Mission

The mission of the Center for Democratic Deliberation is to promote better understanding of the habits and traditions of democratic deliberation.  With a view toward promoting more robust public discussion, the Center supports historical, theoretical, and empirical research on democratic deliberation, and it develops educational and outreach initiatives designed to promote engaged democratic citizenship. 

In service of this mission, the Center aims to:

• Build an interdisciplinary community of scholars and teachers who share the Center’s concerns;
• Sponsor research and publications on issues of concern to the Center;
• Support graduate students working on issues of concern to the Center;
• Collaborate with organizations promoting rhetorical competence and civic  literacy in K-12 and undergraduate education; 
• And contribute to outreach initiatives designed to promote public deliberation and engaged democratic citizenship.

Research

The Center for Democratic Deliberation sponsors lectures, conferences, publications, and other scholarly activities related to its research mission.  Providing both material and intellectual support for faculty and graduate students engaged in research on issues of concern to the Center, it defines its research agenda broadly and encourages faculty from across the humanities and social sciences to participate in its programs.  Scholars whose research relates to the mission of the Center are encouraged to contact the directors with ideas or questions about the Center.   

The areas of research relevant to the Center's mission include (but are not limited to):

• Historical studies of efforts to promote democratic deliberation, such as the democratic reform initiatives of the Progressive Era or the 1960s.
• Studies of the relationship between new media technologies and changes in the character and quality of public discourse.
• Studies of the barriers to inclusive and productive deliberation, or studies of ways to overcome the differences of gender, class, race, and culture that create obstacles to democratic deliberation.
• Studies of historical and contemporary campaign discourse (speeches, advertising, and news coverage) and the relationship between campaign discourse and citizen attitudes toward politics and voting.
• Studies of the impact of public opinion and polling on political campaigns and public policy debates, including questions about the viability of democratic deliberation in an age of political disaffection or questions about the effects of public opinion polling on public deliberation.
• Studies of the relationship between governmental activity and media agendas, public opinion, and public advocacy.
• Studies of social movements and their role in democratic deliberation.
• Studies of media content and how the institutional structures and practices of contemporary journalism affect democratic deliberation, including studies of agenda-setting, "bias" in the news, and alternative models of journalistic practice, such as “public” or “civic” journalism.
• Studies of news consumption habits and the relationship between media habits and political attitudes and patterns of civic engagement and deliberation, particularly among young people.
• Studies of the historical and civic literacy of the citizenry and the efficacy of various educational and outreach initiatives designed to promote engaged democratic citizenship.
• Studies of free speech and the political, legal, and cultural constraints on democratic deliberation, including such issues as free speech in wartime, "hate speech" on campuses, and the balance between the public’s “right to know” and privacy rights, respect for religious or ethnic sensitivities, and national security concerns.

Teaching

The Center for Democratic Deliberation supports educational initiatives designed to better prepare future generations for engaged democratic citizenship. With its strengths in rhetorical studies, the Center focuses on teaching the communicative skills necessary to participate in public deliberations: public speaking, writing and composition, critical listening and thinking, argumentation and debate, rhetorical theory and criticism, and the history of rhetoric and public address.  The Center is also interested in supporting educational initiatives in other fields, however, including (but not limited to) literary studies, history, politics and government, sociology, media studies, health communication, intercultural communication, and any other area that might relate to the Center's mission.  The Center seeks to build interdisciplinary collaborations with teachers across the humanities and social sciences.  These collaborations might include curriculum development projects that result in new, interdisciplinary courses in civic engagement and public deliberation, or they might involve making linkages between existing courses in English or communication studies and courses in other disciplines concerned with issues of interest to the Center.  In addition, the Center supports the development of teaching and learning resources that help develop the habits and skills of engaged citizenship and deliberation, such as the Voices of Democracy project.  Faculty and graduate students with ideas for teaching initiatives related to the mission of the Center are encouraged to contact the directors.

Outreach

The Center for Democratic Deliberation supports outreach and community-based initiatives designed to foster more robust democratic deliberation.  It is particularly interested in working with public or private organizations committed to improving the civics and communication curriculum in K-12 schools, staging public forums on important political or social issues, or promoting more active and informed civic engagement.