What is the value of citizens talking to each other about topics ranging from the war in Afghanistan to alternative energy? Professor Fay Cook answers this question in a new book, Talking Together: Public Deliberation and Political Participation in America, published by the University of Chicago Press. Her co-authors are Lawrence R. Jacobs of the University of Minnesota and Michael X. Delli Carpini of the University of Pennsylvania.The book offers a comprehensive picture of the role of public dialogue in the United States, as well as an examination of why it is essential for America's future. From e-mails to arguments, the book examines the pervasiveness of civic discourse, revealing who does the talking, why people discuss civic issues, and what influence their talk has. Talking Together also offers insights into fostering the use of public deliberation for political action.
The researchers conducted the first-ever nationally representative survey of the extent to which and the ways in which Americans come together to discuss policy issues — what the authors call "discursive participation." This includes six forms of people talking together: one-to-one talking about public issues; one-to-one discussions on the Internet via e-mail; Internet communications involving chat rooms, message boards or other online discussion groups; participation in face-to-face group conversations; attempts to persuade another person about whom to vote for; and attempts to persuade another person about a stance on a public issue.
"Our findings are important because they show that contrary to conventional wisdom, discursive participation is more common than assumed and encompasses the most taxing forms of citizen engagement — face-to-face deliberation in groups," says Cook. "Further, our findings challenge the enduring tendency to attribute the ills of democracy to a lazy and withdrawn citizenry, breaking from a long tradition that has belittled and dismissed the competence of citizens and from more recent critiques of public deliberation as elitist, exclusionary and politically insignificant."Cook used pre-publication chapters from Talking Together in the SESP class on Civic Engagement that she taught spring quarter. The students in the class especially liked some of the implications that the authors drew for expanding deliberation, she notes. "One includes our recommendation to 'instill the habits, skills and motivation to deliberate among all age groups, starting with elementary and high school students.' Although public talking was once a critical habit and skill taught to students as part of training in 'rhetoric,' this element of the school curriculum has faded. We think it should be brought back."
A professor of human development and social policy at the School of Education and Social Policy, Cook is the director of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern. She is also the author of numerous articles and books. Her research interests include the interrelationships between public opinion and social policy, the politics of public policy and the dynamics of public support for older Americans.
Last Modified: 4/9/10