Page 249 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

Community Conversations on Race and Implicit Bias as a Forum Model

As described in Chapters I and II, civic engagement through group dialogue is a public

endeavor designed to consider or ‘take on’ topics of concern to communities. As such, Community

Conversations potentially can result in many benefits to civic life as an orientation toward

constructive communication, dispel stereotypes, provide a venue for new ideas, and invoke deep

listening and understanding of the other (Yankelovich, 2001), while traditional deliberative

dialogue is based on the use of collective critical thinking and reasoned argument that allows

participants to make decisions on community issues and public policy. (Johnson and Mutchler

1999)

AnimatingDemocracy.org has defined civic dialogue to specifically refer to dialogue about

civic issues, policies, or decisions of consequence to people’s lives, communities, and society.

Meaningful civic dialogue is intentional and purposeful. Dialogue organizers have a sense of what

difference they hope to make through civic dialogue and participants are informed about why the

dialogue is taking place and what may result. The difference in my research is defining the focus

of civic dialogue of which my objectors may say is not about the process of dialogue itself. Nor is

its intent solely therapeutic or to nurture personal growth. Rather, these dialogues address a matter

of civic importance to the dialogue participants. (animatingdemocracy.org/terms/civic-dialogue).

Dialogue strategies are linked with community engagement strategies, focusing on

bringing people together to discuss a particular concern or issue, and/or to build relationships.

Many groups describe these strategies as methods for practicing democracy and for raising the

voices of marginalized groups, and/or of multiple perspectives in a community. Some dialogue

processes are designed explicitly as a first step towards action and change; some are not.

Most share goals of increasing the number of perspectives that are brought to bear on a community

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