Page 71 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

The research I have presented as part of this dissertation focused on the dynamics of

participant interchanges in the ‘working through’ phase of what is scholarly defined as deliberative

dialogue and civic engagement. I have examined the sessions how participants of Community

Conversation groups experience working through tensions and dealing with conflicts that surface

during deliberative processes. The importance of understanding this process through the

experiences of Community Conversation participants and facilitators is that it may advance the

effectiveness and utility of deliberative dialogue as both a practice and as an approach for

narrowing societal divide.

Yankelovich (1991) acknowledged the obstacles of the fundamental knowledge gap

between members of society referred to as elites, a privileged class, and the public. Although elites

presumably have access to a wider range of knowledge sources, similarly, those not considered

elite also have access to a body of information not readily available to the elites. As acknowledged

by Du Bois (1903) over a century ago, the concept of double consciousness in which African

Americans and other minorities live and use to navigate social settings imbues a duality of

awareness. Knowledge gaps affect communication and working through processes within the

broader context of public dialogue. These knowledge gaps highlight the different experiential

frames of reference and understanding among participants that gather for Community

Conversations and their resulting conflicts and potential barriers for connective communication.

Locher (2004) addressed conflict from a broader perspective emerging from exercises of

power exchanges that arise from the use of language, stating “power is often expressed through

language” (p. 39). The importance of examining the element of power within Community

Conversation gatherings is the recognition that “power is relational, dynamic and contestable, and

that once it emerges it must be negotiated” (Locher, 2004, p. 41).

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