A news story about the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative (DCI) was recently posted on Davidson College’s website, “Hope Instead of Anger: Deliberation Elevates Discourse On Campus and Off,” which highlights the transformative potential of productive deliberation.
Several participants in the DCI, including Cadie McNaboe ’22 (former DCI student co-convener and fellow), Glennette Papovich (community member and D Team participant), Jerry Hopkins ’64 (Davidson alum, D Team participant, DCIAdvisory Council member), Heidi North (Davidson staff member and former DCI Fellow), and Graham Bullock (DCI Faculty Director), are featured in the article.
McNaboe, for example, discusses how her DCI training enabled her to alter the tone and nature of family conversations about contentious issues from hostile to humane. McNaboe states, “The DCI training fundamentally changed the way that I looked at political conversations in my own life.”
The article discusses how the DCI empowers people to engage in the type of deliberative discourse that fosters mutual understanding and respect. Members of deliberative “D” Teams explain how their experiences with the DCI have enabled them to engage in more productive, meaningful, and empathetic conversations. As Graham Bullock, associate professor of political science and faculty director of the DCI, is quoted in the story, “Deliberation offers a path forward toward genuine engagement.”
You can read the full article here.
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