In our new book with Cambridge University Press "Deliberation across Deeply Divided Societies" we analyze tapes of discussions between ex-guerrillas and ex-paramilitaries in Colombia, between police officers and locals in favelas of Brazil and between Serbs and Bosnjaks in Srebrenica. What is the best way to bring these tapes in the classrooms so that students learn to deliberate?
Generally, visual effects are more beneficial to observe the environment, body- language and the presented culture by actors, if the tapes has the recorded visuals and the sounds the discussion processes. secondly, using the recent audio-visual technology could attract enough attentions, among younger generation. Thirdly, a comparative demonstration of those guerrilla-culture between North America versus South America or East-Europe would be very absorbent to students.
Dear Faranack
thanks for your response. It is only in Srebrenica that we could use video. In Brazil and Colombia participants allowed only audio for security reasons. You find the tapes and transcripts on www.ipw.unibe.ch/content/research/deliberation. How about you? What are you working on? Deliberation? Schools? I attach a paper about learning deliberation in schools.
Best wishes Jürg
Dear Ben
About polarization: This often happens when you discuss only with people from the same group, for example when in the Brazilian favelas teenagers talk only among themselves about the police. When the same teenagers, however, as our research shows, talk in a safe environment with police officers, polarization is much rarer and sometimes agreements are possible. When these tapes of discussions between police officers and teenagers of the favelas are introduced to 5th graders in the schools of the favelas, the students can learn when the discussions went well and when they went badly. From such experiences students learn to deliberate across deep divisions.
Thanks for your questions Jürg
The key of deliberation in deeply divided societies is not so much to reach agreements across the deep divisions, but that there is mutual respect. If people acknowledge that the other side has good arguments, this is good enough because it is humanizing the other side, reducing the risk of mutual killing. Such mutual respect has to be learned very early on. For most politicians it is too late since they are often interested to keep up the deep divisions to solidify their power position. Talking about facts is easier for 5th graders than for politicians.
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