Page 35 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

(Gutmann & Thompson, 1996; Mackie, 2011; Yankelovich, 1991) speak about deliberative

democracy within the context of political participation through voting, and involvement in political

action, the focus of this research addresses issues of democracy through a wider lens.

If you would click to see my website mockup for a revitalization of Public Hearings I

reversed engineered the concept to where the people not government officials call for hearings that

hold government officials and accused businesses accountable to answer public concerns rather

than the traditional way of waiting for bureaucracy to call for a public hearing that limits the

citizen’s input – my Utopian conception presents for consideration an alternative possibility.

Looking for solutions to be revealed within meaningful engagement, the research I focused

on peeks at the possibilities and examines current realities of deliberative democracy as civic

dialogue that can be best described as a format for free exchange to which has evolved as a term

“Community Conversation” and encompasses a larger movement. These dialogues, deliberative

and structured for public participation and engagement primarily center around local or national

concerns, are typically comprised of citizens in dialogue and facilitators guiding, each having

distinct, yet intersecting roles. Tension and conflict in civic and deliberative dialogue groups is

necessary and inevitable. As such, understanding these dynamics were part-in-parcel of my study.

While Community Conversations are a recent trend, my research will add to an extensive body of

literature on deliberative democracy and civic dialogue by examining and analyzing participant

responses to self-awareness within the group process. Exploring participants’ experiences by

observing collective interactions and relationships between and among people within the container

of intentional civic engagement, CCs will advance scholarly understanding about discourse and

the interrelationships among individuals engaged in deliberative dialogue in the public sphere.

16