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Toward Wiser Public Judgment
Edited by Daniel Yankelovich and Will Friedman
In his lead chapter, Dan Yankelovich urges us to move away from a "misleading model of public opinion" that "dominates the expert culture of our society, including journalists, scientists, business leaders, scholars, professional experts, and political leaders." He and the other contributors (Will Friedman, Keith Melville, Robert Kingston, Alison Kadlec, Steven A. Rosell, and Heidi Gantwerk) describe methods used by organizations like Public Agenda, National Issues Forums, and Viewpoint Learning, Inc., to advance the public's learning curve through various forms of civic engagement, education, dialogue and deliberation.
They provide case studies of education reform in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and math and science initiatives in the Kansas City area, and examples of programs that have focused on issues ranging from energy and health care to US-Muslim relations. One chapter is a dialogue between Yankelovich and Friedman.
While our political culture resonates to the public's desire for a stronger voice, it fails to ensure that this voice reflects anything more than the spin, spectacle, and excessive partisanship that dominate today's public discourse. Toward Wiser Public Judgment offers insights and strategies to counteract these troubling trends.
Dan Yankelovich, Chairman and Co-Founder of Public Agenda, is the initiator of the New York Times/Yankelovich Poll and the author of twelve books. A founding president of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics, he is also chairman emeritus of the Educational Testing Service. Yankelovich was Research Professor of Psychology at New York University and Professor of Psychology on the Graduate Faculty at the New School for Social Research.
Will Friedman is President of Public Agenda, where he founded its public engagement department in 1997 and its Center for Advances in Public Engagement in 2007. The author of numerous articles on the theory and practice of public engagement, he was previously COO at Public Agenda and senior vice president for policy studies at the Work in America Institute.
"Those interested in engaging in public life, and helping to create and sustain spaces in which community members might listen to, talk to, and learn from one another, have a great deal to learn from the stories collected within this volume."
--Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement