About the Book
This primer offers a blueprint for achieving the civic mission of higher education by incorporating dialogue and deliberation into learning at colleges and universities. It opens by providing a conceptual framework, with leading voices in the dialogue and deliberation field providing insights on issues pertinent to college campuses, from free speech and academic freedom to neutrality and the role of deliberation in civic engagement. Subsequent sections describe a diverse range of methods and approaches used by several organizations that pioneered and sustained deliberative practices; outline some of the many ways in which educators and institutions are using dialogue and deliberation in curricular, co-curricular, and community spaces, including venues such as student centers, academic libraries, and residence halls. This book is an important resource for campus leaders, student affairs practitioners, librarians, and centers of institutional diversity, community engagement, teaching excellence and service-learning, as well as faculty, particularly those in the fields of communication studies, education, and political science.
Published in Association with Campus Compact and AAC&U
About the Author :
Timothy J. Shaffer is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies and assistant director of the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy at Kansas State University. He is also principal research specialist with the National Institute for Civil Discourse at the University of Arizona.
In addition to Creating Space for Democracy, his publications include Deliberative Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning for Democratic Engagement (Michigan State University Press, 2017), Jumping in to Civic Life: Stories of Public Work from Extension Professionals (Kettering Foundation Press, 2018), and A Crisis of Civility?: Political Discourse and Its Discontents (Routledge, 2019). He has published dozens of articles and book chapters on civic engagement, civic studies, public deliberation, higher education, and democratic professionalism.
He lives in Manhattan, Kansas, with his wife, Ellen, and his four children.
Nicholas V. Longo is professor of Global Studies and Public and Community Service Studies at Providence College. Nick is author of Why Community Matters: Connecting Education with Civic Life (SUNY Press), co-editor of From Command to Community: A New Approach to Leadership Education in Colleges and Universities (Tufts University Press), and co-editor of Creating Space for Democracy: A Primer on Dialogue and Deliberation in HigherEducation (Stylus, 2019).
Nick lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with his wife, Aleida. Together, they have a great passion for educating the next generation of democratic citizens, starting with their children, Maya and Noah.
Review :
"If democracy is in trouble, higher education is in trouble, so it is encouraging to see the cast of scholars who are mounting a response. This book is a vital contribution to the emerging field of deliberative pedagogy... It is particularly encouraging to see new themes like the role of professionals in our democracy. Well done!"--David Mathews "Kettering Foundation"
"Creating Space for Democracy edited by Nick Longo and Tim Shaffer is well-timed and hopeful in a discouraging culture of bitter divisions, growing inequalities, and rising prejudices. This collection describes a path beyond the dysfunction, detailing diverse approaches with proven success in creating public relationships across differences. It also points toward a new stage of the higher education engagement movement, preparing 'democratic professionals' who further this work. If colleges, now under political siege, engage this difficult but transformative task, they can become catalysts for a democratic awakening and a rebirth of hope."
--Harry Boyte, Codirector Public Work Academy "Augsburg University; Author, Awakening Democracy through Public Work: Pedagogies of Empowerment"
"This book does a masterful job of making the case for why high quality dialogue and deliberation are necessary in higher education if we want to ensure that students leave us well prepared to participate politically and civically. Through a diverse set of concrete examples and case studies, Creating Space for Democracy provides excellent guidance about how to create scaffolds, programs, and opportunities for students, staff, and faculty to engage in the kinds of dialogue and deliberation that are both sorely lacking and much needed. This book is a must read for if you are in higher education, care about dialogue and deliberation, and are yearning for new ideas."
--Diana Hess, Dean "UW-Madison School of Education"
"Reaffirming higher education's civic mission, Creating Space for Democracy issues a compelling enjoinder for colleges and universities to play a leadership role in fostering participatory democracy. Positing college and university campuses as vital sites for democratic engagement, the authors in this volume offer tools for speaking across differences, while providing innovative models for revitalizing democracy through dialogue and deliberation, both within and beyond the gates of the academy."--Lynn Pasquerella, President "AAC&U"
