The Transformative Power of Dialogue
| NEW BOOK ON DIALOGUEAlexander N. Christakis and Keneth S. Bausch, President and Executive Director of the Instititute for 21st Century Agoras (http://web.archive.org/web/20070711134405/http://www.globalagoras.org/) repsectively. co-authored a Chapter in a New Book focusing on Dialogue. Below is some information about the book, which can be ordered from Amazon.com:The Transformative Power of Dialogue Nancy C. Roberts, Editor Volume 12 in Research in Public Policy Analysis and Management New York: JAI, 2002.Dialogue has a long lineage but a relatively recent research tradition. This volume’s goal is to elevate dialogue onto the research agenda by addressing questions such as: How can we make dialogue inform decision making in a particular problem domain or community of interest when multiple people, groups, and organizations are involved? How can dialogue be utilized to build more vibrant, democratic communities? To what extent can the Internet and new information technology support the dialogical process? How can we describe the relational field that dialogue creates and build a theory of social communication and information processing that explains the organization and dynamics of dialogue, and its implications for psychosocial function? This volume addresses these questions in four sections: dialogue’s foundations, perspectives, practice and theory. By design, the contributors draw from wide-ranging philosophical and disciplinary traditions: anthropology, communication, information management, neuro-psychology, organization theory, philosophy, psychology, political science public policy, quantum physics and sociology. As dialogue attempts to break down the barriers among people, we believe a more robust understanding of dialogue requires scholars and practitioners to move beyond the confines on one academic tradition and to study it in a more comprehensive and integrated way. We anticipate a wide audience for this book. Its disciplinary reach will attract scholars and practitioners interested in the general area of dialogue and communication, as well as related topics such as collaboration, public engagement, citizen participation, deliberative democracy, stakeholder relations, networks, inter-organizational relations, and community building. |