“Excellent resource for teaching how to practice and analyze both dialogue and deliberation. I’ll be using it as a foundational text for my class Conversations That Matter.” — Spoma Javanovic, University of North Carolina

“Communication students need this book! Dialogue and Deliberation shows that the unraveling of community and the dearth of civility surrounding us can be corrected through genuine dialogue. Unfortunately, most of our information-fixated, Internet-saturated students graduate with an inflated capacity for ‘monologue’ (e.g., ‘I present, I persuade, I lead, I tweet’) and an anemic understanding of how to practice and promote authentic dialogue. However, relationships, families, organizations, and communities can only thrive when dialogue flourishes. Makau and Marty’s work summarizes these contradictions and provides guidance on reframing practices of adversarial discourse into the collaborative dialogue and deliberation we need to achieve individual and collective good.” — Stephen Cox, Murray State University

Introduction

Section One: LAYING THE GROUNDWORK

1. Communication in the "Argument Culture"
An Introduction to the Argument Culture / Why Is Constructive Engagement of Disagreement So Difficult? / Historical Roots of the Argument Culture / The Argument Culture and Adversarial Individualism / Examining Basic Assumptions in the Argument Culture / Transforming the Argument Culture through Dialogue and Deliberation

2. Dialogic Communication within an Interdependent World
Interdependence / The Sticking Point / Getting Unstuck / Changing the Story / A Positive Rationale for a New Dialogic Model of Communication

3. Deliberative Inquiry
Engaging Disagreement / Deliberative Questioning Skills / Assessing Information Reliability / Thinking Critically / Context

Section Two: DIALOGUE

4. Dialogue and Civility
The Need for Dialogue / Civil Communication / Reenvisioning Dialogue / Characteristics of Dialogue / Dialogue's Purpose / Reframing Civility for Dialogic Communication

5. Dialogic Skills and Sensibilities
Introduction / Empathy / Compassion / Critical Self-Reflection / Relating to Incivility in Dialogue / Constructive Confrontation / Dialogic Guidelines / Conclusion

6. Listening
Listening Receptively / Listening to Make Sense of the Interaction with Others / Attentive Listening / Conclusion

7. Understanding
Misconceptions about the Art of Understanding / Common Misunderstandings about Understanding / Interpretive Frames / Dispositions and Moral Maps / Other Types of Influence

Section Three: DELIBERATION

8. Deliberative Framing and Belief Systems
Introduction / Deliberative Framing / Belief Systems / Communion, Stewardship, and Dominion Belief Systems / Belief Systems Related to Family Life / Belief Systems Regarding the Nature and Purpose of Life / Belief Systems Regarding the Nature and Purposes of Education / Belief Systems Regarding Textual Interpretation

9. Discernment
Introduction / Discernment and Critical Self-Awareness / Paving the Way for Deliberative Partnerships / Presumptions / Discernment and Shifting Value Hierarchies / Discernment and Context

10. Deliberative Argumentation
Introduction / Elements of Argumentation

11. Advocacy
Practical Realities / Advocacy and Power / Advocates and Accountability / Advocates and Communication

12. Evaluating Deliberative Arguments
Assessing Reasonableness / Emotions and Reasonableness / Assessing Responsiveness / Fallacies of Evidence

Lexicon of Key Terms