New Case Study on Arts-Based Civic Dialogue Experiences
A case study on Perseverance Theatre has been posted on the Animating Democracy website. A statewide tour of the Theatre?’s adaptation of ?“Moby Dick?” in Barrow, Fairbanks, and Anchorage engaged a diverse citizenry in dialogue about contentious issues of subsistence rights and the urban-rural divide in Alaska. The case study is adapted from reflective analysis by Perseverance's executive director Jeffrey Herrmann, former artistic director Peter DuBois, and dialogue coordinator Susan McInnis. They recount their commitment to bolstering a nonofficial level of public engagement after experiences with the "gatekeepers" of civic discourse. They describe a shift from envisioning civic dialogue in terms of large public gatherings that address policy to valuing more intimate gatherings in which personal story is a potent motivation and a stepping stone to civic deliberation.
