Communication 385:

MAKING CIVIL PUBLIC DISCOURSE*

Spring 1999

Dr. Jonathan Shailor Office hours Comm Arts 230 Tues 3:30-5:00 595-2218 Wed 10:30-12:00 jonathan.shailor@uwp.edu and by appointment

Course description and objectives. This course focuses on the question of how we might improve the quality of out public conversations around divisive issues, such as abortion, racism, gay rights, euthanasia, and other topics. When conflicts involve persons' deeply held moral convictions, the usually effective ways of dealing with differences, such as explaining one's own position, persuading one's opponent, and making compromises, are often ineffective, if not destructive. In the first part of the course, we will explore the affordances and limitations of "normal" responses to public disagreement. In particular, we will study the framework suggested by Pearce and Littlejohn in their book Moral Conflict, applying their ideas to cases from the American media, our local communities, and our personal experiences. In the second part of the course, we will make similar applications with Deborah Tannen's book on The Argument Culture.

Most of our class time will be devoted to the practice and evaluation of "alternative" models for public discourse. The models we will be using have been developed by the National Issues Forum, The Public Conversations Project, and the Public Dialogue Consortium. We will go through five cycles of practice, each with four stages: (1) introduction to a new model for conversation; (2) practice wit hthe model; (3) evaluation and modification of the model; and (4) practice with our modified version of the model.