Page 296 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

Participant Dimensions and Properties

The following narrative explains the emergent dimensions and associated properties that

describe the experiences of participants during the civic deliberative dialogues on implicit bias.

The symbolic interactionist perspective directs sociologists to consider the symbols and

details of everyday life, what these symbols mean, and how people interact with each other. Also

known as symbolic interactionism its origins are traced to Max Weber's assertion that individuals

act according to their interpretation of the meaning of their world, but George H. Mead (1863–

1931) introduced this perspective to American sociology in the 1920s. According to the symbolic

interactionist perspective, people attach meanings to symbols, and then they act according to their

subjective interpretation of these symbols. Verbal conversations, in which spoken words serve as

the predominant symbols, make this subjective interpretation especially evident. The words have

a certain meaning for the “sender,” and, during effective communication, they hopefully have the

same meaning for the “receiver.” In other terms, words are not static “things”; they require

intention and interpretation. Community Conversations are an example of the interaction of

symbols between individuals who constantly interpret the world around them and relate them back.

In reading the explanatory matrix labeled Table 4.1, the “I” or vantage point represents

attendees who participated in the CC dialogue on Implicit Bias either as a talking participant or

facilitator. The context or boundaries represent the environment in which the Community

Conversations were held and included the dimensions convening for healing, sharing local history,

and promoting health and wellness. The conditions relate to the guiding processes of the

deliberative dialogues, as articulated by participant interviewees, including meeting face-to-face,

co-constructing safety, and validating our stories. The process represents and explains the actions

and practices that characterized the dialogues from the participant perspective. These actions

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