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An initiative that brings together UW-Madison undergraduates with diverse ideological perspectives to deliberate on important political issues.

The purpose of the Deliberation Dinners is to provide UW-Madison undergraduate students the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions about important political issues in a setting that exposes them to multiple and competing ideas.

Why run the UW-Madison Deliberation Dinners?

The Deliberation Dinners will use a particular form of discussion called deliberation. Discussion writ large is focused inquiry through speaking and listening that is purposeful, broadly collaborative, and leads to deeper understanding through analysis of different perspectives. And deliberation is a discussion that answers the question, “What shall we do?” — without requiring or seeking consensus.

What is the setup of the Deliberation Dinners?

 Students

In its second year, the UW-Madison Deliberation Dinners will bring together twelve groups of ten UW–Madison undergraduates on two separate cohort nights (up to 250 students) for a series of six, two and a half hour dinner sessions throughout the 2024-25 academic year.

Dates & Structure

The dinners will be held on the UW-Madison campus during 2024-25 in September, October, November, January, February, and March. 

The evening follows a predictable structure of buffet dinner one’s table group, warm up discussions, the deliberation, a debrief of process and ideas, and then an exit ticket for continuous improvement. 

 

Facilitators

Each group of ten students will be matched with one UW-Madison faculty or academic staff member who will facilitate the deliberation.

Facilitators have all taken The Discussion Project, and thus have specialized training in discussion pedagogy. 

The Deliberation Dinners initiative is funded by UW-Madison and developed and run by The Discussion Project, which is based in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. The initiative will continue to be evaluated by the Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative.

Issue questions from Deliberation Dinners in 2024-25

Deliberation Dinner #1, September / October  2024
Should marijuana be legalized, regulated, and taxed in Wisconsin?

Deliberation Dinner #2, October 2024
What should the future of U.S. foreign policy on aid to Ukraine be?

Deliberation Dinner #3, November 2024
Should we expand nuclear power generation capacity in Wisconsin?

Deliberation Dinner #4, January 2025
What should Wisconsin do to address rising gun violence in the state?

Deliberation Dinner #5, February 2025
What abortion policies should we have in Wisconsin

Deliberation Dinner #6, March 2025
TBD. The topic for our issue may be school vouchers.

Deliberation Dinners program director and project manager, and a Discussion Project instructor, standing with the School of Education Dean and the Chancellor of UW-Madison.

The UW-Madison Deliberation Dinners was honored to have Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin provide opening remarks on December 11, 2023 for Deliberation Dinner #3. From the left: Lynn Glueck, Program Director of The Discussion Project; Diana Hess, Dean of the UW-Madison School of Education; Jennifer Mnookin, Chancellor of UW-Madison; Emma Cabrera, Project Manager for the UW-Madison Deliberation Dinners; and Susan Gevelber, Curriculum Designer & Instructor for The Discussion Project.