More Backman Prose
A sampling of articles from me, along with links to the fascinating sites that published them:
Huffington Post Religion. You’ll find everything I’ve written for these folks in my author archive.
RELEVANTmagazine.com. This thought-provoking evangelical site published my “How to Talk with ‘Them.’”
A Civil Tongue. “Toward a Vocabulary of Civility” appeared at this site, which is dedicated to promoting civility in the public square.
UPI Religion and Spirituality. Author archive here.
Dialogue Defined
Dialogue Gurus & Resources
National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation. With 1,400+ members and a cornucopia of online resources, NCDD “actively promotes learning and collaboration among practitioners, public leaders, scholars, and organizations involved in dialogue, deliberation, and other innovative group processes.” Don’t miss the Engagement Streams Framework, a sort of 0ne-stop guide to many of the best practices in dialogue and deliberation today.
Institute for Civility in Government. Founded by two Presbyterian clergy members, the institute aims to “build civility in a society that seems to increasingly tilt toward uncivil speech and actions.” Their Reclaiming Civility in the Public Square: 10 Rules That Work is certainly worth the read.
Public Conversations Project. This respected group of professionals, with specialties in fields from family therapy to anthropology to conflict resolution, helps people and organizations “constructively address conflicts relating to values and worldviews.” In perhaps their best-known work, they facilitated a long-running dialogue among leaders from both sides of the abortion divide.
Leonard Swidler. One of the most eminent scholars in the field. Best known for his Dialogue Decalogue, he has also penned (among many other works) a superb article on “Understanding Dialogue.”
David Bohm. This theoretical physicist developed a free-flowing method of group dialogue in which participants carefully examine the thinking behind their preconceptions and opinions. On Dialogue is a good and accessible introduction to his way of thinking.
Robert Apatow. The professor’s book The Spiritual Art of Dialogue draws on the wisdom of the Socratic method to explore dialogue’s inner workings.
Interfaith Forums. A good place to talk with those of myriad faiths and perspectives. Things sometimes get contentious here, but the insights and connections can be invaluable.
Interfaithing. Established in March 2009 with an ambitious and most worthy agenda: to create a premier global interfaith resource and a gathering place for interfaith groups. The online community is up, growing, and attracting good people.