DCI Posts

The day after the 2024 Presidential election, the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative (DCI), in collaboration with the Dean of Students Office, the Communication Studies Department, the Political Science Department, and the Center for Political Engagement, hosted an event aimed at helping students process the election results in a constructive and thoughtful way. The goal was simple: to create a welcoming, open space for students to voice their reactions, questions, and hopes and concerns for the future, no matter the outcome of the election.

The event took place in the Union, where around 25 students from across the political spectrum gathered in Room 900 to engage in a conversation about the election results and what the next four years might hold. At one table, the Presidents of the College Republicans and College Democrats — who had worked together to organize the Eu-Phi Debate — engaged in a respectful discussion of the results with each other and other students. At other tables, both American and international students also shared their different perspectives on the election together. As the results were still fresh, emotions were running high, and there was an understandable need to come together to reflect, discuss, and strategize for the future. What made this event wasn’t just the opportunity to talk about politics—it was the semi-structured, deliberative approach to the conversation that allowed students to engage in meaningful dialogue, no matter where they stood politically.

The Process: Creating a Productive Space for Dialogue

To ensure that the event was both inviting and productive, the organizers used a structured approach to facilitate conversation. Each table in the room was dedicated to a specific theme or topic, such as election results, hopes and concerns for the next four years, next steps – what can I do?, and an open discussion table. Facilitators, trained by the DCI, were present at each table with guiding questions and ground rules to keep conversations on track and ensure that everyone’s voice was heard. 

The event was designed to allow participants the freedom to either stay in their current group and continue discussing the topic at their table, or to move to another table and explore a new theme with fresh faces. Some chose to stay, diving deeper into their original conversations, while others embraced the opportunity to engage with different perspectives, expanding their understanding of the broader issues at play.

The idea for the event came out of conversations between Graham Bullock, Associate Professor of Political Science and Faculty Director of the DCI, and Ike Bailey, Professor of the Practice in Communication Studies. Professor Bullock and Professor Bailey both agreed that it would be helpful to provide a space the day after the election for members of the Davidson community to reflect on the results and status of the election, whatever they might be.

At the event, Professor Bailey participated in conversations with the students while Professor Bullock provided guidance and time checks for the participants, ensuring that they were able to engage in ways that were most meaningful to them. More specifically, participants had the option to stay at their current table for each round or explore other topics with new people. This flexibility in format—where participants could both continue conversations or seek new ones—allowed for diverse and dynamic exchanges, reflecting the range of emotions and thoughts people experienced following the election.

Creating Space for Reflection and Action

In the days following any election, particularly a contentious one, it’s common for individuals or groups to feel anxious, fearful, or even hopeless about the state of American democracy. These emotions can be amplified by the divisiveness of modern political discourse, leaving many feeling uncertain about the future. Our event aimed to provide a space for students to both express those feelings as well as explore how they might act on them. The goal wasn’t just to reflect on the election results, but to help participants channel their emotions into constructive conversations about next steps, once they felt ready to do so.

Research on deliberation has shown that such deliberative discussions can strengthen political efficacy, meaning that people feel more empowered to act within the political system (Fishkin, 2009). With this in mind, the event provided participants not only with the opportunity to express their hopes and concerns, but also a space to consider concrete ways to get involved and make a difference in their communities in the aftermath of the election. Whether it was through volunteering, participating in local governance, or engaging in grassroots activism, the conversation enabled participants to turn toward practical steps for fostering the change they want to see in the world. This allowed participants to focus on ways they could contribute to shaping a future they could feel proud of, regardless of their political beliefs.

In many ways, the event echoed the core values of deliberative democracy: a belief in the power of informed, respectful dialogue to create a more engaged, empowered citizenry. Our hope was to help participants leave with a renewed sense of agency—no matter their political leanings or the outcome of the election. 

Building a Stronger Democracy, One Conversation at a Time

The day after the 2024 election, the DCI event succeeded in its goal to create a space for students to engage in thoughtful, reflective, and productive conversation. By offering both a space for thoughtful discussion and clear paths forward for those eager to take action, the event highlighted the importance of staying engaged in civic life—beyond just voting—especially during times of political uncertainty. It reminded us that democracy thrives when we actively participate, discuss, and contribute to shaping the future.

In the days following an election, it is easy to feel disheartened or disconnected from the democratic process. While it is important to give everyone space and time to either celebrate or grieve the results of hard-fought elections, events like this one can also remind us that democracy is not just about casting a vote—it requires us to stay engaged, have difficult conversations, and take steps, however small, to contribute to the well-being of our communities and society. Whether students left the event feeling heard, understood, motivated, or more informed, the most important takeaway was that they had a chance to participate in a meaningful dialogue that reaffirmed their role in shaping the future.

Thank you to all who attended, and we look forward to continuing important conversations about the challenges and opportunities we all face in the months ahead.

Resources

Fishkin, J. (2009). When people speak: Deliberative democracy and public consultation.Oxford University Press. 

On Friday, September 27, an engaged group of 20 faculty members, professional staff, and community members from various universities and colleges gathered for the Fall 2024 DeeP Collaborative Panel to explore the integration of deliberation into higher education classrooms. Professors Jason Blum (Davidson), Yingling Liu (North Central College), and Mindy Adnot (UNC Charlotte) shared their insights and experiences as part of the Deliberative Pedagogy (DeeP) Collaborative. 

These educators are not only experts in their fields—Writing, Sociology, and Honors Program Leadership—but they also bring a wealth of experience in fostering discussions around complex topics in their classrooms. Each panelist discussed their unique approaches in courses such as Religion in the Public Square, Introduction to Sociology, and Labor, Leisure, Learning, and a Good Life.

To start off the event, Graham Bullock, Faculty Director of the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative, provided a brief overview of what constitutes a “deliberative classroom.” Attendees also engaged in discussions on how to implement these strategies in their own teaching practices.

Here is what our panelists had to say about their involvement in the DeeP Collaborative: 

“[The] DeeP Collaborative is really great for bringing new stuff into the classroom.  No matter where you are, in disciplinary terms, I think it can be super useful.” – Jason Blum

“The training, the reading, the materials were great, the cohort, and the exposure to other people’s pedagogical ideas and innovations. It was all wonderful.”  – Mindy Adnot

“I will say my experience was very rewarding and given that I wasn’t sure  how it was going to play out with my school situation. I think it all worked out well. I would definitely recommend to others.”  – Yingling Liu

Are you a faculty or professional staff member eager to enhance deliberative practices within your courses? We invite you to explore our DeeP Collaborative program, designed to empower educators like you to cultivate meaningful discussions and engagement among students. This is a fantastic opportunity to deepen your skills and transform your teaching methods. Be sure to keep an eye out for next year’s application process; we would love to have you join us in this initiative. Your involvement can play a crucial role in fostering a more interactive and thoughtful learning environment that benefits both you and your students.

Due to inclement weather associated with Hurricane Helene, the panel was held online over Zoom. You are welcome to check out the recording of the event below.

On August 8th, we kicked off our fourth installment of the Deliberative Pedagogy (DeeP) Faculty Collaborative with our annual DeeP Collaborative Orientation Workshop. This year’s cohort brings together 18 new faculty collaborators who specialize in over 13 different academic disciplines, including anthropology, biology, communication studies, economics and business, health sciences, Hispanic studies, history, mathematics, natural sciences, political science, psychology, sociology, and writing.

They also come from 14 different institutions, including Colorado College, Davidson College, Denison University, Drexel University, Furman University, Hendrix College, Johnson C. Smith University, North Carolina A&T State University, Rhodes College, Rollins College, Sewanee: The University of the South, The University of Texas at San Antonio, Western Carolina University, and Wingate University.

The goals of this workshop were to introduce our new Collaborative members to the key principles and practices of deliberative pedagogy, to build community among the cohort members—who will be working together over the coming academic year—and to begin mapping out their goals for the fall semester, during which they will explore how they will apply deliberative pedagogy to their future courses.

DCI Faculty Director Dr. Graham Bullock led the workshop, using both active learning and deliberative strategies to introduce the motivations for using deliberative pedagogy practices, the most relevant concepts and frameworks, specific deliberative teaching methods and tools, and case studies of deliberation-involved courses.

What is deliberative pedagogy? In short, deliberative pedagogy is a teaching practice that involves the use of structured deliberative activities to teach learners how to express different viewpoints about an issue or approaches to a problem, how to evaluate these viewpoints or approaches critically, and how to identify both areas of agreement and disagreement through the course of their deliberative discussions.

The key to practicing deliberative pedagogy well is to setup deliberations in the classroom so that they include multiple viewpoints on the issue at hand, allow all voices to be heard, and promote the assessment of arguments for and against the variety of viewpoints on the table. One way to do so is by introducing conversation agreements, or ground rules for good discursive practices. Another way is to have a facilitator present who can ensure the deliberation represents multiple viewpoints and voices. (Want to learn how to become a trained facilitator for deliberative events in OR out of the classroom? Learn more about our upcoming Deliberation Facilitator Training Program here!)

Deliberative pedagogy is also connected to the concept of deliberative democracy, a type of democratic engagement in which reason-giving – broadly-defined – is used as a means for citizens to make progress on practical issues facing their community.

Some of the lively discussions among our faculty cohort members focused on how deliberative pedagogy can be employed beyond courses that focus explicitly on public policy, including courses in the arts and the sciences. Groups also discussed how deliberative pedagogy can be a form of inclusive pedagogy and how faculty can navigate the apparent tension between affirming our lived experiences as individuals while assessing reasons for and against policy decisions that impact those experiences.

Others discussed whether or in what circumstances instructors should remain neutral during debates about normative issues that do not have straightforward answers and about which there can be reasonable disagreement among deliberators. None of these questions have easy answers, but we look forward to diving deeper with our ’24-’25 DeeP Collaborative cohort on these and other important topics in the coming year. Look out for blog posts from this year’s participants next year, once they have begun applying what they have taken from our interactive learning sessions in the fall to their various teaching contexts.