Democracy in the Making The Open Forum Lecture Movement [Hardcover]

Meyers original and exciting investigation [and] deft, nuanced analysis....thoroughly explores the movements strengths and weaknesses, providing insights that will be valuable to historiansand to all who seek to develop inclusive solutions to social problems.&[A] clearly-drawn narrative&.connect[ing] this non-sectarian, semi-secular movement to the Chautauqua and Lyceum movements of earlier generations.I recommend this book highly for students of adult education and for public officials and civic leaders who want a model of public discourse for civil conversation in a time of polarization.&A valuable resource&useful not only because it revives this history but also because it illustrates how the past can help to inform the present. The National Issues Forums are certainly a close descendant of this important movement.&Meyers does more than simply reintroduce an important piece of our civic past; he also presents us with a model for rejuvenating contemporary public life.This vivid new window brings forward Mary Caroline Crawford, a woman who shaped progressive public discourse.This study recovers the Open Forum lecture movement and explores its relevance. Understanding this initiative broadens our awareness of personal and community courage and democratic planning. This study recovers the movement and shows what can be applied to our time.In 1908, a remarkable direction in community learning began in Boston and spread across the country, becoming the Open Forum lecture movement. These locally planned, trans-denominational lectures, followed by periods for questions, were characterized as the striking of mind upon mind.This study recovers the movement and shows what can be applied to our time. George W. Coleman brought a deep commitment to free speech in developing the Forum and Mary Caroline Crawford was essential in implementing it.Understanding this initiative broadens our awareness of personal and community courage and democratic planning. We can regain this l“p