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definition of deliberation is derived from “the literature of deliberative democracy boiled down to

its basics of (1) discussions (2) about what to do (3) using reason(s)” (p. 88).

Similarly, Young (1996) and Sanders (1997) contended that emphasis on the rational

aspects of communication in the process of public engagement and deliberative process advocates

a form of communication that, in addition to being formal, is orderly, contained, and dispassionate.

Relative to this debate, Hall (2007) argued that the valuing of dispassion in the delivery of

deliberative discourse, derived from theories of communicative discourse, intensifies existing

inequalities of gender, race, and class. The most severe critique of the capacity of deliberative

procedures to contain ‘power-over’ has come from those outside of the process. One of the key

concerns is that deliberative procedures cannot neutralize ‘power-over’ since we all possess

different capacities to reason. Some authors I read contend that formal styles of deliberation have

an inherent communicative bias which privileges those more equipped and accustomed to rational

debate, such as better educated, middle-class, white males (Sanders, 1997; Young, 2001).

Although Hall (2007) successfully made the case that passion is a legitimate and important

part of deliberation, defining passion as “strong enthusiasm and devotion” (p. 87) and exploring

and expanding upon passion in deliberative settings, she has neglected to explore what occurs

when passions collide or when rational and passionate forms of communication are present in

dialogue settings. Hall’s (2007) research concludes with the recognition that civic dialogue and

“deliberation requires both thinking carefully and caring thoughtfully” (p. 92).

Drawing from Hall, this dissertation must acknowledge the significance of emotion in the

dialogue experience, while also identifying the exploration of passion which can come up

enthusiastically in spurred dialogue moments relate these experiences are an area for further study.

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