It’s peak summer here in the Upper Midwest: humid, sunny, and the lakes are full from plenty of rain.

This issue of the newsletter was written by our intern Teresa Nelson. I (Carrie) asked her to reflect about her experience with the Deliberation Dinners, a pilot program here at UW-Madison designed to give undergrads a place to practice having good conversations about controversial issues.

In this newsletter:

• Icebreaker: rainy day

• Philosophy of Education: Thinking About the Deliberation Dinners, with Teresa Nelson and Harry Brighouse

• Student Post: Teresa’s Reflection

• Clerihew Corner: On our recent grad

• News & Events: Where Are They Now?

Icebreaker

What’s your favorite rainy day activity?

Thinking About the Deliberation Dinners

by Teresa Nelson

Last year, I got to participate in the launch of the Deliberation Dinners. Developed by The Discussion Project, and supported by the Office of the Chancellor, the Deliberation Dinners is a discussion-based program for undergrads. Conceived of and led by Diana Hess, who recently stepped down after 9 years as Dean of the School of Education, the pilot program, which included 120 students seated in groups of ten, met monthly over dinner for the academic year, and each table had a faculty facilitator. 

Here's what the Deliberation Dinners website says about the program:

• The purpose of the Deliberation Dinners is to provide students the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions with other students about important public issues in a setting that exposes them to multiple and competing ideas.

• The Deliberation Dinners will use a particular form of discussion called deliberation. Discussion writ large is focused inquiry through speaking and listening that is purposeful, broadly collaborative, and leads to deeper understanding through analysis of different perspectives. And deliberation is a discussion that answers the question, “What shall we do?” — without requiring or seeking consensus.

The Deliberation Dinners had a profound impact on how I think about important political topics. Controversial issues can be so hard to talk about, especially with the people we are most comfortable around. This is a problem: how are we supposed to learn about something if it’s taboo to talk about? is taboo to talk about?  

To explore this question further, I talked with my philosophy professor Harry Brighouse. Harry helped develop and