Resolving Community Conflicts and Problems: Public Deliberation and Sustained Dialogue

Public deliberation and group discussion can strengthen civil society, even when participants share a historical animosity. Recently, scholars have begun to study the dialogue that sustains these conversations, especially its power to unite and divide. In these twenty-four essays, contributors read public exchanges and their sustained dialogue in the context of race relations, social justice, ethnic conflicts, public safety, public management, community design, and family therapy. They especially focus on the college campus and its network of organizations and actors, in which open discussion might seem like an idealistic if not foolhardy gesture, but nevertheless is a crucial component of civic harmony.