Guided Conversations
Real Reason is planning a series of guided conversations to:
- Bring together community innovators who are interested in developing clearer and more compelling ways of thinking and talking about politics
- Reconnect political conversations to contemporary American culture and to the everyday experiences of individual participants
- Help participants become more conscious of the sources and effects of their political reasoning patterns
- Build support for new types of partnerships, coalitions, and cognitive strategic initiatives
For Conversation
What are the mental models people use to think about equality? Where do they come from? How do they change?
What do trends in popular American television shows reveal about the ways in which people conceptualize government?
These conversations are an opportunity for individuals to examine their political thinking habits using some of the conceptual tools of cognitive linguistics. The sessions are typically informal, involving 8-12 people coming from a variety of backgrounds. The Real Reason staff provides guidance in discussing key political questions and in applying them to examples taken from audio-visual and print media. In the process, participants gain familiarity with mental models commonly used in politics.
This activity is likely to be of particular interest to activists who want to be more aware of how reasoning patterns impact their work. Guided conversations are offered as a stand-alone activity and as a component of other partner engagements with Real Reason.