This week, we will be asking what practices and principles should be followed in discussions where a group of people are trying to arrive at a good decision.  Below I have listed a number of tasks that should be completed before class.

Task One: Update your Blogs@Baruch Profile.  Change the ID code you have been assigned to an actual name.  Also upload a picture of yourself, or at least an image that better represents you than the default bearcat.

Task Two: Read the Introduction, Chapter One, and Chapter Two of John Gastil’s Political Communication and Deliberation.  Click here to access the readings.  Enter the password when prompted.

Task Three: Watch 12 Angry Men,  comment on this post about the film, and reply to two of your classmates’ comments.

An excellent way to start reflecting about good and bad deliberative practices is by viewing the film 12 Angy Men, which can be watched for free on youtube (follow this link) or rented inexpensively from Amazon.com’s instant video service when you follow this link, and is also available from a variety of other sources.  Make sure to get the 1957 version staring Henry Fonda.

Task Four: Review and Comment on Projects Posted on  @ the Agora.

In order to see the kind of topics that students write about in this class and begin to get some ideas about the project that you want to work on, go to the @ the Agora website and comment on two of the projects that you see there.  The material you will find was all created by Communication in Public Settings students.