Deliberative Communication about Complex Social Issues: An Innovative General Education Course for Honors Students

In 2017, representatives from the James Madison University Honors College asked if faculty members in the School of Communication Studies would develop a version of the General Education human communication course for all incoming Honors undergraduate students in the fall semester. The goal was to provide these students with a common cohort experience in their first semester at the university. A group of faculty members designed a series of three interconnected assignments grounded in communication, but infused with civic engagement. Working through these interconnected assignments requires students to move beyond surface-level understanding of issues and to consider the tensions inherent in public issues. They must also grapple with how to communicate deliberatively and understand that we may share different values, commitments, and understandings of public problems.