SARAH CROUSESENIOR SEMINAR PRESENTATION
MARCH 19 T H 2012
Compromise on Capital Hill: Dialogic Compromise and the
Sequester
Introduction
What is the Sequester?Gramm, Rudman, & HollingsSuper Committee2.4%
How Did We Get Here?
Gemma Fiumara’s Logocentrism (1990)
Logic
ONE Answer / solution
Talkers > Listeners
Flattered Self
Productivity & Time
Dialogue
“For what would be ‘‘beautiful’’ if the contradiction had not first become conscious of itself, if the ugly had not first said to itself: ‘‘I am ugly’’? (Nietzsche, 1887, p. 18)
Kindergarten Class of SpeakingMartin Buber (1971)
No end goalDialogu
e
Dialogue
David Bohm (1996) The HOW of Dialogue
Foss and Griffin (1995) Invitational Rhetoric Equality
Proprioception of
Thought
Suspension of biases
Awareness of
Absolutes
Research Questions
How could we use Dialogue as a tool to approach the topic of the Sequester?
What would congress need to do differently?How could Dialogue be the “solution” to this
problem?
Thesis: I propose that Dialogic Compromise could be a new strategy for approaching the Sequester and other Political disagreements
Dialogic Compromise
Uses the rules of dialogue to create a space where true compromise can happen in the political world Ignore
Logocentrism
Problem vs.
Paradox
Aware of Biases/
Terministic Screens
Do not objectify others
No endgame
Equal ground
Other Voices
Hunter, Before the Shooting Begins (1994) & To Change the World (2010)
The Big Sort, Bishop (2009) The Similarity Principle Polarization
Democracy in the Digital Age, Anthony Wilhelm (2000) Selective exposure Swimming in ideologies
Roderick Hart, Seducing America (1999) Simplifying Congress
Voices in the Media
Fox NewsABC NewsNPR News
Blame Game Shamefulness of either side Appalled by the groups being cut
Military scholarships Education vs Defense
Polarization Name Calling
Implications and Future Research
Current Political ClimateStrengths:
Mindset We have the capability to succeed
Weaknesses: Challenges the nature of our society Limited access
KumbayaI believe in dialogic compromise!
In Conclusion
Eye opening for mePhenomenology is an important aspect of
communication theory Everyday uses
Sources
Bishop, B. (2008). The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing
Buber, M. (1971). I and Thou. New York, NY: Touchstone. Bohm, D. (1996). On Dialogue. New York, NY: Routledge. Hanh, T. N. (1985). Being Peace. Berkley, CA: Paraliax Press. Hart, R. (1999). Seducing America: How Television Charms the Modern
Voter. London, UK: Sage Hunter, J. D. (1994). Before the Shooting Begins. New York, NY: The Free
Press Hunter, J. D. (2010). To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility
of Christianity in the Late Modern World. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
Fiumara, G. (1990). The Other Side of Language: A Philsophopy of Listening. New York, NY: Routledge.
Foss, S. K., & Griffin, C. L. (1995). Beyond Persuasion: A Proposal for Invitational Rhetoric. Communication Monographs, 62, 2-18
Staff, NPR. (2010, October 10). Civility war: Ex-congressmen ask peers to play nice. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130472194
Wilhelm, A.G. (2000). Democracy in the Digital Age. Great Britain: Routledge.