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1 results

  • 10 - Constructive Engagement across Deep Divides

  • from Part IV - Engagement with and through Media
  • Edited by Matthew Powers, University of Washington, Adrienne Russell, University of Washington
  • Book:
    Rethinking Media Research for Changing Societies
    Published online:
    18 September 2020
    Print publication:
    20 August 2020, pp 139-152

  • Summary

    This chapter focuses on the idea of constructive engagement, an umbrella term for mediated and non-mediated forms of communication in which differences can be expressed, respected, and resolved. Hartmut Wessler identifies three ways current scholarship can shift to better address the topic: first, to move from research that emphasizes voice to the practices associated with listening; second, to turn from disruptive conflict toward identifying the potential for integrative conflict; and third, by moving from modes of argumentation to research that examines the “self-transcendent emotions” that fuel constructive interaction with individuals across social divides. Wessler suggests that focusing on constructive engagement can link long-standing concerns articulated by theorists like Habermas focused on rational-critical deliberation with efforts made by social theorists like Georg Simmel, Lewis Coser, and Helmut Dubiel to highlight the integrative and constructive potential of robust but contained conflicts.