Creating Space for Democracy: A Primer on Dialogue and Deliberation in Higher Education

Published in Association with and We live in divisive and polarizing times, often remaining in comfortable social bubbles and experiencing few genuine interactions with people who are different or with whom we disagree.

About the Author
Timothy J. Shaffer is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies and assistant director of the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy at Kansas State University. He is also principal research specialist with the National Institute for Civil Discourse at the University of Arizona. In addition to Creating Space for Democracy, his publications include Deliberative Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning for Democratic Engagement (Michigan State University Press, 2017), Jumping in to Civic Life: Stories of Public Work from Extension Professionals (Kettering Foundation Press, 2018), and A Crisis of Civility?: Political Discourse and Its Discontents (Routledge, 2019). He has published dozens of articles and book chapters on civic engagement, civic studies, public deliberation, higher education, and democratic professionalism. He lives in Manhattan, Kansas, with his wife, Ellen, and his four children. Nicholas V. Longo is professor of Global Studies and Public and Community Service Studies at Providence College. Nick is author of Why Community Matters: Connecting Education with Civic Life (SUNY Press), co-editor of From Command to Community: A New Approach to Leadership Education in Colleges and Universities (Tufts University Press), and co-editor of Creating Space for Democracy: A Primer on Dialogue and Deliberation in Higher Education (Stylus, 2019). Nick lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with his wife, Aleida. Together, they have a great passion for educating the next generation of democratic citizens, starting with their children, Maya and Noah.