The Elusiveness of Dialogue

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Negotiations of Meaning, Authority, and Agency in Language and Literacy

Abstract

Diverse and divisive contexts demand that we develop to ability to ethically communicate across differences. Drawing on theories of dialogic ethics, this paper conceptualizes “mutually enriching dialogue” and then employs this as a framework to analyze a discussion about abortion among a group of undergraduates. The broad finding is that even when interlocutors are civil and well-intentioned, there are many discursive moves and dynamics that subtly impede mutually enriching dialogue. Qualitative analysis focuses on characterizing these moments of breakdown in dialogue. By better understanding both the ideal of dialogue and ways in which it can break down, we become more capable of participating in and facilitating dialogues, and more likely to realize the potential inherent in diverse groups of people.

Author

• David Sabey, Vanderbilt University