“The U.S. Role in a Changing World” is one of the newest units published by the Choices for the 21st Century Education Program of Brown University. This new unit helps students reflect on global changes, assess national priorities, and decide for themselves through informed deliberation the role the US should play in the world today. Click below for info about other resources and ordering details. (continue)

The American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) just created four new web-based COPs (Communities of Practice) — on assessment, cognitive development, electronic portfolios, and democratic dialogue. The Society for Values in Higher Education (SVHE) is facilitating the COP on democratic dialogue, and they are inviting academics who are studying and experimenting with various models of discourse (study circles, National Issues Forums, intergroup dialogue, and others) to participate. Newcomers to the field are welcome! The group will convene a few times a year (optional) and exchange […] (continue)

The Mary Parker Follett Foundation announced on February 22 that the past several years have seen the re-issuing of several books by Mary Follett. Two of her important works/collections have recently been reissued. Creative Experience has been re-issued by Thoemmes Continuum as part of a series, and is available in the U.S. through the University of Chicago ($45, ISBN 1843714884). Dynamic Administration, a collection of papers by Follett that was published after her death, has been re-issued by Routledge ($170, ISBN 0415279852). (continue)

A great article by Gloria F. Mengual outlines how the Study Circles Resource Center and the Annie E. Casey Foundation have helped neighborhoods in Indianapolis, Indiana, solve their problems through dialogue and collaborative action. According to Mengual, “Since 2000, 780 residents have participated in the 92 Family Circles held in 30 neighborhoods. Participants identified many action ideas they wanted to pursue, including new playgrounds, mentoring programs, after school programs, safe houses for teens and more.” Click below for the full article. (continue)

NCDD has been working with the Utne Institute, Conversation Cafe and The World Cafe to organize a nation-wide dialogue called “Let’s Talk America.” LTA is featured in the March/April Utne that I just received in my mailbox this morning, and I encourage all of you to go out and get this month’s Utne if you’re not a subscriber. A very cool 2-page ad (p. 48-49) with a red background encourages people to participate in this “new nationwide movement to revitalize our democracy.” And on pages […] (continue)

A case study on Perseverance Theatre has been posted on the Animating Democracy website. A statewide tour of the Theatre’s adaptation of “Moby Dick” in Barrow, Fairbanks, and Anchorage engaged a diverse citizenry in dialogue about contentious issues of subsistence rights and the urban-rural divide in Alaska. The case study is adapted from reflective analysis by Perseverance’s executive director Jeffrey Herrmann, former artistic director Peter DuBois, and dialogue coordinator Susan McInnis. They recount their commitment to bolstering a nonofficial level of public engagement after experiences […] (continue)

Andrea Assaf of the Animating Democracy Initiative has written up a fascinating, inspiring review of the January 2004 National Convergence of Artists, Educators, and Activists. Inspired by Grace Lee Boggs and conversations on art and social change at the Animating Democracy National Exchange on Art & Civic Dialogue (October 2003), the National Convergence attracted more than 200 people to New Orleans last month. In her article, Assaf reflects on the impetus, unfolding, and impacts of this convening. To read the article and additional reflections by […] (continue)

Bruce Ackerman and James Fishkin argue that Americans can revitalize their democracy and break the cycle of cynical media manipulation that is crippling public life. They propose a new national holiday — —Deliberation Day— — for each presidential election year. On this day people throughout the country will meet in public spaces and engage in structured debates about issues that divide the candidates in the upcoming presidential election. Order from http://yale.edu/yup/books/101015.htm or amazon.com. (continue)

“We the People” seeks city hosts for lamppost art exhibitions www.republicart.org “We the People,” a lamppost banner series based on the theme of democracy, is seeking city hosts. The show, currently debuting on the streets of New Haven, Connecticut, with 35 lampposts displaying 50 different works by local artists, plans to be in Boston during the Democratic National Convention in July. The exhibit intends to increase public awareness and participation in our political process. As part of its tour, rePublicArt.org offers the banner exhibition or […] (continue)

The Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, in partnership with the Dialogue Project, hosted a series of dialogues among Jewish-Palestinian groups in New York through their presentation of the John Adams opera “The Death of Klinghoffer.” The Klinghoffer Dialogue Project, led by Ted Wiprud–Animating Democracy veteran through the American Composers Orchestra project “Coming to America”–consisted of three pre-production dialogue sessions, each focusing on one aspect of the production: the words, the staging, and the music of the opera; and one postproduction dialogue offering an opportunity for participants to […] (continue)