenging and complex topic. The panelists include Davidson Political Science Professors Kate Bersch, Bes Ceka, Ken Menkhaus, and Shelley Rigger who have expertise on the challenges facing democracy around the world and particularly in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

The event is free but registration is required. We request that all registrants plan to attend both the panel and the small group discussions, which are designed to complement each other. Participants may join both in-person and online. Spaces are limited due to the number of trained DCI facilitators we have available to moderate the small group discussions. You may be placed on a waitlist if our capacity is reached, and we will let you know if spaces open up. We will do our best to accommodate as many people as we can so please don’t hesitate to get on the waitlist. The Zoom link will be sent to online participants after they register.

To learn more about the panelists and register for the event, click here. We hope you can join us – everyone is welcome!

How to Deepen Classroom Discussion? Hear Ideas from Four Deliberative Pedagogy (DeeP) Collaborative Members

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DeeP Faculty Panel Event Flyer.

Wondering how you might help your students engage more productively with each other on difficult and contentious topics in your classes? Either on contentious debates within your field or broader social and political issues? Then the upcoming Deliberative Pedagogy Panel co-organized by the Center for Teaching and Learning, E.H. Little Library, and the DCI may be for you!

Over the past two years, the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative (DCI) has been hosting a Deliberative Pedagogy (DeeP) Collaborative that has enabled faculty members from a range of different institutions and disciplines to come together and work on embedding more deliberation on important topics into their classes.

On October 4, 2023 at 4:30 pm in the E.H. Little Library’s Studio D and over Zoom, we are co-hosting a panel of four of these faculty members who have participated in the DeeP Collaborative and will share their approaches to deliberative pedagogy. They include Dan Aldridge (Chair and Professor of Africana Studies and Professor of History at Davidson College), Eric Anderson (Chair and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Furman University), Kata Chillag (Chair of Public Health and Hamilton McKay Professor in Biosciences and Human Health at Davidson College), and Robert Vander Poppen (Associate Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology at Rollins College).

Each of these distinguished professors designed and implemented creative, thoughtful and distinctive mechanisms to stimulate and facilitate more active, wide-ranging, and engaged discussion in their classrooms. We hope you’ll consider joining this event — there will be opportunities for asking questions and thinking about how you might adapt similar approaches in your classes (or other contexts).

To learn more about the Deliberative Pedagogy Collaborative, check out this webpage and these blog posts by faculty members who have participated in it over the past two years.

We hope to see you this coming Wednesday afternoon!