The DCI sponsors regular Deliberative Forums to enable productive one-time small group discussions of difficult issues among students, faculty, staff, and community members.
The Forums are designed to be inclusive and engaging. They introduce participants to the basic dispositions and skills of deliberation, and include discussions of common values and interests as well as areas of disagreement. They explore deep-rooted social, economic, and political challenges as well as engage with innovative policy and structural reform ideas. Some Forums also begin with panels of experts who provide diverse perspectives on the issue at hand for participants to consider before they deliberate on the topic themselves in small breakout groups.
As opportunities for meaningful engagement with those holding different perspectives than our own, these Deliberative Forums are intended to foster active listening, sincere expression, and creative thinking about issues that are often viewed as intractable. They are co-sponsored in partnership with both groups and organizations on and off campus, and are facilitated by Deliberative Facilitators who have completed training workshops hosted by the DCI.
Below are some examples of the forums the DCI has hosted (they are also listed on our Past Events page):
Expert Roundtable on Balancing Self-Government and National Stability: The Case of Presidents, Institutions, and the People
Expert Roundtable on Equality, Unity, and Immigration
Free Expression at Davidson
Religion in Public Life
Income and Wealth Disparities
Deliberative Forum on Artificial Intelligence
Deliberative Forum on Guns in America
A Deliberative Forum on the Legacies of WWII in the Asia Pacific Region
The Challenge for Democracy: To What Extent Should the U.S. and Other Democratic Nations Defend and Promote Democracy Around the World?
The Challenge for Democracy: To What Extent Should the U.S. and Other Democratic Nations Defend and Promote Democracy Around the World?
Social Media: How Should We Engage and/or Regulate it, If at All?
Parents and Schools: Who Should Teach our Children about Race, Gender, and Sexuality
Economic Mobility Forum
Free Speech and Inclusion Forum
Our Housing Future: Needs, Goals, and Solutions
Our Housing Future: Deliberating with Realism and Idealism
