Deliberative Dialogue Discussions

This section offers a framework for connecting course content to a real-world policy, and for facilitating a deliberative dialogue discussion where students explore their stance on a critical civic issue. The resources offer tools to facilitate discussions that can be customized for courses across the fine arts, humanities, social sciences, and STEM. The goal of the discussion is to empower students to see the connections between their stances on discipline-specific issues that affect them and the importance of voting. 

What is Deliberative Dialogue?

Scott London (Kettering Foundation), in his essay titled “Thinking Together: The Power of Deliberative Dialogue” defines deliberative dialogue as “a form of discussion aimed at finding the best course of action.” He then goes on to elaborate:

"Deliberative questions take the form 'What should we do?' The purpose is not so much to solve a problem or resolve an issue as to explore the most promising avenues for action. Deliberative dialogue differs from other forms of public discourse — such as debate, negotiation, brainstorming, consensus-building — because the objective is not so much to talk together as to think together, not so much to reach a conclusion as to discover where a conclusion might lie… In this spirit, deliberative dialogue among a group of people is aimed at establishing a framework for mutual understanding and a common purpose that transcends mere ideas and opinions. While it may not produce consensus, it can produce collective insight and judgment reflecting the thinking of the group as a whole — personal disagreements notwithstanding.”

Faculty Facilitator Guide

This document offers a template for incorporating a deliberative dialogue discussion in the curriculum and guidelines for facilitating civil discussions on difficult or controversial topics. This activity can be used independently and ideally in conjunction with topics on the syllabus. The goal of this module is that students will explore the connection between discipline-specific content and its relation to policy, elected officials, and voting. 

Faculty Facilitator Guide

Discussion Topics

This document contains deliberative dialogue discussion topics and resources that faculty can integrate into courses. The prompts provide a framework for incorporating discussions about the influence of policy, elected officials, and the importance of voting into the curriculum. Discussion participants also learn to listen and understand those with diverse perspectives. Each topic includes discussion prompts, issue stances, and supplemental resources.

Discussion Topics

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Additional Resources

Why Facilitate a Deliberative Dialogue Discussion in Class?  ​

Preparing our students to solve the greatest problems of today and tomorrow is one of the cornerstones of higher education. This requires:

• Understanding problems including the historical, cultural, geopolitical, socioeconomic, and other circumstances surrounding them;
• Examining all of the possible solutions including the benefits and costs of each, and;
• Working together to determine the best course of action.

Why Deliberative Dialogue?
Deliberative dialogue discussion reinforces the important responsibility that we all have to meaningfully contribute to the betterment of society and to strengthen our democracy through civic and voter participation. It is an effective tool for creating change by focusing on problems and solutions instead of hyperpartisanship and the us versus them mentality. It does so while promoting civility, humanizing the way we talk about issues with one another, and centering the experiences of people and communities.

Deliberative dialogue also promotes the development and practice of necessary skills including critical thinking, active listening, public speaking, consensus-building, and finding common ground across differences.

A 2020 report from Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life offers 12 recommendations for faculty, chief academic officers, provosts, deans, and chairs to promote political learning and electoral participation. Three of the recommendations are centered around carving out classroom time for:

• Teaching students how to vote;
• Building and maintaining community and social cohesion within your classroom and department, and;
• Teaching the policy questions for each field.

Every discipline is rooted in public interests, and problems are almost always interdisciplinary, allowing for deliberative dialogue discussion to be a pedagogical approach in every classroom.

Additional Facilitator Resources

• Campus Compact offers a starter kit, Better Discourse: A Guide for Bridging Campus Divides in Challenging Times, for exploring how campuses can engage in inclusive, constructive dialogue – better discourse – for what many expect to be an uncertain and potentially tumultuous academic year.
  • The starter kit includes invitations for self-reflection (with a corresponding guide for mapping your campus) and directs you to tools, policies, and evidence-based practices for better discourse.
• The Institute for Democracy & Higher Education, an initiative of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, creates and highlights research, guides, and materials for talking about politically charged topics in and beyond the classroom including:
  • Facilitating Political Discussions: Facilitator Training Workshop Guide
  • Readiness for Discussing Democracy in Supercharged Political Times
  • How Faculty Can Prepare to Handle the Post-Election Classroom
• The National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) provides comprehensive issue guides addressing new and emerging topics, resources for facilitating deliberative dialogue discussions, and free facilitator training opportunities.
  • New for 2024: NIFI’s With the People is designed as an ongoing initiative that encourages sustained practices of public deliberation on campuses and in communities across the country. The initiative includes:
    • Introductory, advanced, and train-the-trainer facilitator training,
    • Monthly deliberative dialogue discussions,
    • Constitution Day deliberative dialogue discussions, and more.
• The National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement, a project of Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, publishes recommendations for colleges and universities to fulfill their civic missions including:
  • Election Imperatives: Ten Recommendations to Increase College Student Voting and Improve Political Learning and Engagement in Democracy
  • Election Imperatives 2020: A Time of Physical Distancing and Social Action
• In connection with Our Common Purpose, the Partnership for American Democracy is a nonpartisan coalition working to implement the Our Common Purpose report’s recommendations by 2026, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence; the goals include universal civic learning and, notably, bridging divides.

Several organizations and projects also make it easier to facilitate your own deliberative dialogue discussions or participate in other discussions happening virtually:

• Interactivity Foundation
• James Madison University’s National Week of Deliberation
• Living Room Conversations
• National Week of Conversation
• Project Implicit and implicit bias tests
• Unify America’s College Bowl
• University of Michigan’s Dinners for Democracy

Periclean Fellows and other faculty and staff in our network have also created their own resources or shared other resources to facilitate deliberative dialogue discussions:

• Carnegie Mellon University’s Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence: Ground Rules expectations for classroom behaviors
• High Point University: Dr. Allison Walker adapted the Minimum Wage Determination Discussion Topic to include a series of pre-discussion assignments called “Empathy Adventures,” where students engaged in active learning through practice, followed by additional reading and deep reflection about their experiences. Additional resources:
  • Braver Angels Alliance of Central North Carolina’s Moderator Training for Leading Braver Conversations
  • North Carolina Campus Engagement’s Dialogue & Deliberation Training
• Widener University’s Political Engagement Committee: Guidelines for Facilitating Civil Discussion on Difficult or Controversial Topics

Please contact [email protected] if you would like to include any additional facilitator resources that you have created or would recommend from other practitioners, organizations, or projects.​

Sample Presentations

Periclean Fellows and other faculty and staff in our network have created their own presentations to facilitate deliberative dialogue discussions:

• Portland State University: Dr. Sarah Dougher developed a sample presentation for a deliberative dialogue discussion focused on Artificial Intelligence and Government Regulations.
• Ursinus College: Dr. Brie Berry developed a sample presentation for a deliberative dialogue discussion focused on Managing Wasted Food.
• Additional sample presentations:
  • Sugary Beverage Tax
  • Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment in Prisons and Jails

Please contact [email protected] if you would like to include any additional sample presentations that you have created or would recommend from other practitioners, organizations, or projects.

This work builds on the successes of the Turn Up Turnout Workshops at the University of Michigan with Democracy Works. Analysis of the workshop’s evaluations showed evidence that these discussions provide a great benefit to students. It empowered them to see the connections between the issues that affect them, their elected officials, and the importance of voting.

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​You can also access all of Project Pericles' original civic engagement resources on Google Drive. When downloading the Google Drive folder, all files will be saved in Microsoft Office friendly formats, such as Word Documents and Powerpoint presentations. 

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This project is supported by the Eugene M. Lang Foundation and the Mellon Foundation, with additional support from The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Teagle Foundation, the SLSV Coalition, and Up to Us/Net Impact. Special thanks to collaborators: Periclean Faculty Leaders, Project Pericles Program Directors, Faculty Fellows, and members of the SLSV Coalition.
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​​Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions or suggestions about our civic engagement resources.

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