Journal of Public Deliberation | The State of the Field

Journal of Public Deliberation

publicdeliberation.net/jpd 

Laura W. Black, PhD, Editor
Timothy J. Shaffer, PhD & Nancy L. Thomas, JD, EdD, Associate Editors
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ANNOUNCEMENT
July 2, 2014
Special Issue: The State of the Field
Essays on the accomplishments of and challenges to public engagement and deliberative democracy

Edited by Laura W. Black, Timothy J. Shaffer, and Nancy L. Thomas

This special issue of the Journal of Public Deliberation consists of a collection essays by leading innovators and scholars who share a commitment to increased and improved participation by everyday Americans in public discourse, community problem solving, and social policy making.  The “field” of public deliberation has made impressive advances in the last thirty years in both theory and practice.

Despite these gains, many scholars and practitioners can point to challenges and concerns, ranging from “what do we call this work?” to “how do we build a strong civic infrastructure for public engagement?”  Writers responded to questions about the scope and boundaries of the work, the relationship between deliberation and democracy, the tensions between advocacy and deliberation, the risks associated with steadfast neutrality, and future directions for the field. They help us see that popular declarations in favor of “more public participation” require more reflection and intentionality.  The issue also includes promising future directions, some insightful personal essays, and reviews of books that highlight the breadth of deliberative engagement. To read the issue, visit http://www.publicdeliberation.net/jpd/.

The Journal of Public Deliberation is supported by the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and the International Association for Public Participation. This issue is being used as the basis for discussion and planning at the 2014 Frontiers of Democracy conference, July 16-18, 2014 at Tufts University. For information on the conference, please visit http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/civic-studies/frontiers/.

An annual event, Frontiers is co-sponsored by the Deliberative Democracy Consortium, The Democracy Imperative, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), and the Jonathan M. Tisch College for Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University. After the conference, there will be a reflective essay in the Journal of Public Deliberation based on the discussion that takes place at Frontiers to continue the conversation about the state of the field of public deliberation and its future.

JPD is supported not only by IAP2 and DDC, but by a range of other institutions, including:

• Center for Democratic Deliberation, Penn State University
• Deliberative Democracy Consortium
• International Association for Public Participation
• Kettering Foundation
• New England Center for Civic Life, Franklin Pierce University
• Public Agenda
• The Democracy Imperative
• Ohio University
• Wagner College
• Tufts University